It was a Sunday morning when I woke up, looked outside as we were getting ready for church, and saw tons of smoke on the horizon. It turned the sun a hue of red. At one point, I looked at the Cal Fire Incidents map and saw that a total of 111,000 acres had been burned. Over 240 houses and commercial buildings were destroyed. Over 3,080 firefighters and personnel were on scene. And not one of the three fires was even 10% contained yet.
Do you remember, the 21stnight of September? (... it was two weeks before that. I can’t title this post Earth, Wind & and Fire without at least one reference to the September song, can I?)
Thankfully with the diligence and skill of the firefighters, the fires did not continue to spread.
But what if….
You can do a handful ofeasythings today to prepare for a fire. Though nothing can replace the memories lost in a fire, flood, or other disaster, there are things you can do today to avoid the worse of it.
As I shared last year, the #1 easiest thing you can do today if you need to make an insurance claim is to have an inventory of what’s in your home.
Less than 25% of people have an inventory of everything in their home. 2, 3
This can be very easy.
You don’t need to go around your house with a clipboard. Justwalk around your house with your phone and take a video in every room. Open every drawer and capture what’s in there. When I did this last year, it took me about 15 minutes. Then save the video and you’re all set. Do this every year.
In addition to that, CalFire has put together a resource to have a full preparation list:
A few other things you can do to limit damage may include, but are not limited to:
- Clear brush away from your house
- Make sure your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are working. While you’re at it, go ahead and change the battery.
- Make sure all home air vents have screens.
- Leave an exterior house light on at all times to be more visible through smoke or darkness.
- Know and communicate two ways out of your neighborhood, and designate an emergency meeting location for your family.
- Have an earthquake kt stocked up.
So don’t “dance the night away” until you check this off your list.
Ba-du-da, ba-du-da
- https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents
- Investopediacom, May 11, 2021 (most recent data available)
- ScientificAmerican, February 6, 2023