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I recently posted a question of “How do you all prepare your homesteads for wildfire season?” Preparing homesteads for wildfire season is a big subject and it will take time for you to do all the tasks. Wild fire prevention is also a sensitive subject but moreover we can all do our part to help each other, whether it is in prevention, preparation, and survival skills.

I discovered it is not a simple process and a vast amount of information was shared by people living in these areas. My homestead in Minnesota is what we call vast open space of farmland and few wildlife conservation areas. In the Northern part of the state, there have been wildfires in the forest areas.

A survivor’s story

A person of interest in surviving the Black Saturday bush fire is Heather from Australia. The event occurred Sat Feb 7 2009 in Marysville. There were a series of bush fires across Australia that burnt over hundred of thousands of acres of land. Temperatures had been 115 and very low humidity with high winds. Heather’s account of the events are here and her story is filled with acts of bravery, courage, and determination. Heather’s personal feelings are hers to share and I will respect that. I will share with you one excerpt from her blog.

” I have spent 2 years trying to make people aware of the dangers of bushfires and yet time and time again, I see people waiting until the last minute or complaining that they received a 20 minute warning from authorities. ” “This entire blog is dedicated to those that we lost in the Black Saturday fires, not because I dwell in the morbid, but because if I can prevent ONE loss of life with information contained here, then I have achieved something.”

And today, 19 wildfires in Australia burn out of control. One of them is at the Bunyip State Park which is about an hour and 40 minutes from Heather.

As we move forward, I declare in no way am I an expert in this field. I am just a sole gathering information to protect my homestead and perhaps my efforts will save my neighbors.

Things to do in Advance Preparation tips

1. Do you have a bug out bag ready? Keep it next to your bed.
2. Is your Emergency Binder next to your bug out bag?
3. Consider keeping plastic totes in area that are easily accessible to pack your valuables in quickly
4. Is your call list prepared? Create a list of and set up a rule that everyone on that list is responsible for calling two others. (like a prayer chain call)
5. Create a online drop box to store digital copies of photos
6. Have a state fire app on your phone to track/receive warnings
7. Purchase a NOAA weather radio
8. Purchase N95 mask for each member in family
9. Invest in super soakers water gun(they do this in Australia. After the fire has passed, crawl up on rooftop and assess for embers. They can be quickly put out with a super soaker.
10. Know your community’s evacuation plan and find several ways to leave the area. Drive the evacuation routes and find the shelters and locations.
11. Review insurance coverage to make sure it is enough to replace your property

Outdoor Preparation

1. clear out underbrush on your property
2. clean gutters on roof to remove leaves etc
3. keep crops and gardens well watered.
4. keep a clean space around propane tanks.
5. create a 30 feet fire zone from the house. a great resource to have is the FireSmart Emergency Management BC

Home activities Preparation

1. Did you know that radiant heat from a large wildfire can actually ignite sheer curtains inside homes through large glass windows? Consider close-able shutters for large windows.
2. Is your attic vent open? Cove the attic vent opening with a small wire screen.
3. Do you burn leaves and debris? #1 cause of wildfires in MN is escaped debris from burning fires. Consider alternative methods like composting.
4. Don’t dispose of ashes until cold to the touch
5. Consider using 55 gallon rain barrels around areas of your homestead to allow for use of dumping on flames or ground.

Fire Alert/ Warning steps Preparation

1. Keep a garden hose hooked up to a water source with pressure. If you loose electricity, your well does not work.
2. Know where the shovels and rakes are
3. Have your protective clothing ready. Wear cotton/woolen clothing including long pants, long sleeve shirt, gloves, and handkerchief
4. Shut all windows/doors. Leave doors unlocked.
5. Remove flammable window shades, curtains and close the shutters.
6. Move flammable furniture to center of room, away from windows doors.
7. Shut of gas meter, turn off pilot lights
8. Leave your lights on so firefighters can see your house under smoky conditions
9. Shut off air conditioning
10. Gather up flammable items from exterior of house, like doormats, plastic trash cans, and patio furniture and place inside.
11. Turn of propane tanks and move BBQ propane tank away from structures.
12. Do not leave sprinklers or water running. It affects water pressure.
13. Leave exterior lights on.
14. Put your bug out bag, totes, emergency binder, call list, masks, and weather radio in the car.
15. Put the car in the driveway with doors and windows up. Carry your keys with you!
16. Seal attic and ground vents with precut plywood or commercial sea.
17. Place a ladder at the corner of the house for fire fighters to quickly access your roof.
18. If trapped, call 911.
19. If you are not ordered to evacuate but smoky conditions exist, stay in a safe location or go to a community building where smoke levels are lower

Animal preparation

1. Write your name and phone # on your animal hooves, collars, halters, etc.
2. In addition keep enough cages for small animals for easy transportation
3. Have a place for large animals to go ahead of time if you can.
4. If you can’t get them out, tie flags on manes or tails with phone number or write with a permanent marker on hooves. Another suggestion is to spray paint the animals from neck to tail information. Remove all bridles, halters, rugs, etc ans they can burn and melt. Turn the animals loose.

Returning back

1. Send text messages or use social media to contact family/friends. make phone calls only in an emergency
2. Document property damage with photographs and and contact insurance age. discuss flood insurance if applicable. flood risks are significantly higher because of lack of vegetation.

United States Wildfire Season

The wild fire season usually starts late March and goes to the end of the calendar year. With the recent government shutdown in Jan 2019, I recently learned that many of the fire fighting activities have been delayed. For example, forest management, training classes, hiring crews were suspended. There is a lot of work to get done before the fire season begins. We cannot rely on the government solely and we all can help.

What will you do?

We all have a responsibility on our homesteads to ensure we take all preventative measures and to be prepared in the event of an wildfire. Like my fellow homesteader, Heather from Australia, said today, ” I have clear views for about 50 miles in all directions” She is east of the current BunYip State Forest fire that has already burned 30, 600 acres. “Be prepared or prepare to die”, she states. I encourage all homesteaders to prepare for wildfire season.