In this Action Guide, we hope to provide tips and tools you need to prepare for a wildland fire threat (Ready), have situational awareness when a fire starts (Set), and to evacuate early (Go!).
Firewise Guide to Landscape and Construction
This brief brochure provides a useful guide to landscaping and home construction/renovation with the major goal of reducing fuels. We also have a number of copies in our office. Contact us if you're interested in obtaining a free copy!
Building a Wildfire Resistant Home: Codes and Costs
“A new home built to wildfire-resistant codes can be constructed for roughly the same cost as a typical home.” -Headwaters Economics
This paper by headwaters Economics illustrates the ways that constructing a wildfire resistant home can actually be comparable to the cost of constructing a home that is not wildfire resistant. If you are looking at building a home, or remodeling your current building, consider reading through this guide to learn how to reduce your risk of wildfire devastation.
“This study finds negligible cost differences between a typical home and a home constructed using wildfire-resistant materials and design features.”
Wildfire Virtual Field Trips
Screen capture from NFPA video.
Check out this video series put together by the NFPA and experience what happens one year, five years, and ten years after a major wildfire. The lessons learned from these videos focus largely on how you can take measures around your home and yard to reduce wildfire risks. One of the videos focuses on the ecological importance of wildfires on the mainland. It's important to keep in mind that in Hawaii and the Western Pacific, wildfires are NOT a part of the natural process and actually harm our native forests, watersheds, and coastlines.
Wildfire Research Fact Sheet: Decks
Firewise's new wildfire research fact sheet has some great information on how to reduce the ignitability of your deck or lanai. It's just one page but packed with useful information.
From the Source:
"MANY HOMES LOCATED IN WILDFIRE-PRONE AREAS HAVE ATTACHED DECKS, WHICH CAN POTENTIALLY SPREAD FIRE TO THE HOUSE WHEN IGNITED DURING A WILDFIRE. A burning deck can ignite siding or break the glass in doors or windows, allowing fi re to gain entry into the house. Consequently, making decks less vulnerable to wildfire also makes your house less vulnerable. Reducing the deck’s vulnerability requires an approach that focuses on the materials and design features used to build the deck, and creating a noncombustible zone around and under the deck."
Wildfire & Drought Look Out! Video News Release
Wildfire & Drought Look Out! - 1st Press Release
How to Become a Firewise Community (Flyer)
As of July 2015, we began working with a number of communities to help them achieve Firewise Communities Recognition, a nationwide program that recognizes communities for their efforts towards reducing the loss of lives, properties, and resources to wildfire. “The Firewise Communities approach emphasizes community responsibility for planning in the design of a safe community as well as effective emergency response, and individual responsibility for safer home construction and design, landscaping and maintenance.”
If your community is interested, we can help you through each step of the certification process. Contact us today! As a nonprofit organization, our mission is to support your fire protection efforts. Becoming Firewise is an excellent step toward safeguarding your community and we are happy to help.
Bushfire Garden Recovery Video Series
Plenty of great tips on how to garden and landscape around your home to minimize wildfire risk. Although the area of focus is in Australia, many of the takeaways can apply directly to your home in Hawaii. It also makes an impact to hear about real stories from community members who experienced wildfire threats first-hand and learn from how they made their homes safer.