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How To Protect Your House And Property From Wildfires | Weather Tips Guide

How To Protect Your House And Property From Wildfires

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wildfire-fire-wall-by-cnynfreelancer.jpg Wildfires have many different causes. For example, one common cause of wildfires is lightning. With an estimated 25 million strikes per year, the U.S. Forest Service is faced with the daunting task of containing fires that destroy homes and have caused thousands of deaths over the years.

Wildfires can occur anywhere. Forest fire death and damage statistics show that my own region (Northern Minnesota) was victim to one of the worst forest fires in history. The 1918 Minnesota fire took over 1,000 lives and destroyed 1,500 square miles of woodlands and property. I remember during my youth finding burned out stumps of great original growth white pines still standing in the woods behind our home.

In more recent years, the Boundary Waters Ham Lake fire of 2007 destroyed 75,000 acres of Canadian and American forest. It was caused by a careless camper who left his campfire without confirming that the fire had been completely put out.

As we’ve witnessed with the recent wildfires in California, wildfires can quickly spread out of control. Wind-swept wildfires can consume thousands of acres of woodlands, along with anything else that may be in their path!

Following are some ways that you can protect your home and your property from a wildfire. Remember, these are things you’ll need to do now… before a wildfire is present.

 

How To Protect Your Home And Property

Your home’s survivability from wildfires can be greatly increased by doing these things…

 

Do This To Protect Yourself Year-Round:

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Do This When A Wildfire Is Approaching:

 

santa-barbara-wildfire-aftermath-by-Erik-Charlton.jpgU.S. Dept Of Health & Human Resources: WildfiresAs witnessed by the Californians who have experienced wildfires firsthand, it pays to protect yourself ahead of time! (View entire survey here.)

Keep in mind, the dangers from wildfires are great and often fatalities do happen when Mother Nature insists on taking the upper hand. To that end, the best course of action when faced with an approaching wildfire is to leave the area immediately.

And make sure that you always have emergency supplies on hand!

Check Smokey The Bear’s real-time wildfire map of the U.S.

Protecting property is serious business. Take it from the courageous firefighters seen in this video slideshow:

 

More Ways To Protect Your Stuff From Wildfires

Your best defense against a wildfire starts with the following wildfire survival guidelines provided by these reputable and reliable sources: