I’m a firefighter in Oregon and do structure protection at Wildland fires much of the summer. Your assessment and advice is pretty darn good. I’d like to add a few points. Most importantly is to understand that most homes catch fire not due to radiant heat from the trees on fire but rather ember storms driven by the winds. The embers collect just as leaves or snow drift and ignite combustibles they collect up against, like the bottom edge of the plywood sheathing under a roof or siding and the surface of a wooden deck. Knowing that, there are a few steps that are very effective: 1)cleaning your roof and gutters of combustible materials. Plugging the down spouts (I like disposable diapers as the swell and make a tight seal) and filling the gutters with water. Clear all combustibles three feet from around the house, including bark dust. You can leave ornamental plants generally as they have a high moisture content. Put all combustibles from your yard like furniture and toys in the garage or house. Move wood piles away from the house. Staple aluminum foil in an L shape along the intersection of decks and base of walls where embers will collect. Make sure all attic and crawl space vents have a fine screens over them so embers can’t blow in. If the existing screen has holes larger than window screen, cover it with duct tape. Make sure all windows are closed and the propane is off. Leave your lights on so firefighters can see the house in smoke or darkness. If you have a well you can turn on sprinklers to increase the humidity around the home and wet combustible decks. Don’t do this if you are on a community water system as you could inadvertently help run the system dry. Lastly, put a ladder to the roof and have a garden hose hooked up ready to go in the driveway for firefighters to use and fill their truck.
Great advice, i especially like the aluminum foil/sheeting idea where embers can collect... just a suggestion, maybe shiny metalised aluminum tape instead of duct tape, unless that's what you meant, I justthonk most people would see duct tape and think of the grey plastic stuff =)
Spraying Phos-Chek could be a good side hustle for landscaping companies and youngsters with an entrepreneurial spirit. Always informative and interesting, thanks!
@@JAMESWUERTELE yeah me too, that's really cool I had no idea... part of me always wondered if it was some kind of horrendous chemical or something y'know haha so it's nice to find out that it just might be kind of helpful sometimes.
@@JAMESWUERTELE ABC fire extinguisher chemical has been known for a long time to be a fertilizer by those in the extinguisher industry. From everything thing I’ve told it breaks down to nitrogen.
Nice story!😊. Fighters I know have said if a house looks savable, they’ll try. But where owner’s don’t try to make the homes fire safe, they don’t waste time on those. You’re a good man, Juan.
This is sad but true....... The old saying you can't save every puppy in the pound is how a lot put it. There's just no point wasting resources and it's how my grandfather survived 3 fires that took out his neighbors......... He keeps clear fire breaks,keeps trees cut back and uses cheap drip irrigation hose on the hill that the fire usually comes up. The last fire we think that saved him. You could clearly see how the fire came up the valley and went around the irrigated land. It was like a oasis of green in a desert of fire. He also' sprays everything with drilling mud that is pretty much clay and water. It makes a mess but it keeps embers from catching things on fire
I did fire damage assessment on the cedar fire in San Diego county years ago. Follow the wildland Urban interface models to trim and clear around your house. Use a drip system on trees and brush around the house to keep them moist so they don't want to catch on fire. Have a 1500 gallon tank. Have a generator to run the well if you're not on public water. Install a sprinkler system on the ridge of the house. Install misters on the eaves of the house. Keep flammable furniture and belongings away from the house. And you'll be doing pretty good if the fire shows up.
Great story about phoscheck. The homeowner also dig a great job keeping fuels away from the home. The area around the house is clear to mineral soil or the equivalent. He was very well prepared.
Remove the understory and the fire has to come out of the crown for the trees and now you have a chance to stop it. Good preseason fire clearance is a must. Stay healthy.
Great story, and yes luck does favor the prepared. Living in the WUIA, we all need to prepare. It is amazing just how fast debris will accumulate near the house. Keeping it at bay and clearing the fuels away is a key factor for sure. I'm glad to have a small supply of Phos-Chek at the ready in case I have to do some last minute prep on the way out. Good job Phil, and Juan for sharing!
IIRC after the Gatlinburg, TN fires, one house that was spared belonged to a former park ranger. He spent the effort to make sure his property was clear of combustibles as well. Great advice.
Phil got LUCKY! That house is in the forest, mid-slope, with high combustibles around the house. Tons of places for the ember cast to land. Pho’s- check or not.
Glad you posted this, always wondered why more people did not take the effort to protect their homes and property...I lived in NC where we didnt get fires like Ca. but I had a dedicated pump and hose incase I had a garage or house fire as the area was volunteer fire fighters and I could not count on a rapid response. I figured if I could not stop it I could at least slow it down enough to save the house or garage. If I was forced to live in Ca I would at least have a dedicated pump, and water source and would have cleared out around the structures.
As usual your reporting and information is spot on and interesting in that we get a very genuine appraisal of the situation, not just another canned and overcooked media report. Phos-Chek is a powerful and proven tool in any SYSTEM of fire prevention IF it is used correctly and thought of correctly! I’ve been out on yet another assignment, we’ve been supporting multiple fires with VLATs and various other Tankers (Including MAFFS! Love those Herky Birds!) Hopefully we are making a difference. I’m glad these people didn’t lose their home, I know so many others unfortunately have. Our thoughts, prayers, and most of all our best efforts go out to all those being effected right now. As with every fire season get prepared! Be safe! And hang tough!
I have suppressant mix to spray on the house and other places is left over. But I’ve also masticated the property and taken off lower limbs of trees. The part I hadn’t thought of was firefighters seeing that my property gives them a reason to make a stand to save it. I really hadn’t considered the psychological effects on those who would help me. Preparing the property is like being vaccinated: those who will help know that I did what I could and will be more motivated to pull me through.
It's not a psychological effect, they are trained to look for safe and easy access past buildings to get to a fire and also to ensure they are making a stand in an area that is as safe as possible for them to be in. So, they want easy access to drag hoses through, and an easy, unencumbered exit path in case the plan goes bad. If you can also have a tank and pump ready for them, even better. You don't have to stay, just leave it there ready to go.
Fantastic info that could help a lot of people to be better prepared in fire areas!!! Its great that your friend Phil's house and other neighbors was saved!
I’m so glad his house survived, and they were able to evacuate safely. Hoping for containment for all the fires burning. Sending well wishes from the sacramento valley.
