Wild Fire

Well it's that time of year when a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of--- Fishing---Camping---Hiking--- and generally anything outdoorsy.
But, early spring and late summer are prime Wild Fire Seasons. And not just here in the Rocky Mountains. SO. Cal. Had brush fires all winter and I've seen on the news they've had fires up in the NE part of the country already.

Just this morning a small grass fire was contained just north of town.

Here in Colorado we take our Wild Fires Very seriously !!!

SO lets say your caught out in the open when you smell smoke?
First and foremost---

Call 911

Don't assume someone else already did so--- besides you might just need to be rescued so the quicker their on the way the safer you are!

Lets say your on foot, hiking. there are things you can do to stay safe.
•The best temporary shelter is bare ground. On a steep mountainside, the back side is safer. Stay in the rocks and try not be upwind of the fire. More folks die from smoke inhalation than they do the fire itself.

•If a road is nearby, lie face down along the road cut or in the ditch on the uphill side. Cover yourself with anything that will shield you from the fire's heat. This is when those Mylar space blankets come in real handy.

•If hiking in the back country, seek a depression with as little fuel (burnable's) as possible. Clear fuel away from the area while the fire is approaching . If you brought along an E-Tool dig yourself a shallow trench and then lie face down in the depression and cover yourself with the dug earth. This is the really hard part--- 'Stay down'--- until the fire passes!!!!

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Now lets imagine yourself in your car/truck
Maybe on your way out to your favorite fishing hole and find yourself surrounded by a 'Fire Storm'!

Rule one. Stay in your car/truck! your vehicle will protect you from the heat and ash. Trust me you'll be much safer inside than on foot.

•Roll up windows and close air vents. Drive slowly with headlights and four-way flashers on. Stay towards the middle of the road. Watch for other vehicles and pedestrians. Do not drive through heavy smoke. Without being able to see you could drive right into that Fire Storm!

•If you have to stop, park away from the heaviest trees and brush. Even if that means parking in the middle of the road and blocking traffic. Turn headlights on and ignition off. Roll up windows and close air vents.

• Infrared heat can pass right threw the glass so Get on the floor and cover up with a blanket or coat.

•Stay in the vehicle until the main fire passes. Do not run! Engine may stall and not restart. Air currents may rock the car. Some smoke and sparks may enter the vehicle. Temperature inside will increase. Metal gas tanks and containers rarely explode.

Again, your safer in your car than on foot!

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FEMA has a free PDF
to teach you how to protect your home/cabin

Down Load it ---Save it---Don't just scan the material, do what it says too!

The Last thing I want to add--- And this is coming from someone who lives in a place where Wild Fire's are common (Western Colorado)

And that is, A Wild Fire is not like a flood or Tornado. People have died hiding out in their storm cellars and when the fire passed it simply sucked all the air out of their hidey holes.

Sane people run--- Pack up the wife kids and dogs and get the hell out of there--- Rebuilding is a hell of a lot easier than bringing loved ones back from the dead.

a reply to: HardCorps

Great information, Thanks!

I found that if I give the pine trees around my house here a little nitrogen, the needles don't burn so easy. Did some research on it. So just pee next to your pine tree once in a while

a reply to: rickymouse

I wasn't going to talk about protecting one homes since that material is covered pretty well.
however I will say screen your soffit vents.


Not all soffit vents look the same some are strips, rounds rectangles. regardless of type somewhere unter the eves of your home you should have a soffit vent meant to air out the attic so you don't get rot or mold growing in there



The prob is when you have with a wildfire is... those hot embers can be sucked up into the house and set fire to... insolation, boxes of stuff, the rafters, anything else flammable you might have in there. Even if you have a metal roof and siding... embers can and will get in through soffits and gable vents. A little wire screen may not be 100% but it's cheap insurance and easy enough as a DYI

a reply to: HardCorps

That is a real interesting idea. It actually makes a lot of sense. It may require a need for an increase in the amount of venting though to keep the right ratio. I have vented soffit instead of the louvers, that has very small holes in it, not really enough to let embers into the attic that could do harm. I have asphault shingles though, that is not a good thing if a wild fire occurs.

I was reading an article about too much nitrogen being a problem with trees also, I guess too much of a good thing can cause problems of a different kind and increase the ignition problems also. Bird poop used to supply the trees with what they needed as was the urine of animals. Funny how nature balances itself. We have interfered with the natural processes. Too many birds in the dwindling forests actually increases the amount of wildfires. It is not the problem with the birds, it is the problem with too little forests. Not enough or too much is a problem, just like the balance of vitamins in our bodies. The forest is a living organism dependent on right concentrations of wildlife in it.

a reply to: rickymouse

Well It's not like I have to worry about a wildfire today.


But in a day or two, you might just see another round of server weather over where you are.

Funny how that works out today I get snow and in a couple of day's you guys get tore-nadies...

Why we sold our old place in Wichita and moved here ya know

a reply to: HardCorps

I'm a Yooper, I still have about a foot of snow in most of the yard. The banks are still four feet tall. It is supposed to snow a little tonight. Tornadoes try to stay away from here, it is a little too cold here for them.

Global warming, Well, I guess we did have 13 warm days here last summer, better than some years.

Slash and Burn?
I think this is just burn.
the Big company's can not use land that has wild life on it.
but if its all burn't then they can do what they like.

have you seen that USSR has a LOT of fires to?
has the world oxygen level gone up?
does any one know that info?
or is it the sun?

had a quick look.
over 1 million years O2 has dropt.
now that is odd as you get O2 from plants.
and in the land 500 years man!
has cut down Most of the trees.

why in the long past have grate wood
lands Not burnt down?
yet now they burn far to easy?