Plan Ahead For Wildfires

In wildfire prone Portugal, planning ahead and preparedness for wildfires should become ingrained into our lives if we want to continue to live here safely. It should become second nature to look at your home and garden through the ‘eyes’ of a wildfire and maintain your fire defence measures at all times. As we have seen, fires are no longer going by the book or sticking to the fire season or Critical Fire Period – when the right weather conditions dictate, a wildfire may occur at practically any time of year.

Planning ahead for wildfires is essentially taking action well before a fire threatens your home by preparing and maintaining your home defences, and making a draft plan for what you and your family will need to do in the event of a wildfire.  ‘Draft plan’ is emphasised because it needs to be flexible to cope with the variables that an actual fire may present.

• A well prepared home can be easier for you and firefighters to defend.
• A well prepared home will give you more protection if you cannot leave and have to take shelter in it.
• A well prepared home is less likely to put your neighbours’ homes at risk.

1. Defensible space around your home

This defensible fuel break or buffer zone is essential to the survivabilty of your home during a wildfire.

• Read more about types of fuel breaks here 
• How to create a fuel break around your home here 
• Portuguese law on fuel management bands
• If you live on a slope, the more fuel you may need to clean

Quick defensible space checklist:

• Hard surface firebreak 1-2 metres around house.
• No flammable items, debris or plants against the walls.
• Thin and prune trees, mow grass.
• Keep vegetation and mulch well irrigated.
• Stack firewood at least 10 metres from all structures, fences and other combustible material.
• Remove any piles of construction materials, pine needles, leaves, lawn and brush clippings and other debris.
• Keep lawn chairs, umbrellas and other garden furniture (that might be easily ignited) a safe distance from structures.
• Clear all vegetation and other combustible or flammable materials from beneath deck area.
• Enclose underside of elevated decks or patios with fire resistant materials.
• Structures (such as fences) preferably must be made of non-combustible materials.
• Have a hose with sprinkler easily accessible
• Further away from the house, prune trees with vertical and canopy clearance spaces, so they don’t form a continuous mass.
• Clean dead branches, leaves and needles, irrigate and mow wisely.
• Maintain clean driveways and paths.
• On steep slopes trim flammable vegetation a safe distance from structures.
• Plant fire-resistant ornamental plants.

2. Harden your house

Houses may catch alight in 3 ways in a wildfire, by…

• Direct flame contact – when houses are situated close to a fire hazard.
• Radiant heat from the fire may be so intense it ignites flammable objects from a distance. (Windows are particularly vulnerable).
• Burning embers which may appear anytime before, during and after a fire has passed – this ember attack is strongest as the main fire arrives and will persist for a long time after it has passed, and may also start to happen before the fire actually arrives. Embers could land anywhere on your house and garden, and if not extinguished, could cause fire to engulf the property.

If your home is within 100 metres to 1.5 km of forests or any other land covered with combustible vegetation, you are potentially in the ember zone of a wildfire. More homes are destroyed by ember or spot fires than the actual fire itself, so it is vital you ember-proof your home. Many people living in Portugal build, renovate and landscape homes without a thought about how it will stand up to a wildfire. If you can’t change your house construction materials make doubly sure you have a good defensive space and add as many anti-fire adaptations as possible.

• Read more on protecting your house itself
• Extra house precautions if you live on a slope 

Quick house checklist:

• Remove dead or overhanging branches near the roof.
• Remove any branches within 10 feet of chimney vent.
• Clean all dead leaves and needles from roof and gutters.
• Cover chimney outlet with a non-flammable screen or small mesh
• Screen any areas around the eaves where embers could lodge.
• Screen off any vents in the attic, under the eaves, or other area with metal mesh.
• Seal off any ledges or crevices in exterior walls.
• Seal off any gaps under external doors with weather strips, particularly garages, sheds, adegas, workshops.
• Keep garden plants and any combustible item outside well away from windows.
• If you have electric automatic gates, make sure you have a way of opening them manually in a power outage.

Source: Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services

3. Wildfire Action Plan

So assuming you have done your best to prepare your house and outside space for fire, next you should make an advanced plan for what you and your family will do when threatened with a wildfire. All wildfire action plans will be different, depending on a variety of issues, needs and situations, so what is listed here are suggestions to help create a plan.

Many people plan to leave for a safer place but leave it too late. You need to identify and agree on a trigger with your family that will prompt you to leave early, and have a back-up plan in case you cannot leave in time.

The key question and decision you will have to make when developing your Wildfire Action Plan is whether to:

LEAVE EARLY OR STAY AND DEFEND?

