Becoming fire wise
"Both my husband and I have had to work more hours to try to cover the cost," Thorn said.
They've since found a new insurance policy that ended up being cheaper, but it didn't come without her family having to jump through some hoops first. Throughout the search, they've had to make a number of improvements around their home and property to make both more fire resistant.
One company refused a policy because the family's propane tank wasn't 300 feet away from their dwelling. Another one refused a policy unless they removed the false wood siding on their home and replaced it with stone or a different non-flammable item. One company even required they take down their above-ground pool, only to drop them from coverage a few weeks later.
"They are getting super picky about who they cover and what," she said. "We have a large family, which results in a lot of extra cars at our place. One company came out and told us if any of them were not running, the company wouldn't cover the property with them on it."
Expert advice
This is the new normal for homeowners in areas like the
Wilkin said the best thing all homeowners -- not just those living in heavily wooded areas -- can do to better protect themselves from a potential wildfire is regular maintenance.
"I think maintenance is the unsung hero in all of this," Wilkin said. "There are important areas to a house, which are the roof, deck and the vegetation around it. If you modify the vegetation around the house, how your house is clad becomes less important. For many people in
New requirements come down to making homes and properties more resistant to a flame front of a wildfire or the embers from fires that can wreak havoc during high-wind events.
"I never use the term 'fire-safe' because I think that's a misnomer. I think we can be fire-wise or fire-adapted by trying to understand the complexities of fire and adapting to that," Wilkins said.
While defensible space around a person's home can help, it isn't the cure-all. Wilkins said one new recommendation is to remove any fuels that are within five feet of a house and deck. Instead of landscaping, another option is to hardscape a property by placing rock or decomposed granite, or just to leave bare mineral soil.
"Those are some simple things you can do that don't cost much money," she said. "When it comes to your home, one of the ways embers can get into a house is through the vents that connect to a basement or attic, so upgrading your vents to make them more resistant is important."
One cheap, short-term solution for reinforcing vents is to place 1/8th inch chicken wire behind the vents to reduce embers that can pass through, she said. A long-term solution is saving the money to invest in new systems that are made specifically to snuff out embers.
Community meeting
Wilkins will be providing a presentation on various fire-resistant upgrades residents can make to their homes and their property at an upcoming
The community meeting, which starts at
"We also have plans to implement a new program where we will be training and recruiting volunteers from the fire safe council to go out and do fire safe inspections and to help people who are looking for advice," Andrews said.
Aside from the upcoming special community meeting about fire safety, Andrews said, the
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