We addressed Zone 0 last week, and your neighbors undoubtedly saw you checking the distances between your home and vegetation, patio furniture, and any other potentially flammable objects. Now is a great time to get them involved in #FirePrepFriday, too!

For Week 6, I encourage you to tell your neighbors what you’ve discovered about wildfire preparedness and how it affects your geographic location. Share why it’s important to work as a community to mitigate and prepare before a disaster and reassure them that, when you take care of a task one week at a time, fire preparedness doesn’t have to feel so daunting.

As a visual learner, I greatly appreciate the Colorado Springs Fire Department’s (CSFD) Wildfire Mitigation Booklet. I attended a City of Colorado Springs event a couple months ago and took CSFD up on their offer to grab a stack of the booklets to share with my neighbors. It succinctly walks community members through the Ready, Set, and Go steps. If each of us shares a similar booklet or online resource with our neighbors, and then they share with their neighbors, and so on, just imagine how prepared a whole neighborhood will be. At the next block party, be sure to bring one of these booklets in addition to the cheese plate, veggie tray, and sparkling beverages.

Are your neighbors aware of the fire risk in your area? Do your local fire department, city, or county services offer a handy booklet or online resource you can share with your community? If so, paste the link in the Comments.

Important Disclaimer: I am not a fire preparedness professional. I am merely sharing my research, opinions, and what I find that applies to my geographic and personal situations in hopes that it will help others. Please make sure that whatever steps and advice you follow are what is best for you.

It’s Week 4 of #FirePrepFriday, and this week I was inspired by the news stories I’m seeing about creating defensible space around the structures where we spend most of our time.

This San Francisco Chronicle article, written by reporter Julie Johnson and originally published on April 10th, is one such example of the reports coming out about Berkeley, CA. The Berkeley City Council met last Tuesday to discuss a proposal to pursue the creation of defensible space around homes in neighborhoods near Tilden Regional Park, an area considered to have high fire danger (Johnson, 2025). The City Council proposal is similar to one being developed by the State of California and, in addition to sharing a lot of good information, writes “Best practice requires removing flammable materials and maintaining vegetation to minimize wildfire exposure, particularly within the critical Ember Resistant Zone (Zone 0) and surrounding Home Ignition Zones 1 and 2. These measures require elimination of all combustible materials from within 5 feet of a structure, including vegetation and accessories” (Berkeley City Council, 2025).

What is Zone 0?
Zone 0, the space between 0 and 5 feet from a structure, is not a new concept. To learn more, I recommend reading through CAL FIRE’s Defensible Space webpage. They write that “The intensity of wildfire fuel management varies within the 100-foot perimeter of the home, with more intense fuels’ reduction occurring closer to your home. Start at the home and work your way out to 100 feet on your property line, whichever is closer. … The first five feet from your home is the most important. Keeping the area closest to buildings, structures, and decks clear will prevent embers from igniting materials that can spread the fire to your home. Why? The majority of homes lost to wildfire are ignited by flying embers. Embers can travel miles ahead of the active fire front of wildfires” (CAL FIRE).

If you’re wondering if the concept of Zone 0 is just a fad or if 5 feet was a random decision, the answer is no. It’s supported by science. Three scientists I greatly admire – Drs. Alexandra Syphard, Teresa Brennan, and Jon Keeley – published the results of their 2014 work and found “Structures were more likely to survive a fire with defensible space immediately adjacent to them. The most effective treatment distance varied between 5 and 20 m (16-58 ft) from the structure, but distances larger than 30 m (100 ft) did not provide additional protection, even for structures located on steep slopes. The most effective actions were reducing woody cover up to 40% immediately adjacent to structures and ensuring that vegetation does not overhang or touch the structure” (Syphard, Brennan, and Keeley, 2014). Several studies have been published by these and other top wildfire science researchers in the field – definitely check out the work being shared by places like the Berkeley Fire Research Lab and the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, too. There are many organizations doing incredible work.

