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Orange County Firefighters would like to remind citizens of the following safety tips to prevent brush fires.
Before wildfire threatens...
- Design and landscape your home with wildfire safety in mind.
- Select plants that help contain a fire instead of fueling it. For example: Hardwood trees are less flammable than pine, evergreen, eucalyptus, or fir trees.
- Create a safety zone around your home of at least 30 feet.
- Remove all debris such as leaves and rubbish from under and around the structure.
- Remove all dead branches from trees.
- Prune any branches or shrubs within 15 feet of stovepipes or chimney outlets.
- Remove vines from the walls of your home.
- Dispose of newspaper and rubbish at approved sites regularly and follow local burning regulations and do not allow them to pile up against the side of your home.
- Store gasoline, oily rags, and other flammable materials in approved safety cans away from the base of the structure and in a safe location.
- Stack firewood at least 10 feet away from the home and make sure to clear all combustible materials within 20 feet away.
- Identify any outside water sources in your area and maintain them. These can be small ponds, a cistern, a well, a swimming pool, or fire hydrants.
- Make sure that you have got a long enough garden hose that reaches your home and any other structures on your property.
When wildfire threatens…
- Listen to your battery-operated radio for reports and evacuation information. Follow the instructions of local officials.
- Back your car into the garage or park it out in the open facing the direction of escape. Shut the doors and roll up windows.
- Confine pets to one room and make sure that you have plans to carry your pets in case you must evacuate.
- Have a plan on where you will stay if you must evacuate.
- If you are told to evacuate do it IMMEDIATELY!
- Wear sturdy shoes, cotton or woolen clothing, long pants, long sleeved shirt, gloves, and a handkerchief to protect your face.
- Lock your home.
- Tell someone when you left and where you are going.
- Choose a route away from fire hazards and watch for changes in speed and direction of smoke and fire.
For More Information:
Other Safety Tips from Orange County Fire Rescue (PDF - 76 KB) |
County Departments 
