Preventing flying embers may be key in ‘home destruction vs. home survival’

When Bryan Whitaker led a Cal Fire strike team as it rolled toward the raging Eaton and Palisades fires in Southern California in early January, he knew what lay ahead.

"I have been on most of the biggest fires we've had over the last 10 years, from most recently the Park Fire(671 square miles burned, 709 structures destroyed) to the Camp Fire(240 square miles burned, 18,804 structures destroyed)," Whitaker, a Cal Fire captain based in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, said in a recent interview. "So I've seen it. I've definitely witnessed it."

As the strike team arrived amid the ruins of neighborhoods in the Palisades, Whitaker would come across homes that seemed relatively untouched by flames. The scenes confirmed his belief that taking what might seem like small steps before a fire ignites could be the difference between saving or losing a home.

"Zero to five feet from your house, get rid of anything flammable - the bark and plants and stuff that is decorative. Think of putting in rock or concrete," Whitaker said.

"It just takes an ember in the bark and now the bark is burning, and the next thing is the side of your house is burning. These are things we see when we get these wind-driven fires that are throwing embers everywhere."

Research backs him up. The primary threat determining "home destruction vs. home survival in wildfires" is not a wall of flames but embers and small flames whipped by wind ahead of a wildfire, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

As California's wildfires burn hotter and more intense, we need to heed the lessons from this research. Local emergency managers invite anyone who lives, works or visits San Mateo County to Be Wildfire Safe & Ready on Saturday, April 26, at the San Mateo County Event Center.

At the free event, experts will provide insight and actions you can take to protect your home from wildfires. (Here's a tutorial from Cal Fireon creating a safety buffer.)

The event, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., will also include:

• Information on California's updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps.
• Resources from local governments, civic groups and businesses.
• How to pack a "Go Bag."
• How to sign up for emergency and severe weather alerts.
• Stories from fire professionals and residents who have survived wildfire about what it is like in a wildfire situation, and what was most helpful to them.
• And more.

In both the Eaton and Palisades blazes, much of the initial response by firefighters focused on evacuations and other life-saving measures - little could be done to save many of the homes from flames and embers whipped by fierce, dry winds. That scenario, Whitaker said, does provide another valuable lesson.

"Sometimes people only have 20 minutes to evacuate, to get out," he said. "You need to be ready to go within minutes and have a plan with your family, a well-rehearsed plan."

Come to Be Wildfire Safe & Ready to learn how to develop a plan and more.

Live translation available at the event in Spanish, Mandarin and American Sign Language.

What: Be Wildfire Safe & Ready

When: Saturday, April 26
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: San Mateo County Event Center
1346 Saratoga Dr.
San Mateo

Media Contact

Sandra Firpo
Department of Emergency Management
sfirpo@smcgov.org