Holy crap thanks for sharing this info! I had no idea. I have a cabin that is under fire threat right now in the sequoia national forest that I wish I’d been able to protect like this. We’re literally waking up every morning hoping and praying that our cabin survived the previous night...totally sucks stressing.
One thing good about this fire Juan, your friend doesn't have to worry so much about a wild fire for another 10-15 yrs. All that accumulated fuel on the forest floor is gone, for now.
Having had a house in Lake Tahoe, in a very forested area, which was lost in the Angora Creek fire of 2007, my observation was that pine needles would build up at over an inch a year.
@@saratogapilot6100 Which is why you want to get that either collected and burnt, or use a plough and bury it. Keep the forest floor around the house clear, keep flammable material away and you have a very good chance the house will survive. I remember watching CNN years ago when LA was burning, and there was this single house in a massive flat area that was once a suburb. They were interviewing this Korean Engineer owner, who had built the house himself. Asked why his house was still there, while the rest were gone, he replied "I thought everybody knows wood burns", and he built his out of brick and tile, not wood beams, plastic siding and tar paper roof with wood shingles.
@@SeanBZA In the Tahoe basin, you may not burn anything and at the time of the Angora Creek fire, where 500 homes were lost, you were not permitted to remove natural ground litter by any means. Pine needles had built up four or five inches deep. No tree or sapling greater than 4 inches in diameter can be cut down without a permit, which is usually not granted. Therefore, the Tamarack pine trees that surrounded the houses could not be removed or cleared. These regulations are largely still in place, but the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency lost over $110 M in lawsuits from insurance companies, in response to which property owners were allowed to remove ground litter, but still not allowed to cut down trees. Of course, there are no trees to be cut down, now.
@@saratogapilot6100 Hopefully the property owners make sure to keep the number of trees down, and remove all the seedlings regularly. Wishful thinking in that those who denied the removal are held personally accountable for the failure to act, not for the cost to be carried by the taxpayers of the area.
@@Ice_Karma Good question. In America, it is possible to create a special region or area where the use of the land can be regulated for special purposes, such as water conservation, or preservation of natural habitats. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is one of those specialized agencies. The purpose of their regulations, which were quite foolish, was to "preserve the natural environment" within the Tahoe basin. TRPA was approved by the voters (property owners), but the specific regulations that were imposed by the TRPA were not individually approved by the voters. Of the many regulations, several were responsible for later causing the destruction by the Angora Creek fire. Specifically, no trees can be removed unless the diameter of the trunk one foot above the ground level is four or fewer inches in diameter unless the property owner first gets a permit and, generally, permits are not approved. The maximum land area that can be covered by the house, the driveway, and any attached decks is strictly limited. The maximum height of each house is limited. And, this is really bad: ground litter cannot be removed. It must be left to pile up and rot. This is a wooded (forest) area. My house was surrounded by 30 ft. high Tamarack pine trees and nothing else (no other kinds of plants or trees). Now, of course, after the fire there are no trees or any vegetation at all except grass and weeds. So, now, it is illegal to sweep up leaves in the autumn anywhere within the TRPA.
If people won't even clear a defensible space of brush and dead trees from 100 feet around their house, why and how would people pay for such an expensive system they can't afford?
In Tahoe basin your not allowed to even rake needles off forest floor. To keep the lake blue ....in Calaveras co where my cabin is we need to rake before June 1st
Lee, I mentioned in an earlier comment that I used the water conservation program to fund this project. I think there should be a program for cistern fire suppression systems that could be leveraged to help homeowners defend their properties with a set a defined criteria. The planning department was amused by this project. One note that caught everyone off guard, engineering and permits are typically involved if the tank exceeds 5k gallons. I assume this is due to the potential damage that a sudden release of water could do if the tank failed suddenly. - Phil
Great Information Brother! Didn't know phos-check was available in that size. Retired Firefighter on East Coast. Never Saw that in South Carolina. Keep Us Informed Brother, Thanks.
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this information! I live in Cedar Ridge, so you know how helpful this can be, too. We have just a little house, but would like to do all that we can to help with any encroaching fire.
As an ex-military member you qualify for USAA. USAA members in some areas are provided with a private firefighting crew. You must have a Firewise Plan and inspection to qualify. USAA figures it cheaper to help you get ready and put it out than to pay claims.
Juan you need to get a real good pump so you can fight the fire with your pool. A good one with a honda engine at least 3 inch. Make sure you have a really really good fire break. Also the embers like to go through the vents on your roof and get in the attic. Put wet towels over all the vents. Minus the sewer vents. Also get some wild land gear with fave shields and gloves to avoid burns
As A Firefighter, I can tell you that those towels would only stay wet for the briefest period of time. Maybe try blocking them with cinder blocks or aluminum tape
@@BlackCeII well unless they are staged on the roof the towels are faster. The wife could be wetting the towels while your grabbing the ladder and climbing up then she throws them too you then starts the pump while you cover the vents. Yeah bricks would work and could be tossed up but you would have to have them to begin with and have them ready. Everybody has towels. You could use engine coolant that would not evaporate or fire retardent but it takes more time. And im sure you would probably be constantly hosing down your roof anyways so they would stay wet from that alone. If the towel catches fire youll see it, If your attic catches fire you wont see it till its too late. A fire blanket would be best. They are super cheap on amazon. And starting anything by saying "as a whatever" is probably one of the single dooshiest things a person can do online.
Friends of mine had a log house with cedar shake roof. They ran metal 3/4 " pipe along the ridges with high output lawn sprinklers the a valve on the deck. The ground was covered with ash and embers but the house was saved. Large cleared area around and green grass that was irrigated. You need to plan and execute to save your property. My sister has horses and transports live stock to safe havens. So many have burns. Some have put down which is hard to do. The folks did lots work on their property and with luck it worked out
I supplemented the ¼ inch mesh in my attic vents (2½ inch circles) with metal window screen material. Hopefully too fine for any embers to pass through.
We were the only household to apply for the mPower program for water conservation specific to cisterns. This program is unfortunately no longer available for water projects. We had major runoff issues from the entire cul-de-sac watershed running through our property and this program provided a $50k lending resource to resolve this issue while allowing us to capture the runoff. Tank holds about 8,200 gallons and was purchased for $600 from a decommissioned lumber mill in Loomis. Taylor Heavy Hauling transported it to the house for another $2k. Video of our contractor moving the tank: ua-cam.com/video/xxMO6nFPaK8/v-deo.html. The drop inlet has a sediment filter at the top of the property and excess water runs down the hill to water the forest.
