Let's say good morning now to the Wildfire Division director at the National Fire Protection Association, Michelle Steinberg. Good morning, Michelle, Good morning Amy. So we're not really thinking about fires right now because it's raining and people in the burn areas are worried about mudd and debrief flows. But watching the aftermath of the fires may be the perfect time to start preparing for the next wildfire. And one of the best ways to get ready for wildfire get your
home ready. So give us some tips and tricks on what we should be thinking about and start doing now.
Thanks Amy. What we can be doing now is to look around our home and look for anything that an ember could catch. So we know that a lot of the fire impact on homes is driven by wind driven embers when they land on roofs, in gutters in the near spaces to the home within that first five feet. So what we can do right now is take a look around to make sure or from the roof down to the eaves, the siding down to the foundation and then out into that five foot space, is there anything
that could ignite. So if there's a flammable mult for example, if you've got loose shingles, maybe you've got a ripped screen. These are some sort of DIY things that people can do that actually are very effective at limiting the impact of an ember should it reach the home.
Okay, and you mentioned mulch, which I think is really a good thing to mention because you don't think of that as something that's flammable. You think of like a brush or something leaning up against the house, or's just stuff too close to the house and that's just down on the ground.
But it's wood, right, So if you have something that's combustible, and many mulches are that needs you can still use multinneal landscape, but that really needs to be planned out. You need to rake it away from that first five feet, replaced maybe with some gravel or stone. Think about different designs. There's lots of different options that people have for making something that's pleasing and aesthetically beautiful but does not present
that hazard. But yeah, embers can get that into that moulton. If it's right up against the siding of your home, that can really be an issue because it will smolder and then start to flame.
Okay, and then we're speaking of the embers as well. We were talking to you our home guy Dean Sharp, who is a designer and contractor, and he was telling us that a lot of the fires start not because of embers landing on a roof, but the embers get underneath and get into the attics through those through the vents.
Correct, So particularly gable end vents which are on the side of the house, those can if a position with the wind, you're going to get that straight line win. So we want to make sure that any kind of vent openings are screened with metal mash. Our recommendation is one eighth inch or smaller. You still get allowed for ventilation, but you want to minimize the likelihood embers are going to get in there. The other thing I noticed, you know, visiting in Los Angeles at the end of January, a
lot of the beautiful Spanish tower roofs. To make sure that the end camps are sealed. Usually you think of them as bird stops. Well, if a bird can get in, an ember can definitely get in. So we want people to make sure that those those openings are either sealed or screened, and that you're paying attention to those little entry ways.
Okay, and Michelle Steinberg is with us with the National Fire Protection Association. For those who did suffer some damage in the wildfires, maybe their homes are still standing, they've got repairs to do, or people who were near what are some ways to rebuild in what your organization calls firewise.
Ways right so Farways is our program to organize communities and help educate across the neighborhood. And the concepts are really, you know, supported by science. So it's any place again that an ember can enter or a smolder, that's where you want to pay attention to the immediate house. But in rebuilding, choosing the products that are noncombustible or rated to be ignition resistant is critical and happily California has excellent guidance in their building code around wildfire. It's some
of the best in the country. So those are they actually list the different products that are considered to be non combustible or ignition resistant, so they don't make it difficult for you to find out what you need to do in terms of choosing those different building materials and the different techniques. But they're very basic and it gives consumers a lot of choice on what they can use.
Okay, and then Michelle, if you're not technically in a wildfire zone. What can you say to convince people to take percuestions anyway?
Well, you know, I live in New England and I would walk around with friends of family and point out, gee, it's great that they put some of that rock or gravel near the foundation and oh look their foundation wall goes up more than six inches where there's nothing flammable. And people say, oh, why is that important? So I explain, you know, even if there was a barbecue grill on a windy day, if there was a cigarette into the mulch,
that's going to protect you from that exterior ignition. You don't need to have a welfire to have a risk. And so I've been able to educate people that way that these are simple precautions that really everybody can follow and reduce that likelihood of having flames outside the house that could cause problems.
Okay, Michelle Steinberg, the Wildlife Division or Wildfire Division director with the National Fire Protection Association, thank you so much for taking some time with wakeup Call this morning.
It's my pleasure. Amy, Thank you.
Take care