Editor,
Recently, I received a postcard from San Mateo County explaining how they are preparing for wildfire. The first item referenced the need for early detection, which provides the best chance of extinguishing the fire. Unfortunately, the remaining three items all focused on the removal of vegetation.
Our fixation on trees, shrubs, and chaparral as the cause and solution to our increased wildfire risk enables people and government agencies to feel better but does not make us safer.
What we need to do is make our houses themselves less flammable. The San Mateo County Fire Safe Council’s website firesafesanmateo.org lays out what to do: maintain 100 feet of defensible space around the house, harden homes to fire, and have an evacuation plan. Its website explains how residents can make their houses less flammable such as by replacing wood shake roofs and large-gauge screen vents. A strong wind can easily blow an ember 1-2 miles. If the ember lands on a wood shake roof, the house can easily ignite.
The insides of our houses — with clothes, drapes, furniture, books — are extremely flammable. If we are to survive in a California with increased wildfires, the exterior of our homes must be impervious to fire. Government must provide the education and incentives to encourage residents to begin to change the way we live.
Karen Maki
Menlo Park
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