The southeastern United States consistently experiences more wildfires per year than any other region. More than 100 million acres of land have a moderate to extreme potential for wildfire. The issue is not if an area will burn but when, and at what intensity.
Learn how to better protect your property with the Wildfire Retrofit Guide for the Southeast, with fire prevention and safety tips from the National Fire Protection Association and information about how to “make your …
The UFST (Urban Forest Strike Team) project, a disaster response and recovery effort initiated by the Urban & Community Forestry programs in Virginia and North Carolina in 2007, and supported by the Southern Group of State Foresters (USDA FS Region 8) has grown to include regional teams across the US.
Urban Forest Strike Teams evaluate individual trees, street by street in a defined disaster area. In particular, they assess storm damaged trees on public property and rights-of-ways to identify risk, …
Nation prepares to develop standards and protocols for widespread use
A 2012 Congressional mandate directed the Federal Aeronautics Administration (FAA) to begin integrating civilian unmanned aircraft (aka drones) into the national airspace (NAS) by the end of 2015.
FAA regulates all flight through U.S. airspace. Until now, the agency has allowed only public entities with special FAA permits, called Certificates of Authorization (COAs) to fly unmanned aircraft, mostly for research purposes.
On December 30, FAA picked six test sites from …
Article by Mary Wilson, Half Creek Farm, Bickleton WA
I’ve always felt smugly prepared for whatever disaster might happen on our farm. I spent time organizing a plan in my mind that seemed pretty solid: my animals are used to being handled and all have a calm personality; I have a 3.4 ton pickup and a 16-foot stock trailer that I thought would probably hold all my goats; then I could likely move the cows and llama in the second …
Professional conservators offer several basic guidelines for searching for and recovering family treasures in the ruins of a fire. Once you are allowed to reenter the fire area, keep these safety tips in mind:
Many items that have been in a fire may be salvaged. Your first thought may be to rinse the items. Don’t do it!
Water and other cleaning solutions will drive soot and ash further into the surface of your items. They will become impossible to remove.
Instead,
Article Written by:
Stephen L. Quarles, Ph.D.,
IBHS Senior Scientist and South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association Chair
Building ignitions during wildfires occur when a component or components of a home or building are exposed to one or more of the three basic wildfire exposures. These exposures include 1) burning embers (also called firebrands), 2) direct flame contact, and 3) radiant heat. Burning embers are the most important cause of home ignitions. When …
Fire safety must be a major factor in landscape design when homes are built in wildfire-prone areas. Appropriate landscapes can make a significant contribution toward wildfire survival.
Firescaping is landscape design that reduces the vulnerability of your house and property to wildfire. The goal is to develop a landscape with a design and choice of plants that offer the best defensible, survivable space and enhance the property. The ideal is to surround the house with things that …
If you live in an area prone to wildfires and are a caregiver, you must have a preplanned escape route. In the event that your first route is blocked, you should have a secondary or back-up escape plan. As is the case for all potential disasters, you should have a disaster evacuation kit packed and ready to go at all times.
You must pre-plan how you will be able to get the person you care for out of the house …
