Pro-Active Wildfire Protection - Part 2

Colorado is a semi-arid state hence we always have a wildfire possibility. Wildfires kill approximately 339,000 people each year so the better informed we are the greater our chances of not being one of those statistics. One of the best sites I have found on how to survive a wildfire is: https://www.wikihow.com/Survive-a-Wildfire. It covers staying safe if you are on foot, in a car or in a  building. Most people die from smoke inhalation as opposed to burning to death.

Not everyone is like us with a bottleneck for entrance and exit and may have multiple escape routes. Firefighters and equipment would be coming in our area using the same access that we would be using trying to exit. Our association hence has a plan that we use two routes to evacuate that take us over extremely perilous and rough trails. To be caught on either would be deadly and you would have to survive in a car or on foot. It depends on someone else meeting us at a gate to lead us out which just adds one more chance for failure.

When you develop a plan that other people are to follow if anything in that plan goes array then you are stuck with the result. If by chance people are severely injured or die the probability for mega lawsuits are excellent and the chance of prevailing is slim. It is better to not have a plan than have one that will possibly fail and draw lawsuits. Wildfires often move very fast and people panic and coupled with all the other risks there is a high chance any plan will deteriorate rapidly. Sometimes it is best to let people know what will likely be happening and let them formulate their own plan.

When the smoke is so thick that you can't hardly see the road or when embers are falling on your vehicle people are prone to make mistakes and if there are others behind you they could be victims of your panic. Staying calm is essential for clear thinking. Every man for themselves could present serious problems so having a viable plan plus a back up plan and sticking to it might just save your life and the lives of those you love.

The above link is excellent to inform on how to improve your chances of survival and is informative so people can design their own plan. When developing a plan to save yourself in a wildfire is not a 'one size fits all' as each situation can be vastly different. Being armed with all the information available and developing a plan that suits you is a reasonable alternative as opposed to depending on others to do it for you. For example if you are semi disabled and waiting for some to pick you up may not work because that person may be cut off from your location leaving you stranded.

Another excellent site for valuable information is: https://www.ready.gov/wildfires. By reading these two sites it should help people develop their own plan. The best plan is obviously to evacuate but if you are stopped by some moron who tells you the best route is unavailable to you and bars you from taking your planned route you have to go a different direction and could be in serious trouble by being cut off or trapped in your vehicle or fleeing on foot.

The next two parts will be about how we made our home as wildfire proof as possible and what happens when you are not allowed to return to your home post evacuation.

Having a workable plan and also a backup plan in case the first plan doesn't work is important. To not have a plan could be to your peril. Discuss your plan with your family and friends and evaluate for possible weakness and be flexible enough to change if necessary. We have lived here in potential wildfire country for over twenty years and early on established a plan for us and we have revised it several times during that time.