To help make an informed decision, consider…

• How well your home is constructed, maintained, prepared and equipped to withstand a wildfire.
• Contingency plans in case the fire is more intense than expected or things don’t go to plan – wildfires being extremely unpredictable.
• The physical, mental and emotional fitness required by you and your family to cope with the impact of a wildfire. Being in a wildfire could be the most traumatic experience of your life.
• Who am I putting in danger? Will any children, guests, dependents, elderly or sick household members be put at risk? If so, LEAVE EARLY
• Am I able to do everything required to fight a fire without the help of firefighters? If not, LEAVE EARLY
• Does everyone in the household agree with the plan to stay or leave?
• Am I committed to acquiring the necessary equipment – including an Emergency Kit with protective clothing and fire-fighting equipment. If not, LEAVE EARLY

If you have decided to leave for a safer place, you must do so early…

• It is extremely dangerous to leave when roads maybe closed and full of smoke.
• Wildfires move quickly so make sure you and your family know where your safer place is, how you will get there and when you will go.
• You need to act the moment you know there is danger – do not wait and see.
• Driving is very dangerous and stressful during a wildfire with smoke making it hard to see, fallen trees over the road and power lines down.
• In the fire area, keep all the windows wound up and don’t get out of the car.
• The speed of the fire could also trap you and burn your vehicle. Cars do not protect you  from radiant heat.
• If you are not able to leave early, staying and sheltering may be your safest option. You will need to actively defend your property regardless of what you planned to do. Preparing your property will give you and your home the best chance of survival.

Know the triggers that will cause you to act before a fire threatens…

These triggers or ‘calls to action’ again depend on your personal issues, needs and circumstances at the time. However it is very important to predetermine a well thought-through trigger as to when you should leave your home or area in the event of a wildfire. Make this part of your Wildfire Action Plan, discussed with all members of your household so everyone is clear about it and the possible evacuation will be achieved safely.

For example, if there are elderly or infirm people, anyone with asthma or similar breathing problems, or children in your household, you may want to act at the very earliest time – even a day or more sooner than a potential wildfire event. In which case, you may want closely monitor and act on forecasts of the fire danger categories, particularly if they reach Maximum, Very High, or High in your area.

Other people may be slightly less circumspect and may monitor the information sources, the smell of smoke, wind direction and the presence of fire-fighting aircraft in the area, before deciding to stay or go.

Prepare all the people in your household…

Make sure everybody, including children if they are old enough, knows…

• A designated meeting location outside the fire area. With many households having more than one car, you may evacuate in separate vehicles and could become separated. Family members may also be in different locations when the fire threatens, so a known meeting point is very important to determine that everyone has safely evacuated from the affected area.
• The communication plan. Designate an out-of-area friend or relative as a point of contact to act as a single source of communication among family members in case of separation. It is easier to call or message one person and let them contact others than to try and call everyone when phone, cell, and internet systems may not function or be limited during a wildfire.
• It is a good idea to create, print and give every household member a hard copy of the Communication Plan, plus put one in the car and in the Emergency Kit. Add the emergency services phone numbers, your phone number, address, the Google Maps GPS co-ordinates of your house, and a sketch of the escape route options you may take.

Why, you might ask, do I need the Google Maps GPS for my house? Because if you urgently need to call the emergency services, which usually can understand English, pronouncing your address in Portuguese may not be recognised right away, particularly if you are upset and not able to think very straight. Also some rural addresses in Portugal are no more than a village name – no house number or street name, so a GPS co-ordinate will pin-point your house. The Portuguese emergency services can access Google Maps so using this GPS format will be best.

• The different escape route plans from your home and/or area. Ideally work out at least 2 routes, preferably more, and practice driving them if they are not familiar to you already. Program these escape routes into your vehicle GPS device so you know where you are going if the visibility is poor.

Planning wildfire escape routes may be very difficult for many households in rural Portugal where there maybe only 1, or 2 at best, exit roads from a village or isolated house, both of which may go several kilometres through thick flammable forest. Then even when you reach a main road, you may need to drive further with forest on either side before you hit that welcome concrete of a town.

So until the day when adequate roadside firebreaks on all forest escape routes, early fire warning systems, public emergency communication networks, orderly evacuation drills, village fire officers, designated village fire shelters, etc, are all in place in your area, planning to leave early may be the best advice.

• Have fire-extinguishers and water hoses handy and make sure everyone in the household knows how to use them.
• Ensure everyone knows where the gas, electricity and water shut-off controls are and how to use them if necessary.

Wildfire Emergency Kits

When you need to evacuate from a wildfire there may be no time to lose – this is not the time start thinking about what to pack. You must leave your home as soon as physically possible which is why an easy to carry Emergency Kit is a good thing to have on hand and stored in a convenient place.

If there are several people in your household, they should each have their own Emergency Kit – if only a couple, one shared kit should be enough. Backpacks are ideal for storing the necessary items and are quick to grab. Food and water could go in a cool box light enough to easily lift into your car.

For how long?

Plan to be away from your home initially for about 3 days. Even if you hear that the fire is out in your area and your home has survived, you may not be able to return if the main roads or smaller roads are still closed.

