Travelers and American Forests, a non-profit conservation group, have some simple measures homeowners can take to better defend their property against wildfires. The need for these measures is increasing throughout the U.S., both organizations said in a webinar presentation.
"While many might jump to this as a Western issue, it is now becoming an issue across the entire U.S. and all of Canada. That's exemplified by the Canada fires last summer," said Jad Daley, president and CEO of American Forests. "Just this fall, we've seen wildfire threats and wildfire exposure in the northeastern U.S. and mid-Atlantic United States at scales that we've never seen before."
National Weather Service red flag warnings are a new concept for many outside of the western U.S., stated Michael Klein, executive VP and president of personal insurance at Travelers. "Just this fall, Metro North [New York-Connecticut commuter rail] was closed due to a brush fire," he said. "We had wildfires burning in the state of New Jersey a month ago. Most folks can remember when we had the orange haze over the northern US for weeks on end."
Along with careful maintenance of trees around residential properties, Travelers and American Forests point out other parts of homes that can be a factor:
- Attic vents. "One of the main causes of houses burning in wildfires is embers get into the attic through the vents, and then the fire starts in the attic. That is actually how the house ultimately burns," Klein said. "You can install vents that are more ember-resistant to keep embers from getting into your attic."
- Fences. "Many of the fences around homes are wood. The wood fence comes into contact with the house. It's another key source of ignition for a house," Klein said. "If you intersperse a metal or fire resistant section of fence in the part that touches the house, that's a good way to sustain against a wildfire for longer."
- Backyard decks. Klein pointed to a demonstration conducted by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, in which a wood cornhole game was stored under a wood backyard deck. "Now you've got a wood ignition source underneath your house," he said.
While having trees for shade can lower cooling costs for a home, this can still be achieved with trees carefully spaced apart and distanced, according to Daley. American Forestry recommends removing overhanging tree branches from trees close to a house, trimming branches below six feet high on trees up to 30 feet away from a house, removing bushes from under trees and keeping tree crowns at least 10 feet apart.
Aside from protecting against wildfire damage, maintaining trees can lower the risk of storms turning trees into "essentially missiles," Klein added.
