Mass Evacuations and Mass Property Loss Fires: Part 3

The four components that underpin mass property loss fires are:

1. Very High winds

2. Low fuel moisture in vegetation, typically due to extended drought

3. Single-digit humidity

4. Mandatory evacuations

In all the studied cases of mass property loss fires, mandatory evacuations stand out as the unspoken primary cause of why so many properties are destroyed. During very high wind events, embers become the most critical threats to structures. The embers collect around combustible structural elements, land inside structures through openings, and pool in combustible vegetation and landscaping around the structure. The embers cause small fires to break out, and because no one is around to put out the small fire, it grows into a large fire.

After the large fire breaks out and ignites the structure, as that structure burns, it can set homes next to it on fire, and the embers from the burning structure can cast embers downwind due to the winds blowing so ferociously. One burning structure can ignite many others, and those structures ignite many others, and so it goes on exponentially.

Detailed forensic analysis and on-the-ground observation have proven that 80 to 90 percent of mass property loss fires are typically due to embers, not vegetation catching on fire and spreading to other vegetation. Recall that embers start small fires, and without anyone on site to extinguish those small fires, they turn into very large fires.

The solution is to have properties adequately prepared (defensible space and ember proof) and to have well-prepared people on site to put out the ember-caused fires. As a society, we must accept the notion that we should help ourselves and our neighbors. Being prepared to defend our property in a safe and sane manner is the one factor that we can control. We must develop the mindset to be responsible for our own property and our own safety. And then to help our neighbor!

Read my blog "Benefits of Pre-fire Preparation" to learn how to keep your property wildfire-safe.

Also, you might be interested in my blog "How Safe is it to Stay and Defend?"