What's driving wildfire risk? | PEMCO

We get it. It’s hard to think about wildfires when you’re dodging spring showers to mow the lawn! But wildfire danger starts long before the first embers fly. In parts of the Northwest, according to the Department of Natural Resources, wildfire season (when conditions are favorable to fire) can now extend six months – May through October – compared with the summer-only phenomenon you may remember as a kid. 

So how did we get here, and how can we navigate our amped-up wildfire season mindfully rather than fearfully? 

For the love of prevention, PEMCO’s taking a deep dive into wildfires to share practical ways you can protect your home and safely enjoy the natural beauty that makes the PNW such a great place to live, learn, work, and play.  

Why has wildfire risk grown in recent years? 

Wildfire has always been part of Northwest life, but until the 2010s, most Cascade west-siders considered it an east-of-the-mountains problem, apart from smoke that occasionally wafted their way. 

Not so anymore, as shifts in weather patterns, population, and land use have rewritten the rules for wildfire. Still, some years are devastatingly worse than others. 

Last year, Oregon saw historic wildfires that burned 1.9 million acres, some of which Oregon Department of Forestry officials characterized as “extreme infernos,” particularly across six counties. The fires claimed one firefighter’s life, injured 26 people, and destroyed 42 homes. In 2015, Oregon and Washington got hit with 3,800 separate fires, which consumed a combined total of more than 1.6 million acres and 343 homes, according to the National Fire Protection Association.  

Punishing events like those usually require a multitude of driving factors, including drought, high wind, steep topography, ample fuel, and, of course, an ignition source. Sometimes, that’s naturally occurring, like a lightning strike. But, according to the National Park Service, people spark 85% of wildland fires. (More on that below.) 

The way we live on the land matters, too. Increasingly, we build our homes in wildland-urban interface zones and on smaller lots, where it’s easier for one burning home to ignite its neighbors. When faced with burning structures, air tankers, trucks, personnel, and water are diverted to saving homes, spreading thin the remaining firefighting resources needed to contain a wildfire. 

This year, Washington’s less-than-stellar snowpackhas landed it on the drought-emergency list for the third straight year. 

How people spark wildfires 

While Mother Nature sets the stage for wildfire, people often literally or figuratively strike the match. 

The National Interagency Fire Center estimates that, sadly, arson accounts for about one in five human-caused wildfires. The rest are accidental. As disheartening as that sounds, it’s hopeful news, since following prevention tips can help prevent the top accidental causes like these: 

• Power lines. In recent years, investigators have linked 19% of wildfires to downed or arcing power lines, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association. 

• Trash burn barrels and land-clearing burn piles. Errant embers from blazing trash barrels or brush piles can spread fire quickly, especially if the wind kicks up mid-burn. 

• Campfires, barbecues, and fire pits. Barbecues flaring under roof overhangs or an upstairs neighbor’s deck can quickly get out of hand (some apartment managers and condo associations now ban barbecues). The same goes for recreational fires too close to tents, bodacious bonfires (it’s too big if you can’t get close enough to toast a marshmallow), and embers left undoused before leaving camp. 

• Equipment and vehicle use. Sparks from equipment and dragging trailer chains, overheated brakes, and scorching exhaust systems can set fire to dry vegetation. 

• Firearms and explosives. Hot particles left behind after target shooting can ignite parched brush and grass. Established shooting ranges make better practice sites during fire season. 

• Fireworks and sky lanterns. Despite many communities banning home fireworks, we gear up for post-holiday damage claims caused by errant Fourth of July fireworks. While professional shows are our favorite way to say, “Happy birthday, America,” these tips can help keep DIY displays safer.  

• Cigarettes and kids playing with matches. Smokey Bear’s still right! Carelessly tossed cigarettes and pyro-curious kids remain top causes of brush fires.  

Three ways to safeguard your home from wildfire 

Most homes lost in wildfires don’t succumb to an impenetrable wall of flame. Instead, devastation creeps in ever-so-quietly when floating embers settle in gutters, lodge beneath unscreened eaves, or find friendly fuel sources in dried-out landscaping or firewood stacked near homes. Alternately, others smolder and catch fire from radiant heat generated by already burning structures or vegetation – no direct contact with flame needed. Sometimes, embers and radiant heat form a destructive duo when windows shatter from extreme heat and embers float in, igniting drapes and surfaces. 

In the 1990s, thinking about wildfire started to change. Fire scientists realized that a home’s immediate surroundings were the best predictor for how it would fare in all but the worst conflagrations. They coined a term, Home Ignition Zone, to help homeowners create a three-layer fire-resistant space around their homes.  

While the name sounds ominous, its principle is simple: Start in the zone closest to your home (the most important) and work your way out so that fire burns around rather than through your property: 

Immediate Zone. That’s the house itself and five feet beyond its farthest exterior edge. Clean debris from gutters; replace damaged shingles; cover eave and attic vents with 1/8-inch screen; clear mulch, leaves, and needles away from the foundation; and move firewood and stored lumber away from the house and under decks. 

Intermediate Zone. Five to 30 feet from your home, starve a fire of its fuel. Allow grass to grow no higher than four inches; prune trees six to 10 feet from the ground (or no more than one-third the tree’s height for shorter trees); clear vegetation from propane tanks and replace it with gravel; landscape with “clumps” of trees or bushes with 18 feet separating the clumps; remove trees (HOA regulations permitting) so that mature canopies are at least 10 feet from your home; and landscape with firebreaks like stone-covered dry creek beds. 
 

Extended Zone. Within 30 to 200 feet from your home, clear underbrush, fallen leaves, and needles that turn to tinder in dry months; surround outbuildings with gravel (similar to propane tanks); thin small conifers growing between mature trees so canopies can maintain 12 feet between trees; and limb up trees so the lowest branches hang no closer to the ground than six feet. 

Wildfire preparation isn’t all or nothing – and doing something always beats waiting until you can devise the perfect solution. In a recent PEMCO Poll, one in four respondents admitted they’d done nothing to prepare for the possibility of wildfire.  

We’re all in on prevention because we’re all in on you  

We can help you get wildfire-ready with our curated collection of wildfire resources on pemco.com. Also, watch for upcoming articles and social-media tidbits to break preparation into manageable chunks.