Water puts out fires. It cuts off oxygen and quashes the heat. Hoses, hydrants, helicopters, tanks, planes, buckets, and lakes are all in play to extinguish flames and make combustion difficult. Naturally then, I put some energy into the idea that I should somehow employ water to protect my place.
I dove into research about pumps and hoses and sprinklers and foams and ways to ramp up moisture. But over time, I came to realize that water is not the most important part of the formula.
It has its rightful place and I’ll explore some of those water ideas in the coming weeks. But on the homeowner scale of things, water is a secondary consideration. Or rather, it can be used in addition to the primary consideration.
There are pieces of the fire triangle (heat, oxygen, fuel), that I cannot control. I can’t do much about the weather. Wind, humidity, lightning, temperature, clouds, and rain are all going to be doing their own things. They will affect the relative abundance of oxygen and heat.
I might be able to turn down the heat if I have water and this could be helpful, but it’s just not the best thing. The best thing is not having anything to burn. The best thing is to remove the fuel.
The advice that we’ve come to know through FireSmart programs, is to look at the fuels that are around the home and think about how to make that area less attractive to fire.
At first, I thought this is a tall order. We’re surrounded by fuel. The boreal forest is here and we’re in it. How can I make any difference?
But in terms of the fire science, of the years of studying wildfires and looking at how communities have experienced fire, much more is known about what fire does and how it spreads. There are houses that have ‘beaten’ fire when their neighbours weren’t so lucky. FireSmarting can make the difference that counts.
Fire scientists and wildfire experts are realizing that most building losses are due to fires started by embers. Embers affect everyone, even people who live in the town centre and the suburbs.
Embers float on the wind ahead of the main fire and pose the threat. One ember is a small piece of debris. But if things are dry and there are grasses or needles around or there is a storm of embers landing and being blown around, then it’s quite a different picture.
Embers can really move in hot updrafts or as high winds push the fire onwards. Typically, they might travel a couple kilometres ahead of a fire. The BC FireSmart organization has a record of an ember igniting a fire 17 kilometres away from the main flames. If embers can travel those kinds of distances, it’s easy to understand how fires can get so huge.
Wouldn’t it be great to be right there with a hose putting out the embers as they landed? That could work if the main fire was way off. But if a fire is just a couple kilometres away, I’ve probably already evacuated. I won’t be around to deal with embers with a hose.
But implementing FireSmart knowledge means I can prepare my home to reduce those combustion odds even when no one is there.
Before I really embraced this, I confess I had a nagging resistance. Much around the home that I’m supposed to consider is intentionally there. I mean the reason I’m living near the forest is…to be near the forest. The trees out the window, in the yard and on the perimeter are part of what makes the place particularly livable. That goes for the garden, rosebush, deck, and outbuildings.
I had to absorb the philosophy of this because the enjoyment of the home comes from nature or how we’ve designed and planned things for atmosphere or convenience. A FireSmart strategy will probably affect these things.
Steve Reid, the FireSmart Coordinator with the City of Whitehorse provides some perspective: “Imagine lit matches landing around your home - if these lodge in cracked deck boards, piles of leaves, etc., they will likely start a fire.” That’s a poignant image.
Reid helps people assess the fire risks around their home. He emphasizes the 1.5-metre area, or ‘1 arm’s length’ from the home. This area should have no combustibles in it. Embers are going to be blown up to homes or swirl around them or roll down the roof into the gutters.
Embers might not appear to be lit. I recall how after hours, when the campfire is depleted and charred, the tiniest breeze can awaken a glow and get dry debris going to a flame in short order. This is the ember’s plan.
My hesitancy dissolved. I realized I don’t have to live in a barren landscape. It’s just about the attention to the conditions where embers could take advantage. I’m making it more resilient. Since this is proven knowledge, why wouldn’t I use it?
So, my spring involves cleaning the gutters and removing the stuff at the back of the house that was the “it’ll-go-here-for-now” pile and cutting the grass short and raking. That’s the minimum.
Then look at the 1.5m. Do I really have to move my woodpile? Some tasks are more work than others. I assess. There are a lot of nooks and crannies in a woodpile and bark and chips and - wood! Indeed. It was moved. It’s better.
Then look a little farther out. I’ve had to do some reconfiguring but over time I keep reducing the hazards. Get rid of, move, trim, prune, redesign. There are big and small tasks to consider, but I pace myself. Each year, (month – week?) I’ve looked at something else.
Sometimes the thought creeps in, “Why bother? Should I just accept the risks?” and worse, “It won’t really happen.” But doubt or complacency are useless mind games. We can see the urgency today in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Nothing about this is theoretical.
In the end, it’s not a struggle to do the FireSmart preventions. It does not overshadow the enjoyment of the home; it’s all aimed at maintaining that enjoyment!
Properties are different. For ideas for around your home, check out Whitehorse.ca/firesmart.
The measure of what we do and how much we do depends on what our houses are like – and how much we like our houses.
Ross Burnet lives in the boreal forest just outside Whitehorse. For 25 years, he’s been thinking about how to defeat embers. He will explore wildfire and how it can be prepared for in a column published every three weeks this summer.