Great stuff for your neck of California, Juan, and I would definitely be following it for redwood country and lots of parts of Sonoma County. The Tubbs fire ran out of its wildland area and into Santa Rosa so damn fast that no preparation could be done.
What beautiful country. Looks like NH. Those trees will become "widow makers". I'm so sorry all these 🔥 fires 🔥 are wreaking havoc. I do pray for you all. God bless Juan. May God keep you and yours safe.
Great reuse of old railroad tank cars and other riveted steel or iron from the early part of the 20th century! A really thoughtful and informative piece about someone who really knows how to prepare for disasters. Just like the former fire chief in Paradise a few years ago -- when in "fire country" then prepare to prevent fire instead of waiting for it to happen! Great piece...
The more video I see of the housing in these fire prone areas I see an extremely disturbing trend. Every single house and outbuilding is built with combustible sheathing of one sort or another. Many structures could be defended much easier if they were built with conventional masonry construction of one sort or another or at a minimum a cement board siding. If it were me there I would not have a wood sided house or an asphalt roof. Masonry and metal roofs are a mandatory in that case for me along with a sprinkler system hooked up to that tank.
For the roof, absolutely want metal or some sort of tile: cementitious or clay or whatever. Masonry walls can get tricky in CA because of the seismic hazard. Unreinforced masonry is out of the question, but I suppose there are ways to steel reinforce that would meet code - not my area of expertise though.
In general, when you go and add a unknown substance into a sprayer, look at its Material safety data sheet (MSDS) in case you need any kind of personal protection equipment.
It is toxic to aquatic life, so they aren’t allowed to drop on rivers and creeks for the most part. It’s called “practically non toxic” for humans and wildlife.
You mentioned the homeowner didn't have time, but were the firefighters able to use any of his stored water supply to help fight the fire in his area, or didn't they need the extra water? Seems like any extra water would come in extremely handy in situations like this, especially considering how bad the drought is this year. Great video, Juan.
Believe the crews hit the ground running and didn't have time to think. I wanted to place a blue W at the top of the property to inform them of a water source. But your thought was what I was trying to do.
Mechanical thinning of combustibles is the most proven protection. Done to the required scale, the harvested biomass has the potential to pay part of the cost. The savings from stopping the spread are more intangible, so harder to put a value on. Selective logging in lieu of clear felling brings both cost recovery and regeneration to the table as well.
One thing that helped was the multiple weeks of under story thinning of brush that prior winter. I highly recommend removing highly flammable plants like manzanita or in my case bay laurels which have a high concentration of flammable oils. One large fir on the west side was strategically skirted the prior spring, if this hadn't been done both houses would of likely gone up.
Thank you Mark! We live above the Rising Sun Mine and trying to create my own theme park for years. Purchased the fountain tank from a retired linesman from Dayton NV who found it abandoned in the Sierras. He attempted to fly the entire tank out via helicopter but had to cut it into two pieces due to the weight.
Hi Juan, fantastic interesting episode! Thank God your friend and his house made it. The really scary part is that he was very well prepared and yet didn't have the time to deploy his large tank system, really scary. Just tells you how fast these things travel. 3:22 Is the gun used for blowing out the fire? 4:06 Propane tank!? You make me nervous.
Would prefer a deep plough first, to turn this into the soil deep, followed by a harrow to make it compact again. You want to bury the leaf litter and let it degrade underground, to enrich the soil, or collect it into heaps and turn it into compost instead.
Hello! Is the dead timber usable for anything? At least for firewood (not making a pun or joke here)? I have watched some of the "Central Washington University" geological talks, one of which re-showed Mt St Helens' destruction. Which included millions of trees which could have been turned into lumber instead of mulch. If there is anything still usable of trees that may die from the fire but have not yet succumbed, can they be retrieved?
Reached out to the local (only) timber company. Problem is that they are drowning in lumber from trying to recover lumber from their own harvest-able lots devastated by the Paradise fire. They and others are interested in the Cedars though.
It sounds like a potential game changer.. I wonder if the mass application of what turns into fertilizer in onexseason contributes much to underbrush growth for a future fire season?
I would assume so if washed, these typically don't produce much of a crop due to the northern exposure. Most people don't realize that Himalayan Blackberry is an invasive species from Asia. These have been persistently here for the duration of our ownership of the house. - Phil
Amazon sells the stuff, too. It comes red-tinted or clear and I keep a couple totes on hand. It’s not cheap, but it’s cheaper than rebuilding your home.
With all of the air support combined with ground crews etc., you would think the State and counties would simply supply residents with a good amount of this Phos-Chek. At least that would allow the fire fighting to concentrate a little more on the source vs. a knee jerk solution for homes. There's a lot of property taxes going to the many counties, you'd think they would make some attempts to help out and preserve residential areas prone to fire threats.
No. People need to be responsible for their own property, without need for government assistance, or face the consequences. Many folks won't even do basic yearly maintenance defensive measures, much less, spray fire retardant. Besides, if they want to spray something, it would be much more effective to spray some herbicide around, earlier in the year. I could see insurance companies getting involved, regarding high-risk properties. Maybe a yearly inspection, requiring certain precautions to be completed by the beginning of June. With a follow up inspection of properties that have failed. The insurance companies could give the homeowners, who have passed inspection, a few gallons of fire retardant to use as a additional measure of protection.
I mentioned in an earlier comment that I used the water conservation program to fund this "cistern" project. I think there should be a program for cistern fire suppression systems that could be leveraged to help homeowners defend their properties with a set a defined criteria. This is not a subsidy, only a loaning mechanism. Lookup mPower (discontinued) or PACE programs. The planning department was amused by this project. One note that caught everyone off guard, engineering and permits are typically involved if the tank exceeds 5k gallons. The engineer shook his head and wondered why it had to be reviewed since you could use it as bullet suppression system. I assume this is due to the potential damage that a sudden release of water could do if the tank failed suddenly.
As an Australian knowing the devastation of fires; thanks for doing this video. I hope others take what you said as advice because that is what it is, good advice by example. As for rivets my favourite planes, as a child, were Beaver crop duster. Rivets all over them. Learned about rivets and still like to use them in fun projects or repairs.