What Can You Do in Your Zone 0?
Have I convinced you to inspect Zone 0 and make some changes? Great! Here are just a few things you can do to get started (this is not an exhaustive list):

• Replace combustible wood chips/bark/mulch with stone, gravel, pavers, or concrete
• Remove all dead and dying plants, weeds, leaves, and needles. (Re)move or replace all adjacent vegetation types that are known to be extremely flammable, such as dry palm tree fronds, cypress, and junipers.
  • Here is additional information about fire-hazardous plants from Fire Safe Marin and here is a resource from Kensington Fire that lists drought tolerant, fire resistant, and highly flammable plants
• Remove all tree branches or decorative features within 10 feet of any chimney or stovepipe outlet
• Relocate firewood and lumber to Zone 2 (30 or 50 (depending on your area)-to-100-feet away from the structure)
• Replace combustible fencing materials with non-combustible alternatives like concrete or metal
• Move parked vehicles away from this zone
• Replace natural fiber doormats, wood or plastic patio furniture, and flammable shades or screens with accessories made from non-combustible or ignition-resistant materials. Choose a heavy rubber doormat and cast aluminum furniture
  • Here are more ideas from Fire Safe Marin
• Request an inspection
  • CAL FIRE offers this tool to submit a Defensible Space Inspection Request for homes in parts of California
  • Check to see what your area offers by searching the Web with a phrase like “[Your City Name] defensible space inspection fire department”

If you live in an apartment or rent your home, you should still advocate for a safer space. Check out everything within Zone 0 of the structure and, if you identify any of the “remove” and “replace” items listed above, contact your landlord, property manager, neighborhood Homeowners Association, etc. It’s also in their best interest to keep their property ready for wildfire. And I encourage you to speak up at your workplace, too.

The 0-to-5-foot buffer from your home isn’t that big of a space, but it’s a critical zone. If you love plants and greenery, your yard will still be beautiful even when it starts 5 feet away. The creation of defensible space is extremely important in the event of wildfire, it’s better for the integrity of the structure (particularly in the case of vines), and it prevents unwanted critters from gaining easy access to your home. “Adequate defensible space acts as a barrier to slow or halt the progress of fire that would otherwise engulf your property. It also helps ensure the safety of firefighters defending your home. Defensible space is the first line of defense for your home against wildfire” (CAL FIRE).

As this week’s task is focused on Zone 0, you may be wondering about home hardening steps. Don’t worry, we’ll get to those in a future #FirePrepFriday.
 
What does Zone 0 look like around your home or workplace? What changes can you make today to create a defensible space? Let me know in the Comments.

References

• Johnson (April 10, 2025) “Berkeley poised to ban most plants within 5 feet of homes deemed a fire risk.” San Francisco Chronicle. Link: https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/berkeley-fire-zone-zero-20259566.php
• Berkeley City Council (April 15, 2025) “Proclamation Calling a Special Meeting of the Berkeley City Council.” Link: https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/city-council-meetings/2025-04-15%20Special%20Agenda%20Packet%20-%20Council%20-%20WEB.pdf
• CAL FIRE “Defensible Space” Link: https://www.fire.ca.gov/dspace
• Syphard, Brennan, and Keeley (October 14, 2014) “The role of defensible space for residential structure protection during wildfires.” International Journal of Wildland Fire. Link: https://consbio.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Syphard_defensibleSpace.pdf. And http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF13158
• Fire Safe Marin: https://firesafemarin.org/

 

Important Disclaimer: I am not a fire preparedness professional. I am merely sharing my research, opinions, and what I find that applies to my geographic and personal situations in hopes that it will help others. Please make sure that whatever steps and advice you follow are what is best for you.

For Week 1 of #FirePrepFriday, I encouraged everyone to follow the social media accounts of local first responders, as well as register for city-, county-, and/or state-level emergency alerts. But do you know what to do when you actually receive an alert urging you to evacuate? Do you know where to go and how to get there? For Week 3, set aside some time to plan what you'll do if you get an evacuation alert.

Before the Evacuation Alert: Know Where to Go
This week, pick at least two routes that get you away from your neighborhood, work, or school and to a safe place. Because it's so dependent on current and local weather conditions (including temperature, humidity, and wind), topography, the state of fuels (for example, dry and dead vegetation versus happy, green plants in super saturated soil), etc., it's not an exact science to predict where a fire will ignite and how it will spread. This means we need to identify a few places where we can evacuate to. I include links at the bottom of this post to help you with this step and identify locations in your area, but examples of questions you'll want to ask yourself include:

• How many routes are available to me if I need to evacuate from home, work, or school? Where are they? Are these roads wide enough to allow space for the drivers that will use it? Do I know these routes well enough that I can drive in smoky, low-visibility conditions on a road with other panicked drivers?
• Does my neighborhood or city have designated shelters to which I can evacuate? If so, can I bring my family, my pets, etc.? What other places can I go to if these shelters are full or unavailable? Do I have a place to go if I cannot return to my residence for a longer period of time?

