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San Diego home inspections with Russel Ray: Protecting your home from wild fires

If you leave a comment, Russel will visit your blog and comment. Although "Fire Season" starts June 1 each year here in San Diego, the peak period of the fire season is usually October.

In fact, the largest wildfires in California history have come in October.

Here in San Diego, our largest fires were in October 2003 (16 dead, 2,427 buildings destroyed, 450,000 acres burned) and October 2007 (9 dead, 1,500 buildings destroyed, 500,000 acres burned). The Station Fire up in Los Angeles has killed two people, both fire fighters, and burned over 140,000 acres so far.

Satellite image of the October 2007 San Diego wildfires I do a lot of home inspections up in the Scripps Ranch area of San Diego, and I had several Clients lose their homes in the October 2003 Cedar Fire. One was scheduled to close escrow just a few days after the fire ravaged the home he was buying.

There is a lot that you, as a home owner -- seller, buyer, landlord, investor, etc. -- can do to help protect your home from wind-driven wild fires, and to help the fire fighters protect your home when the fires do arrive. And trust me, they will arrive, especially as more and more people choose to live out in the boondocks.

There are many web sites devoted to help you protect your home, so I won't rehash what already is available:

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Posted by Russel Ray, San Diego home inspector on 09/07/2009 02:46 PM

Comments (6)

Home Inspections in the ActiveRain Channel

home inspections, wildfires

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6 Comments on San Diego home inspections with Russel Ray: Protecting your home from wild fires

SEP

Russell ~ Perhaps the worst of the wild fires in San Diego have already gone in years past and this year you will see a nice, windless Indian Summer that will take you into November without any fires at all.

Russel excellent resouces - especially now with all that going on. I sure hope they get the fire contained without anymore causulaites or homes lost. I bet that must be really difficult knowing your clients personnally and the loss of their home. I've never experienced that - hmmmmmm- puts a whole new spin on things.

Hey, Terrie - We always hope that we've seen enough fires for a while, but with the ongoing drought, as well as the Santa Ana winds yet to arrive, it's just a matter of time. The last thing we need, though, are firefighters from throughout the state being in Los Angeles when fires break out elsewhere. Many of our firefighters here are up in Los Angeles helping to fight the Station Fire. With 4,200 square miles of land in San Diego County, much of that out in the boondocks, and 80% of it not having burned in many decades, Mother and Father Nature will let their fire get out of control again. It can't be helped. All we can do is try to educate those who choose to live in the boondocks that even though they choose to be separate from the cities, what they do out there can affect the cities.

Hey, Anna - I've been the victim of wildfires myself, which is why I wrote my eBook (#1 in the list in the post). I wanted to use some pictures of my Clients homes after they burned, but I just don't have the heart to. One of the homes was a condominium. He had a beautiful view of a gorgeous canyon from his condominium, but when the fire rushed up that same canyon, his was the first condominium to burn. Virtually his whole condomniium complex was destroyed.

Hi Russel! Your posts are always so appealing and interesting! As well, you give your consumer many resources which I know they appreciate. What a sad story about your client's home--I cannot imagine living with a fear of fire during this season each year--I have a horrible fear of fire anyway so, I'm not sure I would ever sleep!

Have a great evening...

SEP

HI Russel - These are great rescources - especially #1! Thanks for this reference list. My best girlfriend years ago had her house burn and I used slides I took after the fire to impress on elementary school kids about the dangers of forest fires (the homes of animals) as part of a speech and slide show I used to give in schools to teach about ecology. When they saw the kids' bedrooms all black with burned up toys scattered about, it hit home with them that they wouldn't want anyone - not even squirels in the forest - to lose their homes and all their favorite things.

Russel, God bless all of the homeowners who are in the path of the latest fires! God bless the men who risk their lives to fight those fires!

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