This year’s wake-up call came at 3 o’clock on Monday, October 19: “There’s a fire burning just up the road!” Known as the Ranch Fire (along Hwy 150 near Ojai), it was knocked down quickly thanks to immediate engine and air support.
Luckily, the day was warm and calm — but what if it was hot and windy like the week before, or that horrendous day when L.A. towns were torched, thousands of homes? Would mine still be standing?
For anyone who lives in or near a California wildland, nervous-time can occur all year long, but especially in early autumn. Time to break out the checklist and get to work:
1. GO Bag ready – documents, etc.
2. Yard cleanup – leaves, branches, brush
3. Trees & shrubs – trimmed, perimeters at 1’, 5’, 30’ and 100’
4. Firewood – 30 feet from structures
5. House vents – 1/8” or 1/16” mesh
6. Gutters – screened, cleaned
7. Roof & decks – nooks blocked
8. Door & window cracks – weatherstripped
9. Battery backup – charged, for refrigerator in power outage
Check, check, working on it, check, oops forgot that one, check, check. Keep up the good work, everyone, and let’s get better at it every year. Your neighbor’s house depends on it!