Once you've identified possible shelter locations and routes, I highly recommend you make paper and digital notes and then practice evacuating.

• Get an up-to-date paper map of your local area. Mark the locations of your home, work, or school, the possible shelters, and evacuation routes. Keep this marked map in your vehicle, Go Bag, work location -- whatever makes the most sense for you.
• Add your home, work, or school, as well as the shelter locations you identified, as pins or "Favorites" in your map app of choice.
  • For Google Maps, you can use these instructions.
  • For Apple Maps, you can use these instructions.
• Practice! Practice driving, bicycling, and walking the routes you identified. Be prepared for any evacuation situation, and make sure your family, pets, friends, and neighbors practice, too. Also, plan what to do in case you are separated from them during an emergency.

How Do You Know When to Go?
When you signed up to receive alerts, hopefully you were prompted to enter an address (home, work, or school). If so, the alerting system will use that address to assign you to a pre-established zone and send notifications to only those community members who are most immediately impacted by a particular emergency event. Each area and alerting system are likely different but, as one example, Colorado's El Paso and Teller Counties offer Peak Alerts. Public safety officials working an emergency incident determine the location that will require an alert, then the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center generates a map to identify who to send alerts to. The City of Colorado Springs has a "Know Your Zone" feature. Emergency managers divided the city into zones, and this helps the Fire and Police Departments better identify affected areas and determine who needs to be evacuated or shelter-in-place. If your area does not offer alerts, and if you live in a Western U.S. state, you can set up alerts in the Watch Duty app (even with the free version). If you're registered with any of these alerting options, you should receive a text or phone call alerting you of the status of a current emergency incident when it occurs near you.

I've seen a number of communities adopt the Ready, Set, Go! (RSG) Program terminology. The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)-managed RSG Program provides actions to prepare homes and families to be ready for emergencies, illustrates how to be set for wildfire (by being aware of developing conditions and situations that demand immediate action), and offers an action plan that lists key steps that are necessary when it's time to go. The downloadable IAFC Wildland Fire Action Guide includes all of the steps we'll address over time with #FirePrepFriday, to include this week's task of identifying evacuation routes and shelters (for Action Guides in languages besides English, use this link) and writing them down (page 11).  If your alerts include these key terms, you'll have a better idea of what you need to do. Your alerts may also include the words watch versus warning which, at a very basic level, differentiate between "be prepared" versus "take action," respectively. The National Weather Service (NWS) provides more detailed definitions.

Cost: No Cost to <$50 (depending on the price of purchased paper maps)
Frequency: You should double-check and update evacuation routes, as needed. For example, if a road on your route is shut down because of construction for three months, you definitely want to have another available option. It is also important to check that shelters are still accepting evacuees at least annually.

Are you prepared to go? Let me know in the Comments.

Additional Resources

• Steps and examples for building an emergency evacuation plan:
  • Ready: Evacuation
  • American Red Cross: Disaster Preparedness Plan
  • IAWF: Wildland Fire Action Guide
  • DisasterAssistance.gov: Evacuate or Stay Put
• Information about how to find a shelter location:
  • American Red Cross: Find An Open Shelter and Other Services
    • This site has an interactive map
  • DisasterAssistance.gov: Emergency Shelter
    • To search for a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC), text DRC and your ZIP code to 43362 (Example: DRC 01234) (standard messaging rates apply)
      
  • FEMA: How do I find an emergency shelter near me?
    • To search for open shelters, text SHELTER and your ZIP code to 43362 (Example: Shelter 01234) (standard messaging rates apply)
      
  • AidTeam: Finding Local Emergency Shelters
    • I really like this site as it allows you to enter a zip code, pinpoint nearby emergency shelters within a reasonable distance, and then print a map with those shelter locations
• Information about how to find housing after a disaster:
  • USA.gov: How to find housing after a disaster
  • DisasterAssistance.gov: Do you need help after a disaster?

Important Disclaimer: I am not a fire preparedness professional. I am merely sharing my research, opinions, and what I find that applies to my geographic and personal situations in hopes that it will help others. Please make sure that whatever steps and advice you follow are what is best for you.

If you're like me, your pet is your child, and you'll do anything to make sure they're safe. For Week 2, I want to ensure the fur, feather, scale, and hoof babies are ready to go. There are a number of "need to have" and "nice to have" items, so build your emergency evacuation supplies in such a way that they fit the needs of you and your pet(s). I'll share what I did for my dog, Abby, and then I'll list additional resources.

