Expert: 3 ways you can prepare for wildfire season

Wildfires are common in California and can happen any time of year. Luca Carmignani, a San Diego State University assistant professor and wildfire researcher, shares three ways to prepare.

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Prepare a go-bag

When a fire breaks out in your neighborhood, it’s a good idea to have a go-bag with up to 48 hours worth of supplies, Carmignani said. That means food, water, medication and pet supplies.

“You want to bring all the necessary stuff, but not too much,” Carmignani said. “If you have pets, bring not only food for you, but also for your pets. But also, that could be important documents that you want to bring with you, some memories that you want to make sure that they don't get lost in case of a fire.”

You can visit Cal Fire’s website for a checklist of what to pack in your go bag. Here are some things listed on their website:

Check your property for flammable or at-risk materials

The first defensible space is the 5 feet around a home, according to Carmignani. He recommends walking the property to look for anything that could catch fire, such as dry grass or mulch.

“(It) could be a patch of dry grass — mulch. But also a very old chair that you have close to your deck that could easily ignite. So all of those materials, you want to move them away from the house or move them in a place where they would be protected by embers or flames, for example,” Carmignani said.

He also suggests looking for other risks, such as open windows, spacing out vegetation in the yard and being wary of leaving out garbage, particularly during trash day.

When it comes to vegetation, Carmignani said state officials are still debating what will be allowed within the first 5 feet of a home.

“Mature trees shouldn't have any problems as long as you trim the limbs that are touching the house,” Carmignani said. “But I would say definitely if you have a plant underneath a window or close to a vent, those probably will have to be removed.”

But low-risk plants like a large succulent a few feet from the house are usually safe, he said.

In the long term, homeowners can protect their property by investing in structural retrofitting.

“For example, there are some programs to retrofit homes and where they provide vents or other retrofitting structural components that not only work for one home, but for 10, 20 homes,” he said. “And this allows a much higher reduction in risk for an entire community than a single home. So definitely moving in that direction.”

Talk to your neighbors 

Carmignani recommends being in communication with your community. Homeowners can take steps to reduce the risk of their structures catching fire. But long-term wildfire safety often requires a community effort, he said. That means talking with neighbors about preparedness and evacuation plans, and building relationships with local fire departments or fire safety councils.

“In the long term that requires more like a community approach, more like a neighborhood approach, where we talk neighbor to neighbor to plan not only the preparedness, but also in case of evacuation, what could happen,” Carmignani said. “And that also creates some potential relationships with fire departments, fire safety councils and so on.”