Ways to protect rural homes from wildfire

EPHRATA — The spread of housing into some rural areas of Grant County has made for a more dangerous fire season, according to Grant County Fire Marshal Bruce Gribble.

So Gribble is advising homeowners in rural areas to create a safe area around their homes that make it tougher for fire to spread and easier for firefighters to concentrate their efforts on fighting wildfires rather than trying to save homes.

“Seems like any more, fire seasons mean bigger fires which grow and spread fast,” Gribble said. “More people are living in the county, and that’s really dangerous.”

The National Fire Protection Association, a Massachusetts-based trade association which creates and maintains fire safety codes, maintains the Firewise web page, with tested recommendations to homeowners to minimize the fire risk to their homes.

The goal, Gribble said, is less about holding off raging fires as it is preventing flying embers from finding a place to land and spread fire.

“It’s not real difficult. If you have a clear, defensible space, 30-100 feet, you should be okay,” Gribble said.

Firewise advises homeowners to keep a 5-foot strip around their homes clear of debris, keep gutters clean, replace loose shingles, remove dead plant material, and make sure trees or clumps of trees are spaced about 18 feet apart.

“Trees shouldn’t go over the roof of a house, and firewood should not be piled up next to a house,” Gribble added.

Gribble said the biggest threats in Grant County are cheatgrass and sagebrush. Cheatgrass burns quickly, and even if it rains, dries out very quickly as well.

“Keep that away from outbuildings and house,” he said.

Oily plants like sagebrush burn longer and hotter, he said. Even evergreen bushes, like junipers, are oily and present a significant threat.

“They go up like a candle,” Gribble said. “You wouldn’t think so because they’re green, but they do.”

It’s important for homeowners and property owners to make their properties safer because we live in a dry desert where the wind blows, making the Columbia Basin an all-too-perfect place for wildfire, he said.

“If they think about making their properties safe and more easily defended, we can concentrate, move assets out to attack the head of the fire,” Gribble said.

For more information, check out Firewise at www.nfpa.org.