Tank is a must. Add Industrial Strength Liquid washing Up Liquid (Virtually same as the Airport Fire Fighters Use). Buy Some Garden Lawn Sprayers and Deploy using Diesel, Petrol, Electric water Pumps. That old tank Car IS BLOODY FANTASTIC for such a Purpose. A you said "deploy two or three times a year. Bubbles with the Concentrated washing up liquid smother the flames and prevent Oxygen getting to the fuel Source. LEARNT THIS AT HMS RALEIGH, ROYAL NAVAL FIRE FIGHTING SCHOOL, MINUS THE GARDEN SPRAYERS. And being Phospahate based the washing up liquid actually feeds the plants.
I noticed his wood piles were covered with reflective tarps. When flammable material can't be removed, that might be another good idea. That is, assuming the tarps themselves aren't flammable.
Under the tarps are massive beam timbers milled from local ponderosa trees cut down from my neighbors property. They were about 150 years old and I didn't want the to go to waste.
You could have an automated system connecting it to the big trees around the property covering the whole area have some wax valves like in sprinklers away from the property, and when the heat triggers sets it off the sprinklers all around the property with the retardant in a separate container connected to the hose blanket the whole area. the question is is that better than foam? I'm not sure I think foam is better especially on the roof what he didn't cover..? the roof what is a form of ignition with debris from the trees and the type of material that tiles are made from over there is a form of ignition you only need embers to set it off. I'm not sure if fire retardant would protect that.?? but foam would, what can be applied in the same way as the fire retardant. I'm not sure these backpack producing enough retardant coverage, will be better to use the garden hose and a spraying bottle connected to it mixing the retirement with the water, what you could use as a pump form a shower system to supply the garden hose connected to the outside line, a sprayer with a mixing bottle you probably could adapt a car paint sprayer used for under seal or waxing has a long nozzle, if you drill out the valve because you got water instead of air mix the retardant in a bigger bottle with the water and drill out the spray nozzle. If you got an air compressor then you don't need to modify just have a long hose in a bucket to pick up the retardant and water mix connected to dolly easy transport. Foam is better for covering buildings and iam not sure why they're not using it you can get Environmental foam.
Those outside, free standing, big propane tanks look like potential bombs if they got overheated by a wildfire. And all the neighbors have them too. The neighbors houses look fine also, were they also treated with Phos Chek? It appears the wind shift is what really saved them the most. Living out west with that dry land and wild fires would be nerve wracking to me. Helps me to put up with the heat and humidity in the east.
Thanks for the explanation Juan. I was wondering the effect of the retardant on plants and gardens. The chemicals used makes me think they would "burn" vegetation in the long run. And does it easily wash off stuff like buildings and stuff?
Yep, government was telling us that it was our own duty to keep on top of things. I've often wondered what the outcome would be to the sierras in the event to a doomsday scenario. Sure no one would be around to document it though.
Good question! With no clear answer. Some of the lumber does get salvaged, but it depends largely on the location. And in many cases, it involves a fight of some sort to accomplish. Much is left to rot due to a number of factors such as economic feasibility, inaccesability, etc.
Reached out to the local (only) timber company. Problem is that they are drowning in lumber from trying to recover lumber from their own harvest-able lots devastated by the Paradise fire. They and others are interested in the Cedars though.
I’m a firefighter in Oregon and do structure protection at Wildland fires much of the summer. Your assessment and advice is pretty darn good. I’d like to add a few points. Most importantly is to understand that most homes catch fire not due to radiant heat from the trees on fire but rather ember storms driven by the winds. The embers collect just as leaves or snow drift and ignite combustibles they collect up against, like the bottom edge of the plywood sheathing under a roof or siding and the surface of a wooden deck. Knowing that, there are a few steps that are very effective: 1)cleaning your roof and gutters of combustible materials. Plugging the down spouts (I like disposable diapers as the swell and make a tight seal) and filling the gutters with water. Clear all combustibles three feet from around the house, including bark dust. You can leave ornamental plants generally as they have a high moisture content. Put all combustibles from your yard like furniture and toys in the garage or house. Move wood piles away from the house. Staple aluminum foil in an L shape along the intersection of decks and base of walls where embers will collect. Make sure all attic and crawl space vents have a fine screens over them so embers can’t blow in. If the existing screen has holes larger than window screen, cover it with duct tape. Make sure all windows are closed and the propane is off. Leave your lights on so firefighters can see the house in smoke or darkness. If you have a well you can turn on sprinklers to increase the humidity around the home and wet combustible decks. Don’t do this if you are on a community water system as you could inadvertently help run the system dry. Lastly, put a ladder to the roof and have a garden hose hooked up ready to go in the driveway for firefighters to use and fill their truck.
Good advice.
Great advice, i especially like the aluminum foil/sheeting idea where embers can collect... just a suggestion, maybe shiny metalised aluminum tape instead of duct tape, unless that's what you meant, I justthonk most people would see duct tape and think of the grey plastic stuff =)
Excellent!
Thanks
Thanks! All good points.
Spraying Phos-Chek could be a good side hustle for landscaping companies and youngsters with an entrepreneurial spirit. Always informative and interesting, thanks!
haha hey good thinking!
I’m woundering how good of a fertilizer it is.
@@JAMESWUERTELE yeah me too, that's really cool I had no idea... part of me always wondered if it was some kind of horrendous chemical or something y'know haha so it's nice to find out that it just might be kind of helpful sometimes.
It’s been being done by landscapers for a while.
@@JAMESWUERTELE ABC fire extinguisher chemical has been known for a long time to be a fertilizer by those in the extinguisher industry. From everything thing I’ve told it breaks down to nitrogen.
Nice story!😊. Fighters I know have said if a house looks savable, they’ll try. But where owner’s don’t try to make the homes fire safe, they don’t waste time on those.
You’re a good man, Juan.
This is sad but true....... The old saying you can't save every puppy in the pound is how a lot put it. There's just no point wasting resources and it's how my grandfather survived 3 fires that took out his neighbors......... He keeps clear fire breaks,keeps trees cut back and uses cheap drip irrigation hose on the hill that the fire usually comes up. The last fire we think that saved him. You could clearly see how the fire came up the valley and went around the irrigated land. It was like a oasis of green in a desert of fire. He also' sprays everything with drilling mud that is pretty much clay and water. It makes a mess but it keeps embers from catching things on fire
I did fire damage assessment on the cedar fire in San Diego county years ago. Follow the wildland Urban interface models to trim and clear around your house. Use a drip system on trees and brush around the house to keep them moist so they don't want to catch on fire. Have a 1500 gallon tank. Have a generator to run the well if you're not on public water. Install a sprinkler system on the ridge of the house. Install misters on the eaves of the house. Keep flammable furniture and belongings away from the house. And you'll be doing pretty good if the fire shows up.
