Protect your home against wildfire damage

If you can see open country, brush or deep woods from your home, you may be vulnerable to wildfires during hot and dry seasons. It's impossible to make your home fireproof, but you can take several precautions to further protect yourself and your home.

• Create a "defensible space" by removing all dry grass, brush, trees and dead leaves within at least 100 feet from your home.
• Plant native, fire-resistive vegetation whenever possible.
• Space trees and shrubs at least 10 feet apart. Reduce the number of trees in heavily wooded areas.
• Prune the lower branches of trees that are more than 18 feet tall to within six feet of the ground to keep ground fires from spreading into treetops.
• Remove all dead branches hanging above your roof and all branches within 10 feet of chimneys.
• Store firewood at least 50 feet from any structure.
• Cover chimneys serving fireplaces with non-combustible screening with a mesh size no greater than one-fourth of an inch.
• Contact your insurance agent to make sure you have enough insurance protection for your home in the event a wildfire occurs.

See also:

• Are you prepared for a Fire?
• Four Steps to Fire Safety
• Preparing for Disasters
• Are you prepared for a Flood?
• Are you prepared for an Earthquake?
• Are you prepared for a Hurricane?
• Home alone - protecting your home
• How to handle a kitchen fire
• How to insure a home business

You might also consider :

• Homeowners policies
• Condo/Townhouse insurance
• Mobile/Manufactured insurance
• Renters insurance
• Rental Property insurance
• Second Home insurance
• Home Warranty insurance

Quick tip # 7

Rear-enders are among the most common auto accidents. To keep a safe distance, the National Safety Council recommends the two-second rule. Watch the vehicle in front of you as it passes a stationary object, such as a light pole or road sign. Count "one-thousand-and-one, one-thousand-and-two." Slow down if you pass the same object before you count two seconds.