Eastern Washington fire officials are urging homeowners to find out how vulnerable their homes are to wildfire. The goal is to make those home less susceptible.
Area fire officials, along with the Washington Department of Natural Resources, held a press conference this week in a church parking lot in the Ponderosa neighborhood off Dishman Mica Road. Neighbors and reporters were there to hear about steps they can take to make their homes more resistant to fire.
The DNR program is called “Wildfire Ready Neighbors.” One of its key elements is getting a fire expert to survey your property to find potential fire hazards – especially flammable materials.
As part of the program, Guy Gifford from DNR's Community Resilience Program inspected the home of Spokane Valley Fire Division Chief Paul Kimball.
“Aha! Something's stored here. These little things are what catch people sometimes!” Gifford said.
He had found an old rug, rolled up and stashed in a corner of an otherwise meticulously clean deck.
“We call these engine catchers or ember traps," Gifford said.
“What I've seen on the fires I've been to is a homeowner can do all this work, some of it's expensive, and then they'll forget, like I did, about something like this,” Kimball said.
District 8 Fire Chief Marty Long says it’s crucial to have a five-foot perimeter around homes that is completely free of any combustible material.
“Examples are wood piles against the house, pine needles piled up on the roof, bark up against the house...all that stuff is highly flammable," he said.
DNR officials told participants they can arrange for a free inspection of their homes. "Wildifire Ready Neighbors" also offers grants to landowners who take steps to thin trees on their property.
The Ponderosa neighborhood was chosen for the event in part because it has suffered two notable wildfires, including in 1991.
More information about Wildfire Ready Neighbors, and how you can get a free inspection of your home, can be found on the Washington Department of Natural Resources website.