I'm assuming taking those measures would equate to a reduction in house insurance...?
@@ScumfuckMcDoucheface Probably, but you also need to keep up on maintaining and testing them, they are not exactly a fit and forget item.
You would have to contact your insurance company.
One spark into a roof vent and guess what?.....yup your home is toast!. COVER ALL ROOF VENTS WITH SHEET ALUMINUM SCREWED ON TIGHT!.
Good advice Juan. This also brings good advice from other channel members that hopefully will resonate around the web. Much appreciated!
Great story about phoscheck. The homeowner also dig a great job keeping fuels away from the home. The area around the house is clear to mineral soil or the equivalent. He was very well prepared.
I checked into this when you first started the fire coverage a while back. Made in San Diego…a privately owned company.
Remove the understory and the fire has to come out of the crown for the trees and now you have a chance to stop it. Good preseason fire clearance is a must. Stay healthy.
Great story, and yes luck does favor the prepared. Living in the WUIA, we all need to prepare. It is amazing just how fast debris will accumulate near the house. Keeping it at bay and clearing the fuels away is a key factor for sure. I'm glad to have a small supply of Phos-Chek at the ready in case I have to do some last minute prep on the way out. Good job Phil, and Juan for sharing!
Love the water feature at the end of the video!
It should be protected as an industrial heritage.
IIRC after the Gatlinburg, TN fires, one house that was spared belonged to a former park ranger. He spent the effort to make sure his property was clear of combustibles as well. Great advice.
Phil got LUCKY! That house is in the forest, mid-slope, with high combustibles around the house. Tons of places for the ember cast to land. Pho’s- check or not.
Right on.
Glad you posted this, always wondered why more people did not take the effort to protect their homes and property...I lived in NC where we didnt get fires like Ca. but I had a dedicated pump and hose incase I had a garage or house fire as the area was volunteer fire fighters and I could not count on a rapid response. I figured if I could not stop it I could at least slow it down enough to save the house or garage. If I was forced to live in Ca I would at least have a dedicated pump, and water source and would have cleared out around the structures.
"... if I were forced to live in California..." hahaha you've made some very good and legitimate points in this comment.
Just up the street from my place!! Thanks Juan, I did not know about that stuff and I will be getting some tomorrow for my 2.5 acres
As usual your reporting and information is spot on and interesting in that we get a very genuine appraisal of the situation, not just another canned and overcooked media report. Phos-Chek is a powerful and proven tool in any SYSTEM of fire prevention IF it is used correctly and thought of correctly! I’ve been out on yet another assignment, we’ve been supporting multiple fires with VLATs and various other Tankers (Including MAFFS! Love those Herky Birds!) Hopefully we are making a difference. I’m glad these people didn’t lose their home, I know so many others unfortunately have. Our thoughts, prayers, and most of all our best efforts go out to all those being effected right now. As with every fire season get prepared! Be safe! And hang tough!
I have suppressant mix to spray on the house and other places is left over. But I’ve also masticated the property and taken off lower limbs of trees.
The part I hadn’t thought of was firefighters seeing that my property gives them a reason to make a stand to save it. I really hadn’t considered the psychological effects on those who would help me.
Preparing the property is like being vaccinated: those who will help know that I did what I could and will be more motivated to pull me through.
It's not a psychological effect, they are trained to look for safe and easy access past buildings to get to a fire and also to ensure they are making a stand in an area that is as safe as possible for them to be in.
So, they want easy access to drag hoses through, and an easy, unencumbered exit path in case the plan goes bad.
If you can also have a tank and pump ready for them, even better. You don't have to stay, just leave it there ready to go.
Fantastic info that could help a lot of people to be better prepared in fire areas!!! Its great that your friend Phil's house and other neighbors was saved!
A perfect example of making your own luck. :^)
I’m so glad his house survived, and they were able to evacuate safely. Hoping for containment for all the fires burning. Sending well wishes from the sacramento valley.
Holy crap thanks for sharing this info! I had no idea. I have a cabin that is under fire threat right now in the sequoia national forest that I wish I’d been able to protect like this. We’re literally waking up every morning hoping and praying that our cabin survived the previous night...totally sucks stressing.
One thing good about this fire Juan, your friend doesn't have to worry so much about a wild fire for another 10-15 yrs. All that accumulated fuel on the forest floor is gone, for now.
Having had a house in Lake Tahoe, in a very forested area, which was lost in the Angora Creek fire of 2007, my observation was that pine needles would build up at over an inch a year.
@@saratogapilot6100 Which is why you want to get that either collected and burnt, or use a plough and bury it. Keep the forest floor around the house clear, keep flammable material away and you have a very good chance the house will survive.
I remember watching CNN years ago when LA was burning, and there was this single house in a massive flat area that was once a suburb. They were interviewing this Korean Engineer owner, who had built the house himself. Asked why his house was still there, while the rest were gone, he replied "I thought everybody knows wood burns", and he built his out of brick and tile, not wood beams, plastic siding and tar paper roof with wood shingles.
@@SeanBZA In the Tahoe basin, you may not burn anything and at the time of the Angora Creek fire, where 500 homes were lost, you were not permitted to remove natural ground litter by any means. Pine needles had built up four or five inches deep. No tree or sapling greater than 4 inches in diameter can be cut down without a permit, which is usually not granted. Therefore, the Tamarack pine trees that surrounded the houses could not be removed or cleared. These regulations are largely still in place, but the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency lost over $110 M in lawsuits from insurance companies, in response to which property owners were allowed to remove ground litter, but still not allowed to cut down trees. Of course, there are no trees to be cut down, now.
@@saratogapilot6100 Hopefully the property owners make sure to keep the number of trees down, and remove all the seedlings regularly. Wishful thinking in that those who denied the removal are held personally accountable for the failure to act, not for the cost to be carried by the taxpayers of the area.