Items in Abby's Go Bag

• Travel crate, travel bed, and a small towel
  • The crate is labeled with my contact information
• Food and items for eating/drinking
  • To make it easy, I put the most recently purchased bag of food in the Go Bag (and I rotate food bags every time I shop and get a new one)
  • I included bowls, a small container, a scoop, and a clip for the food bag
• Personal information, vaccination records, and prescriptions
  • I scanned the following items, emailed them to myself so I have electronic records, and also printed and added them to the bag:
    • I used this list from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but added today's date (so I know when it was last updated), her Colorado license information (and included her tag in her bag), and her estimated date of birth
    • Rabies and vaccination records (and included her rabies tag in her bag)
  • I keep all of Abby's heartworm, flea, and tick prevention treatments in their original boxes (with the pharmacy labels and instructions) and in her bag at all times. Like her food bags, I rotate out the prescriptions every time I get a refill.
  • I included a recent photograph of Abby and me. In the event we're separated, and I don't have my phone, I can share the photo as proof to get us reunited.
• Pet first aid information
• Shirt, jacket, and socks
  • Clothing can serve a couple purposes: If it's cold, it'll keep her warm; and if she sustains an injury, a shirt or socks will help keep her from fussing at bandaged wounds or stitches
• Extra harness, collar, and light-up safety collar
• Potty patches and poop bags
• Pouch
  • One benefit of a little dog is that I can easily tuck her into a pouch and have free hands

Assuming we're both at home when I receive the "Go: Evacuate Now" alert, all I have to do is put Abby in her crate, grab her Go Bag, and leave the area. Other items that will be useful for me -- like water, bandages, blankets, etc. -- will be part of a separate weekly task list item.

How to Prepare If You're Not At Home When Your Neighborhood Must Evacuate
This is a huge concern of mine, so I've done what I can in case this is ever the scenario we experience.

• My neighbors know Abby and are aware she's at home (if she isn't with me)
• I have a sticker in a front window that I identifies there is one dog in the house
• If first responders get into the house and Abby escapes in a panic, she is microchipped

I understand the whole "put your oxygen mask on first" metaphor but, for me, it was really important to get Abby ready for wildfire early on in our preparation journey.

• Cost: No Cost
• Frequency: Check the Go Bag frequently enough to ensure that food and medications aren't expired. Depending on the seasons, have water in the car or near the door (for example, I don't keep water in the car when outside temperatures are freezing). Also depending on seasons, swap out lighter clothing for something thicker.

What do you have in your pet(s)' Go Bags? Or what did you have, but removed when you realized it wasn't necessary in an emergency situation? What other resources are useful? Let me know in the Comments.

Additional Resources To Help You Get Started

• Examples of pre-built pet emergency Go Bags, kits, and supplies (I have not tried any of these):
  • Chewy ($10 - $130)
  • Amazon ($12 - $130)
    
  • Etsy ($25 - $300)
• Identification product I use for Abby: DOG iD
  • In addition to a typical collar tag, I purchased this ID from the makers of ROAD iD because I can include more information. It's attached to Abby's leash.
    
• U.S. CDC: Build a Pet Disaster Preparedness Kit
• Ready: Prepare Your Pets for Disasters
  • This site includes tips for preparing to evacuate with large animals (horses, goats, pigs)
• American Red Cross: Pet Disaster Preparedness
  • This site includes information for livestock and companion animals; pet first aid; protection from heat, winter, and fire; and travel safety
• American Human Society: Pet Disaster Preparedness
• Best Friends Animal Society: Pet Emergency Kit Checklist and Plan
• Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region: Disaster Preparedness
  • Although a local site, there are links for how to prepare with domestic pets versus non-commercial livestock, as well as FAQs

Important Disclaimer: I am not a fire preparedness professional. I am merely sharing my research, opinions, and what I find that applies to my geographic and personal situations in hopes that it will help others. Please make sure that whatever steps and advice you follow are what is best for you.

For Week 1, let’s all check that we’re following the trustworthy social media accounts, registered for the official alerts, and using the reputable apps that will provide us with the information we need in case of emergency.

Social Media
Whether you're using Facebook, Threads, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, or Bluesky, there's a really good chance that your local fire and police departments, as well as city and county officials are posting from their verified accounts pretty regularly. Go to the app's search bar and try phrases like these -- [Your City Name] Fire Department, City of [Your City Name], and National Weather Service (NWS) [Your City Name], etc.

Alerts
It’s also important to look into whether your city or county offers some sort of emergency alert system. I’m signed up to receive all emergency notifications through a county-level service. I'm also aware that our city is working hard to improve their communications during emergencies.