Personal Wildfire Emergency Kit

Remember this is the stuff that can stay packed and ready – not the items you use on a regular basis which you may need to take at the last minute.

Depending on your specific circumstances, and where you plan to go, you might like to consider the items below, to include in your Wildfire Emergency Kit:

 Bottled water – is very important to keep hydrated and cool especially if you are travelling through hot, dense smoke. You don’t need to pack gallons of water because there should be more in your Car Emergency Kit (see below) and once you are out of the fire-affected area, you can buy more if necessary.
 Medications – if you are on prescription drugs that must be taken regularly, add a supply to the kit. Include a copy of your doctor’s prescription so if you need more, they can be easily supplied by a pharmacist out of your area. If you have not had to use your kit, check the expiry dates on the drugs and rotate the supply. Don’t put in any drugs that routinely need to be stored in a refrigerator.
 Food – like water, once you are out of the fire-affected area, you can buy what you need or eat out. Put in some energy bars, dried fruit or snack items to keep you going if you have to spend a night in the car.
 First aid kit
 Spare glasses or contact lenses & cleaning kit – if you lose or break your glasses during evacuation.
 Wallet / document file – containing cash & Communication Plan, insurance policies, copies of important documents – birth certificates, passports, ID cards, house documents, photos etc. Spare credit card (if not used regularly).
 Clothing – a spare set of clothes and underwear so you can change out of your reeking, smutty, evacuation attire.
 Charger for mobile phone
 An extra set of car & house keys – in case these get lost during evacuation.
 Blankets – in case you need to sleep in your car.
 Headlamp
 Handheld Torches
 Spare batteries for torches, headlamp etc.
 Sanitation supplies – toilet paper, feminine hygiene, wet wipes.
 Essential valuables

Other items for children, babies, elderly people may need to be added. Also if you are planning to evacuate to a beach or other outdoor area, you may want to add a few camping items like a small tent, sunshade, folding chair etc.

Car Emergency Kit

In the Critical Fire Period, get in the habit of parking your car facing towards the exit to the road, so if a fire approaches you don’t need to waste time turning it to get out.

Make sure your car always has enough fuel in the tank to enable you to evacuate to a safe place without stopping.

A word about automatic garage doors…if you don’t have access to your garage via your house enabling you to open the garage doors manually during a power cut, do not keep your car in the garage for the duration of high fire risk in your area.

Driving through a burning area of forest is extremely risky – and you might have to do it if you caught unawares in a fire or have left it rather late to evacuate. It can be very alarming, hot, dark and smoke may quickly fill your car. As the driver, you will need to remain very focused and keep yourself protected from the effects of smoke on your eyes and respiratory system.

Driving through a forest wildfire in the USA – not unlike Pedrógão Grande 2017

 Bottled Water – to drink, to dampen a bandana, handkerchief, or similar cloth, to tie round your nose and mouth.
 Face masks with eye protection – as many as necessary for driver and all passengers.
 Swimming googles – provide a tight seal around the eyes.
 Respirators – these are units commonly found in hardware shops for use in DIY to prevent inhaling fumes or particulates when painting or sanding etc.
 Battery-powered fan (+ spare batteries) – useful to create cooling air flow when you have closed down the car air vent system.
 Heavy duty work gloves – if you have to move obstructing branches or logs.
 Small sharp axe / hatchet – if you need to cut any obstructing branches.
 Headlamps + spare batteries – to see in the dark, leaving your hands free.
 Handheld torch(es) + spare batteries
 First aid kit
 Eye wash or eye drops – used if eyes get very irritated by smoke.
 Inhaler – if you are asthmatic, keep a spare inhaler in the car

Pet Emergency Kit

Make sure your cat or dog is micro-chipped and is wearing a collar and tag with your phone number on it, in case it gets lost during evacuation or in an unfamiliar area.

Keep your dog lead and pet travelling box(es) handy at all times, complete with absorbent pad on the bottom, towel and/or blanket.

Assemble a Pet Emergency Kit to stay packed and ready in an easy-to-carry bag or box. Depending on the type of animal(s), you may need to pack:

 Water – if you have a dog you probably already have a container of water in your car. However if you can’t access this while moving, use bottled water to cool the dog if it is showing signs of overheating in the heat and smoke.
 Food – single meal pouches are more convenient rather than tins. If your pet is fussy about the make/type of food put in a supply with tin-opener and spoon, if necessary. You can buy more food as needed when out of the fire-affected area.
 Spare lead
 Bowls – preferably non-spill types – one for food, one for water.
 Litter tray – (for cats). It can be anything like a shallow washing up bowl.
 Litter – (for cats). 
 Plastic bags, bin bags, roll of kitchen towel, scoop, cleaning fluid spray – clean-up for poop, pee or vomit, and bagging up any soiled items.
 Pet veterinary record book – useful if your pet needs to see a vet while away from home.
 Medications – if your pet needs to have regular medication, put a supply in the kit.
 A record of the animal’s micro-chip number.