@@Ice_Karma Good question. In America, it is possible to create a special region or area where the use of the land can be regulated for special purposes, such as water conservation, or preservation of natural habitats. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is one of those specialized agencies. The purpose of their regulations, which were quite foolish, was to "preserve the natural environment" within the Tahoe basin. TRPA was approved by the voters (property owners), but the specific regulations that were imposed by the TRPA were not individually approved by the voters. Of the many regulations, several were responsible for later causing the destruction by the Angora Creek fire. Specifically, no trees can be removed unless the diameter of the trunk one foot above the ground level is four or fewer inches in diameter unless the property owner first gets a permit and, generally, permits are not approved. The maximum land area that can be covered by the house, the driveway, and any attached decks is strictly limited. The maximum height of each house is limited. And, this is really bad: ground litter cannot be removed. It must be left to pile up and rot. This is a wooded (forest) area. My house was surrounded by 30 ft. high Tamarack pine trees and nothing else (no other kinds of plants or trees). Now, of course, after the fire there are no trees or any vegetation at all except grass and weeds. So, now, it is illegal to sweep up leaves in the autumn anywhere within the TRPA.
Definitely on the right track I often wonder why more homeowners haven't installed fire suppression systems & also could be a very lucrative business
If people won't even clear a defensible space of brush and dead trees from 100 feet around their house, why and how would people pay for such an expensive system they can't afford?
@@BlackCeII I'm surprised there aren't grants or rebates and incentives for such systems... wouldn't a system like this cut your house insurance some?
In Tahoe basin your not allowed to even rake needles off forest floor. To keep the lake blue ....in Calaveras co where my cabin is we need to rake before June 1st
Lee, I mentioned in an earlier comment that I used the water conservation program to fund this project. I think there should be a program for cistern fire suppression systems that could be leveraged to help homeowners defend their properties with a set a defined criteria. The planning department was amused by this project. One note that caught everyone off guard, engineering and permits are typically involved if the tank exceeds 5k gallons. I assume this is due to the potential damage that a sudden release of water could do if the tank failed suddenly. - Phil
And the little history lesson at the end!!
Great Information Brother! Didn't know phos-check was available in that size. Retired Firefighter on East Coast. Never Saw that in South Carolina. Keep Us Informed Brother, Thanks.
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this information! I live in Cedar Ridge, so you know how helpful this can be, too. We have just a little house, but would like to do all that we can to help with any encroaching fire.
So glad his efforts worked in his favor with the FF's. Great set up with the old tanker and the water works. Lucky folks.
Great PSA Juan!
Pretty sure the fire thought Mr. Phil's yard was simply to rad too stomp on.
hahaha well said friend.
Being smart and not giving up can help create good luck. Congratulations to your friend on saving his home, I'm impressed
Well,put together presentation Juan, people should lister to you, THANKS ! From an old wildland ff !
Yay Phil!
Blackberries.
I picked nearly a hundred pounds this season
Ready for a covid19 winter
As an ex-military member you qualify for USAA. USAA members in some areas are provided with a private firefighting crew. You must have a Firewise Plan and inspection to qualify.
USAA figures it cheaper to help you get ready and put it out than to pay claims.
Juan you need to get a real good pump so you can fight the fire with your pool. A good one with a honda engine at least 3 inch. Make sure you have a really really good fire break. Also the embers like to go through the vents on your roof and get in the attic. Put wet towels over all the vents. Minus the sewer vents. Also get some wild land gear with fave shields and gloves to avoid burns
As A Firefighter, I can tell you that those towels would only stay wet for the briefest period of time. Maybe try blocking them with cinder blocks or aluminum tape
@@BlackCeII well unless they are staged on the roof the towels are faster. The wife could be wetting the towels while your grabbing the ladder and climbing up then she throws them too you then starts the pump while you cover the vents. Yeah bricks would work and could be tossed up but you would have to have them to begin with and have them ready. Everybody has towels. You could use engine coolant that would not evaporate or fire retardent but it takes more time. And im sure you would probably be constantly hosing down your roof anyways so they would stay wet from that alone. If the towel catches fire youll see it, If your attic catches fire you wont see it till its too late. A fire blanket would be best. They are super cheap on amazon. And starting anything by saying "as a whatever" is probably one of the single dooshiest things a person can do online.
Do not get a 3" line, you will not get nozzles, or even be able to move the line. 1 1/2" is adequate
Friends of mine had a log house with cedar shake roof. They ran metal 3/4 " pipe along the ridges with high output lawn sprinklers the a valve on the deck. The ground was covered with ash and embers but the house was saved. Large cleared area around and green grass that was irrigated. You need to plan and execute to save your property. My sister has horses and transports live stock to safe havens. So many have burns. Some have put down which is hard to do. The folks did lots work on their property and with luck it worked out
I supplemented the ¼ inch mesh in my attic vents (2½ inch circles) with metal window screen material. Hopefully too fine for any embers to pass through.
Harvesting/capturing run-off water from a street is pretty smart!
We were the only household to apply for the mPower program for water conservation specific to cisterns. This program is unfortunately no longer available for water projects. We had major runoff issues from the entire cul-de-sac watershed running through our property and this program provided a $50k lending resource to resolve this issue while allowing us to capture the runoff. Tank holds about 8,200 gallons and was purchased for $600 from a decommissioned lumber mill in Loomis. Taylor Heavy Hauling transported it to the house for another $2k. Video of our contractor moving the tank: ua-cam.com/video/xxMO6nFPaK8/v-deo.html. The drop inlet has a sediment filter at the top of the property and excess water runs down the hill to water the forest.
Thanks Juan! Good information. I live in a range land area northwest of Eagle, ID. Fire up here is a constant concern.
Its pure luck, wind shift, his property survived. The infrared radiation heating from a 50 to 100 foot flame is over whelming.
Yes, but luck favors the prepared.
Pretty cool steampunks set up at Phillis property
I hope these companies support this channel.
Dont forget to brass wire (like an SOS pad) your weep holes and other small openings!
That's a great planning success story!
Great stuff for your neck of California, Juan, and I would definitely be following it for redwood country and lots of parts of Sonoma County.
The Tubbs fire ran out of its wildland area and into Santa Rosa so damn fast that no preparation could be done.
Thank you Juan. We will need to get some Phos-Chek.
Thank You! Prayers and Love to everyone in the fires! 🙏😇❤️❤️❤️❤️👊🇺🇸
What beautiful country. Looks like NH. Those trees will become "widow makers". I'm so sorry all these 🔥 fires 🔥 are wreaking havoc. I do pray for you all. God bless Juan. May God keep you and yours safe.
