Keeping Fires At Bay

To keep your home from burning, fire officials in North Idaho say you should consider:

Replacing wooden shake roofs with metal or fire-resistant shingles. If that’s not feasible, the wood should be treated with fire-resistant chemicals and kept clean of pine needles and other dry debris.

Access. Steep, winding roads designed for a Jeep may be impassable for a pumper truck. Worse, narrow roads can trap fleeing residents. Firefighters recommend wide loop roads and large street signs.

Home features: Avoid large wooden decks and woodpiles next to a home. Put a screen on top of chimneys.

Vegetation. Nearby brush should be trimmed well back from the house. If you must have trees nearby, replace indigenous evergreens with hardwoods, which don’t contain flammable resins.

Fire officials strongly recommend a “greenbelt” of well-watered lawn. The more lawn, the better, said Debbie Norton, Bonners Ferry district ranger.

Water. Some homeowners have installed rooftop sprinklers, reservoirs and large hose connections. Others have gasoline powered pumps to maintain water pressure when electrical power fails. Mark water sources for firefighters.

“A garden hose really isn’t much help. It just isn’t big enough,” said Jerry Hagen, fire information officer for the U.S. Forest Service.

Home sites. Avoid narrow, steep canyons. Fire officials say they act as chimneys to speed the spread of a wildfire. Underground utility lines are better than overhead lines, which can blow down and trigger a blaze.