Black Hills Land Analysis LLC
Fire Planning:
Development of a sound, comprehensive, fire pre-plan will help your property have a better chance of surviving a wildfire. There are many things that can be done to an existing, or a new construction to help it survive wildfire. Much of it is common sense, and inexpensive. A site specific assessment, will help develop a plan that can be implemented to decrease your chances of loss of life and property and resources.
Items for pre-plan consideration:
* Home Ignition Zone
* Location topography, aspect, vegetation, climate conditions, and fire history.
* Water sources, Fire flow
* Ingress / Egress
* Building ignition, Fire resistance factors
* Fire protection systems, and equipment
* Survivable space
* Vegetation management
* Other considerations
Notice the spot fires in the picture on the left. These start from fire brands that are blown ahead of the main fire. It is the fine flashy fuels "needles" that generate the large high intensity flames. It may only take 60 to 90 seconds for the main fire front to burn through a forested area.
The picture on the right shows the fire front has already burned the timber and moved on before the house ignites. The structure doesn’t necessarily ignite from the main fire. It is the small things like needle litter and other hazardous fuels that are connected to the structure that allow the fire to ignite the structure.
There are many ways to help your home survive a wild land fire. In the event of a major wild land fire, the fire departments are not going to be able to respond to every residence at once. There is just not enough equipment or manpower. The goal is to help your property and survive a wildfire without the intervention of the fire department, using FireWise practices and procedures.