Great reuse of old railroad tank cars and other riveted steel or iron from the early part of the 20th century! A really thoughtful and informative piece about someone who really knows how to prepare for disasters. Just like the former fire chief in Paradise a few years ago -- when in "fire country" then prepare to prevent fire instead of waiting for it to happen! Great piece...
great to see a good news story about the fires!
Way to go Phil!!
Love your work Juan 👍🦇
The more video I see of the housing in these fire prone areas I see an extremely disturbing trend. Every single house and outbuilding is built with combustible sheathing of one sort or another. Many structures could be defended much easier if they were built with conventional masonry construction of one sort or another or at a minimum a cement board siding. If it were me there I would not have a wood sided house or an asphalt roof. Masonry and metal roofs are a mandatory in that case for me along with a sprinkler system hooked up to that tank.
For the roof, absolutely want metal or some sort of tile: cementitious or clay or whatever. Masonry walls can get tricky in CA because of the seismic hazard. Unreinforced masonry is out of the question, but I suppose there are ways to steel reinforce that would meet code - not my area of expertise though.
Thanks for sharing. As always, good and practical information.
In general, when you go and add a unknown substance into a sprayer, look at its Material safety data sheet (MSDS) in case you need any kind of personal protection equipment.
I was wondering if this product is harmful to wildlife.
It is toxic to aquatic life, so they aren’t allowed to drop on rivers and creeks for the most part. It’s called “practically non toxic” for humans and wildlife.
That was a good good way to save house! !!
An excellent public service announcement for those in fire prone areas.
Thanks for the information. I'll act on this.
Phos Chek is basically diammonium phosphate fertilizer mixed with water. Ammonium Sulphate will do the same.
You mentioned the homeowner didn't have time, but were the firefighters able to use any of his stored water supply to help fight the fire in his area, or didn't they need the extra water? Seems like any extra water would come in extremely handy in situations like this, especially considering how bad the drought is this year. Great video, Juan.
Believe the crews hit the ground running and didn't have time to think. I wanted to place a blue W at the top of the property to inform them of a water source. But your thought was what I was trying to do.
Mechanical thinning of combustibles is the most proven protection.
Done to the required scale, the harvested biomass has the potential to pay part of the cost. The savings from stopping the spread are more intangible, so harder to put a value on.
Selective logging in lieu of clear felling brings both cost recovery and regeneration to the table as well.
One thing that helped was the multiple weeks of under story thinning of brush that prior winter. I highly recommend removing highly flammable plants like manzanita or in my case bay laurels which have a high concentration of flammable oils. One large fir on the west side was strategically skirted the prior spring, if this hadn't been done both houses would of likely gone up.
Green lake fire here in north Minnesota went from 8000+ too 19,000 + in last two days . Wind Just will not let Up .
Good report. Lots of good suggestions.
I’m wanting the accident breakdown videos. I’m fired out lol.But appreciate the updates
Thanks for the info, I never knew that product existed and you could by it in a store.
Good job Phil, and love all your rusty 'junk'.
Thank you Mark! We live above the Rising Sun Mine and trying to create my own theme park for years. Purchased the fountain tank from a retired linesman from Dayton NV who found it abandoned in the Sierras. He attempted to fly the entire tank out via helicopter but had to cut it into two pieces due to the weight.
Hi Juan, fantastic interesting episode!
Thank God your friend and his house made it.
The really scary part is that he was very well prepared and yet didn't have the time to deploy his large tank system, really scary. Just tells you how fast these things travel.
3:22 Is the gun used for blowing out the fire?
4:06 Propane tank!? You make me nervous.
I would enjoy a slew of visits to homes where the homeowners diligence, and some luck, made all the difference.
I couldn't imagine how terrifying that would be knowing your house All the effort and time and years and money could be lost due to a wildfire
Makes you think a tractor hooked up to a land rake would be helpful during off fire season.
Would prefer a deep plough first, to turn this into the soil deep, followed by a harrow to make it compact again. You want to bury the leaf litter and let it degrade underground, to enrich the soil, or collect it into heaps and turn it into compost instead.
Tile roofs and non-flammable construction.
Hello! Is the dead timber usable for anything? At least for firewood (not making a pun or joke here)?
I have watched some of the "Central Washington University" geological talks, one of which re-showed Mt St Helens' destruction. Which included millions of trees which could have been turned into lumber instead of mulch. If there is anything still usable of trees that may die from the fire but have not yet succumbed, can they be retrieved?
Reached out to the local (only) timber company. Problem is that they are drowning in lumber from trying to recover lumber from their own harvest-able lots devastated by the Paradise fire. They and others are interested in the Cedars though.
@@phillpdeak Thank you. It would not surprise me if willing labor is in "short supply" to make the harvest more comprehensive.
Juan, stay safe from the Bennett Fire. Praying for you all!
Check out Firefree 88 vids. Paint your house with it and use metal roofing also plus the outside prep too. Its all good.
I see a fire just broke out in Grass Valley. Be safe, Juan!
It sounds like a potential game changer.. I wonder if the mass application of what turns into fertilizer in onexseason contributes much to underbrush growth for a future fire season?
Really interesting JB. Learning new stuff continuously on Blancolirio.
Are the blackberries edible after being treated?
Take care and fly safe. 🖖🏽🤟🏽
I would assume so if washed, these typically don't produce much of a crop due to the northern exposure. Most people don't realize that Himalayan Blackberry is an invasive species from Asia. These have been persistently here for the duration of our ownership of the house. - Phil
Amazon sells the stuff, too. It comes red-tinted or clear and I keep a couple totes on hand. It’s not cheap, but it’s cheaper than rebuilding your home.
With all of the air support combined with ground crews etc., you would think the State and counties would simply supply residents with a good amount of this Phos-Chek. At least that would allow the fire fighting to concentrate a little more on the source vs. a knee jerk solution for homes. There's a lot of property taxes going to the many counties, you'd think they would make some attempts to help out and preserve residential areas prone to fire threats.
Don’t go applying logic here
No.
People need to be responsible for their own property, without need for government assistance, or face the consequences.
Many folks won't even do basic yearly maintenance defensive measures, much less, spray fire retardant.
Besides, if they want to spray something, it would be much more effective to spray some herbicide around, earlier in the year.
