CHENEY, Wash. —
While you can't prevent all wildfires, you can create "defensible spaces" to protect your home from them. The Spokane County Fire District 3 Chief said the earlier you can protect your home, the better its chances of surviving a wildfire.
Outside of wildfire season, homeowners might not think too much about dry grass or pine needles around their homes.
But fire officials say this year, a dry patch of grass could lead to a house in flames.
"The amount of precipitation that we got through spring was significantly more than what we've seen in previous years," Dustin Flock, Spokane Co. Fire District 3 Chief said. "So, we're seeing an abundance of fuel and that's creating some difficult fire for us to attack."
For one new Spokane homeowner, recent wildfires made her more determined to get assessed.
"We just bought this home and we want to make sure we're fire safe, especially with all the fires popping up," homeowner Carol McNeil said. "It's been something I've been wanting to do. I called a while ago and they've been so busy, but those fires popped up and I called again to check up on that and get this taken care of."
Homeowners can also get an assessment through Wildfire Ready Neighbors, a program through the Washington Department of Natural Resources.
Chief Flock said in the second year of the program, there's been a significant increase in assessment requests.
"I've had roughly 40 requests through Wildfire Ready Neighbors this year, which is about three times more than normal," Flock said.
Assessments include a walk around the property and recommendations on how to keep a home safe.
"We look at the different ranges, 0 to 5 feet, 5 feet to 30 feet, 30 feet to 100," Flock said. "And we gauge what fuels are in that area, and then we encourage the homeowner, if there are fuel models that we'd like to see away from those zones, then we can we can discuss that."
Chief Flock described fuels as things that can feed a fire like exposed, dry wood, pine needles, dry grass, timber and sagebrush.
Homeowner McNeil said her biggest takeaway from her property assessment was learning that she needs to maintain the soffits under her roof gutters. Flock explained embers can get trapped in there and add fuel to a fire.
Flock said consistent assessments are important to maintaining fire safety.
"It's an ongoing process," Flock said. "It's year after year, there's some maintenance to it. But, it can ultimately save your home."
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