Andres Avila is Fire Chief of the Anderson Valley Fire Department, and a proud resident of Anderson Valley. I asked him what he does in his free time, and he said he has little of that.

Take this assessment to see how prepared your home is to survive in the event of a wildfire.  The assessment provides a scoring system that will guide you to a better understanding of which factors make your home vulnerable and enable you to better prioritize improvements you can make.  The assessment also includes a section that will help you assess if you need to make improvements to help first responders defend your property.

Check out this video presented by Colin Wilson, former Anderson Valley Fire Chief, who presents some basic information about fire behavior with the goal of helping you think through when and how to evacuate and when to consider sheltering in place.  Please watch and consider before you are in a situation where you may need to apply the learning.

In a wildfire, everyone may not be able to evacuate the burning area. In such situations, people have two choices: (1) staying at home and “sheltering in place,” which requires excellent fire safe preparation of your home and surroundings, or (2) going to a pre-designated and pre-prepared “Safety Zone.” Safety Zones are wide, cleared, open areas where you and your neighbors could go to survive a wildfire passing through.

When wildfires approach, your home's best defense starts with simple, preventative steps that can make all the difference. Don't wait until it's too late -- prepare your home now to withstand the threat of wildfires.