Apps
If you’ve followed me on social media for a bit, you’ve probably figured out that the Watch Duty app is one of my favorite resources for real-time wildfire information. I appreciate that, even with the free version of the app, I can go to Settings > Notifications and set up alerts for fire incidents in close proximity to my home and where I work. In a few instances, I received a Watch Duty notification before I heard anything from another source of alerts -- the team is quick to verify ignitions, double-check data with local sources, provide evacuation messaging, maps, etc. However, Watch Duty is currently only providing information for states in the Western U.S.

The Red Cross mobile app lets you customize weather-related notifications for your location. Like Watch Duty, it also provides information about local shelters and has an interactive map.

Although this was a simple task to get us started, I think it’s critical that we are connected to the first responders and local officials who share the information we need.

• Cost: No Cost
• Frequency: Account follows and alert registration should only need to occur once. However, verified organizations occasionally change their usernames so, over time, you should double-check that you're still following the current account. Apps will require occasional updates.

What social media accounts do you follow for important information? Are you signed up to receive alerts? Which apps do you trust most? Let me know in the Comments.


Important Disclaimer: I am not a fire preparedness professional. I am merely sharing my research, opinions, and what I find that applies to my geographic and personal situations in hopes that it will help others. Please make sure that whatever steps and advice you follow are what is best for you.

In March 2024, I watched a fast-moving, wind- and dry grass-fueled fire from my bedroom window. At the time, I was working to finish my Ph.D. and my research was focused on using satellite imagery to identify and quantify landscapes at risk of wildfires due to the presence of grassy vegetation. I'd spent years reading articles and publications about grass fires, I'd spoken with firefighters about the dangers associated with being near quickly moving fires in dead and dry (highly flammable) grasses, and I had even observed a prescribed fire and saw how flames burned in shrubs versus grassy environments. All that to say I wasn't a total novice when it came to the concept of what happens when you mix Red Flag conditions, dry vegetation, and at least one ignition.

Fast forward to March 2025 and I received a Watch Duty app alert about a fire in almost the same location. Like last year, we had low humidity and high wind conditions, and the snow that had blanketed the area not long before had already melted, leaving the soil and vegetation dry. I walked my dog and watched the smoke spread across the sky, and then a question popped into my head: If this fire were to spread to our neighborhood, how confident am I that we could quickly evacuate with the essentials and, ideally, that we would have a home to return to?

I'm signed up for emergency alerts. I always make sure my car's gas tank is over half full. I pay attention to potential evacuation routes around town. I have a Go Bag with the basics (and even an additional Go Box, if there's time to grab it). The yard is xeriscaped. The siding on the house is cement. I must be ready for wildfire... right?

But, like all of you, I've been heartbroken watching the loss of life and homes due to natural disasters. Recent fire events like the October 2017 Tubbs Fire in Sonoma and Napa Counties, CA; the December 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County, CO; the August 2023 Lahaina Fire in Maui, HI; and the January 2025 Palisades Fire in Los Angeles County, CA showed the world what can happen when extremely high wind conditions mix with fire and blowing embers. And those fires devastated neighborhoods that would be considered more urban areas as opposed to wildland-urban interface areas. Video footage has supplied those of us who weren't caught in those fires with just the tiniest glimpse of what the environment is like when attempting to evacuate -- it is the opposite of calm and slow-paced, but is extraordinarily hectic, difficult to navigate, dark, and terrifying.

I understand there is no simple solution to getting ready for and getting through such a harrowing situation. But I also believe that the least we, as community members, can do is to be prepared. When emergency responders come to our neighborhoods, we should make sure they're as safe as they can be as they work so hard to protect us and our properties. And the best way we can get prepared -- for ourselves, our families, our neighbors, and first responders -- is to start on those preparation tasks we've been putting off... and start today.

Thank you for joining me on this wildfire prep journey. Many of the tips (and lessons learned) that I share here will be most applicable to the states in the Western U.S. but, with a little flexibility and imagination, I'm confident that anything shared here can be adjusted and useful for everyone. And just because I've been studying wildfires for a while, I will never claim to be an expert -- what I share as part of #FirePrepFriday should be considered researched opinions. I'll always do my best to work from verified and reputable sources but, as every emergency situation is unique, I encourage all of you to make sure you tailor the preparation steps to your lives. I think if we all commit to checking one task off the To Do list each week, we’re going to be as ready for wildfire as we can be in no time.