I could see insurance companies getting involved, regarding high-risk properties. Maybe a yearly inspection, requiring certain precautions to be completed by the beginning of June. With a follow up inspection of properties that have failed.
The insurance companies could give the homeowners, who have passed inspection, a few gallons of fire retardant to use as a additional measure of protection.
@@straybullitt I know, nothing logical occurs with most residential owners.
I mentioned in an earlier comment that I used the water conservation program to fund this "cistern" project. I think there should be a program for cistern fire suppression systems that could be leveraged to help homeowners defend their properties with a set a defined criteria. This is not a subsidy, only a loaning mechanism. Lookup mPower (discontinued) or PACE programs.
The planning department was amused by this project. One note that caught everyone off guard, engineering and permits are typically involved if the tank exceeds 5k gallons. The engineer shook his head and wondered why it had to be reviewed since you could use it as bullet suppression system. I assume this is due to the potential damage that a sudden release of water could do if the tank failed suddenly.
As an Australian knowing the devastation of fires; thanks for doing this video. I hope others take what you said as advice because that is what it is, good advice by example.
As for rivets my favourite planes, as a child, were Beaver crop duster. Rivets all over them. Learned about rivets and still like to use them in fun projects or repairs.
Tank is a must. Add Industrial Strength Liquid washing Up Liquid (Virtually same as the Airport Fire Fighters Use). Buy Some Garden Lawn Sprayers and Deploy using Diesel, Petrol, Electric water Pumps. That old tank Car IS BLOODY FANTASTIC for such a Purpose. A you said "deploy two or three times a year. Bubbles with the Concentrated washing up liquid smother the flames and prevent Oxygen getting to the fuel Source. LEARNT THIS AT HMS RALEIGH, ROYAL NAVAL FIRE FIGHTING SCHOOL, MINUS THE GARDEN SPRAYERS. And being Phospahate based the washing up liquid actually feeds the plants.
👍👍👍👍👍 WOW the good LORD was looking over them folks FOR SURE!!! Lucky that wind changed, and it didn't "CROWN OVER"
THANKS AGAIN JUAN !!!😍😍😍😍😍🙏
Luckily I already knew about that product and always keep six jugs of it on hand along with the sprayers.
I noticed his wood piles were covered with reflective tarps. When flammable material can't be removed, that might be another good idea. That is, assuming the tarps themselves aren't flammable.
Under the tarps are massive beam timbers milled from local ponderosa trees cut down from my neighbors property. They were about 150 years old and I didn't want the to go to waste.
it took tell late spring/early summer to know what trees had died after the Archie creek fire last year.
Great story. Great real life example. Juan you going to present this to your community?
Already did. Thanks!
Lady Luck always aprecciates endevours made on her behalf, but FATE will come knockin if you're unprepared.
Sounds like the ingredience in most food we eat.
I lived in Meadow Vista, neighbor area.. Thank you for sharing. Use a indian can. It will help.
Luck favors the prepared. Great job Juan.
So happy he could save his house! For once, a Happy ending!
Do a lot of people know you can protect your property with fire retardant. If so why don't more people make use of it.
Nice job...thanks again...
Juan - saw a good news story on Ch. 58/3 tonite on Phos Check.
Spreading the news!
Do you have any updates on the main fires in Trinity County?
thinking about you, Juan
I have been worried about you, stay safe.
You could have an automated system connecting it to the big trees around the property covering the whole area have some wax valves like in sprinklers away from the property, and when the heat triggers sets it off the sprinklers all around the property with the retardant in a separate container connected to the hose blanket the whole area. the question is is that better than foam? I'm not sure I think foam is better especially on the roof what he didn't cover..? the roof what is a form of ignition with debris from the trees and the type of material that tiles are made from over there is a form of ignition you only need embers to set it off. I'm not sure if fire retardant would protect that.?? but foam would, what can be applied in the same way as the fire retardant. I'm not sure these backpack producing enough retardant coverage, will be better to use the garden hose and a spraying bottle connected to it mixing the retirement with the water, what you could use as a pump form a shower system to supply the garden hose connected to the outside line, a sprayer with a mixing bottle you probably could adapt a car paint sprayer used for under seal or waxing has a long nozzle, if you drill out the valve because you got water instead of air mix the retardant in a bigger bottle with the water and drill out the spray nozzle. If you got an air compressor then you don't need to modify just have a long hose in a bucket to pick up the retardant and water mix connected to dolly easy transport. Foam is better for covering buildings and iam not sure why they're not using it you can get Environmental foam.
They make foam cannons for washing cars equipment. One of those would work perfectly for what your suggesting.
Great Video Juan, Home Depot does not have Phos Chek....do you know where I can get this stuff?
Ordered and bought from HD, www.homedepot.com/p/Phos-CHEK-Home-Defense-Fire-Retardant-Spray-100539685/309255488
Those outside, free standing, big propane tanks look like potential bombs if they got overheated by a wildfire. And all the neighbors have them too. The neighbors houses look fine also, were they also treated with Phos Chek? It appears the wind shift is what really saved them the most. Living out west with that dry land and wild fires would be nerve wracking to me. Helps me to put up with the heat and humidity in the east.
Thanks for the explanation Juan. I was wondering the effect of the retardant on plants and gardens. The chemicals used makes me think they would "burn" vegetation in the long run. And does it easily wash off stuff like buildings and stuff?
I haven't washed off the spray weeks after the application. The plants appear un-phased. - Phil
A movie made in 1954 called The House in the Middle demonstrates how yard waste and junk can cause secondary fires after a nuclear attack.
Yep, government was telling us that it was our own duty to keep on top of things. I've often wondered what the outcome would be to the sierras in the event to a doomsday scenario. Sure no one would be around to document it though.
Hey Juan, thanks for the video. I wonder if I should invest in more than just defensible space work for fire protection. I live in Truckee CA.
Does California and USFS allow logging of salvageable timber in these huge fire burned areas?
Good question!
With no clear answer.
Some of the lumber does get salvaged, but it depends largely on the location. And in many cases, it involves a fight of some sort to accomplish.
Much is left to rot due to a number of factors such as economic feasibility, inaccesability, etc.
Reached out to the local (only) timber company. Problem is that they are drowning in lumber from trying to recover lumber from their own harvest-able lots devastated by the Paradise fire. They and others are interested in the Cedars though.
Fantastic!!!!! Thank you!