What Causes Wildfires?

Have you ever asked yourself - what causes wildfires?

These are some of the causes:

• Careless people
  
  
• Lightning
  
  
• Arsonist
  
  
• Dry conditions
  
  
• Downed power lines
  
  
• Sparks from machinery

If you live near a wildland area or if you use recreational facilities in wilderness areas, you will want to be aware of the potential threat of wild land fires. Dry conditions at certain times of the year in fire prone areas increase the risk for wildfires.

Knowing in advance how to protect buildings in these fire prone areas can reduce the devastation of a wild land fire. To lessen the risk of fire losses there are many safety precautions that you can take. It is your responsibility to protect your home from a wild fire.




How do you reduce the risk?:

• Make your home more fire resistant.
  
  
• Consider the topography of your property.
  
  
• Consider the natural vegetation that is near your home.

Our personal experience with wildfires:

When we lived in Malibu, California, we were always concerned about wildfires especially during a Santa Ana wind condition. During one of those Santa Ana wind conditions, a fire broke out in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. It raged completely out of control in a short period of time. The wind was blowing directly towards us and we could now see the flames just over the ridge.

My husband always thought he should stay and protect the house and have the rest of the family leave for safety, but I convinced him to go with us. We were very thankful that he did!

Two days later we came back and we were overcome with emotion when we saw our home still standing. Ten houses in our neighborhood were not as lucky. One of our neighbors stayed to protect his house and we were very sad to hear that he did not live through it.






How can I protect myself from wildfires?


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The Information on What Causes Wildfires is Provided by FEMA.