10 Things a Firefighter Would NEVER Do During Wildfire Season

Most houses that burn in a wildfire are never touched by the wall of flame. They catch from an ember — a glowing chip of bark the wind carries a mile ahead of the fire — and it lands on the one thing the owner forgot. After thirty years as a fire captain, I walked streets where the trees were still green and the houses were gone. That is why these are ten things I would never do in fire season. I take you around a place the way I would with my own crew, from the yard to the roof, and I keep coming back to one detail: the way I saw more houses catch than any other is right above your head, and you have not looked at it since last fall. Along the way I cover what embers actually do to a home, why a wood fence, a stack of firewood, a doormat or a cushion can carry fire straight to your walls, and why the gutters and roof valleys matter more than most people think. You will also hear when I leave — before I ever see flames — and how to do the one-hour ember walk around your own property while the day is still calm. Fire season does not ask whether you were ready. It just arrives. Start with the small fixes today, because the last one is the decision you only get to make once. 0:00 How embers destroy houses 0:47 Parking on dry grass 1:37 Wood fences as fire fuses 2:38 Firewood against the house 3:43 Grill safety on red flag days 4:54 Create a defensible space 6:45 Remove doormats and cushions 7:50 Clear deck debris 8:56 Screen vents against embers 10:20 Leave before seeing flames 11:43 Clean gutters and roof valleys 13:06 Your one-hour ember walk 13:42 Leave when fire is close #WildfirePrep #DefensibleSpace #EmberAwareness #HomeHardening #FireSafety #WildfireSeason #EmergencyPreparedness