Wildfire Community Preparedness Day is meant to remind homeowners to clear out areas around their house and set plans in place in case of a wildfire.
Wildfire Community Preparedness Day is held in the U.S. and Canada on the first Saturday of May each year. It focuses on what homeowners can do around their homes in order to reduce the risk of wildfires. It sounds confusing, doesn’t it? Prep Day isn’t focused on the prevention of wildfires—it is focused on the prevention of the spread of wildfires in residential areas.
The NFPA points out that many people don’t have an accurate understanding of what wildfires really look like or where the dangers lie as they approach residential areas where people are living. These fires aren’t massive walls of flames that engulf everything in their path, but they do send out embers that tend to ignite flammable materials over a large area. As they approach residential areas, there are a lot of ways our homes can actually help the wildfire continue to spread. Wildfire Community Preparedness Day aims to give homeowners an opportunity to counteract this risk and minimize the chance of a wildfire engulfing homes in the area.
How can you get involved?
There are a lot of great ways you can get involved for Wildfire Community Preparedness Day. The NFPA lists activities under 3 categories: Check, Clear, and Communicate.
Check
- Ensure your house number is visible from the street
- Identify two alternate routes out of your neighborhood
- Determine how close wood piles are to your home or other structures
- Check on neighbors, especially the elderly, and help them with prep tasks
Clear
- Clear debris from decks, porches, and patios
- Prune low branches on mature trees
- Do not store gasoline or other flammable liquids in or near the home
Communicate
- Determine a family communication plan
- Set up a 72-hour emergency evacuation kit
- Discuss a phone tree plan with your neighbors to ensure everyone is alerted during a fire
Why is it important?
In 2021, wildfires burned 4,046,816 acres and destroyed 4,958 structures. In 2022, wildfires burned 981,210 acres and destroyed more than 978 structures. The reach of a major wildfire can be absolutely devastating for anyone whose home is caught up in it. Prep day allows homeowners a chance to take critical steps that reduce the risk of a wildfire completely destroying their home and potentially even managing to slow its spread, which can extend protection to every other home in the area and potentially prevent the destruction of dozens of structures—especially if the whole neighborhood participates in Wildfire Community Preparedness Day.
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