The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) has developed a simple, four-question survey to help California residents prepare and then plan for what to do in the case of an eventual wildfire.
Based on your answers to the survey, you’ll be provided recommendations in the following five areas:
- Home hardening
- Defensible space
- Evacuation checklist
- Preparing to evacuate
- Animal evacuation
Each category identifies a set of recommended tasks to enhance fire resiliency or preparation. Some additional tasks are provided for those who want to be extra careful.
The Cal Fire survey tool generates customized recommendations based upon your answers. The Oak Park Fire Safe Council complements this with a free Home Wildfire Assessment that provides additional detail in the home hardening and defensible space categories for your specific home.
The Oak Park Fire Safe Council recommends that you generate and save your customized Cal Fire wildfire plan in conjunction with having the Home Wildfire Assessment performed. The council and our partners perform these assessments for free. Simply CLICK HERE to arrange for an assessor to come out to your home and review both its external structure and surrounding yard. Then we’ll provide you a report with some specific home hardening and defensible space recommendations for your home.
The council is not a compliance organization, so these are just free, informed recommendations. Using the Cal Fire survey tool and scheduling one of the council’s assessments can be important first steps toward minimizing or avoiding potential damage to your home in the event of a fire.
The survey can be found on the Cal Fire website at CAL FIRE Ready for Wildfire App.
