Wildfires are any large fire that spreads rapidly and are hard to extinguish

Wildfires are some of the most dangerous of all natural disasters. Wildfires can kill humans, plants, and animal life. Wildfires have consumed millions of acres in the U.S. alone, and “each year, wildfires kill more Americans than all other natural disasters combined.” An enormous percentage of wildfires are are caused by humans. Numerous wildfires can start by careless human actions such as sparks from equipment, arced powerlines, campfires, burning debris, and discarded smoking products. Wildfires can also be caused by natural occurrences, which are out of human control such as lightning. *“In the year of 1995, 9,974 wildfires were caused by lightning. However, in comparison to the whopping 120,045 wildfires caused by humans, lightning was clearly a small percentage in the contribution of wildfires all around the world.” (Information from www.smokeybear.com)

During a wildfire its important to know how to stay safe. Below are some wildfire safety tips.

To protect your home from wildfire you can:

• Clean your roof and gutters regularly from pine needles, branches, leaves, and other flammable materials
• Keep fire tools handy such as a rake, axe, handsaw/chainsaw, bucket, and rake
• Be sure to have a ladder tall enough to reach the roof

During a Wildfire/Evacuation

• Turn on a light in every room
• Shut off gas at the meter
• Wear protective clothing such as boots
• Open the damper to your fireplace, but close the fireplace screens
• Close windows, doors, and vents to your home
• Tell someone where you are going and when you leave while evacuating

http://www.nsc.org/ehc/ew/disaster/wildfire.htm
http://www.floridadisaster.org/hwaw/day5/wildfire.htm