New Video Shows How to Protect Homes from Wildfires

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Citing the need to educate homeowners who live in the wildland urban interface (WUI) about how they can protect their homes from wildfires, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and California Fire Alliance teamed up to create a video that shows simple steps homeowners can take to protect their homes.

The partners released this video as part of Wildfire Awareness Week, May 6-12, to remind homeowners to "Take Responsibility" for creating and maintaining 100 feet of clean, open space around their homes to reduce fire danger and the risk of fires spreading.

The video highlights the five easy steps to create defensible space around homes:

• Remove dead shrubs, dried grass, fallen branches and dried leaves 100 feet around your house.
• Trim and separate plants and shrubs to stop fire from spreading.
• Remove ladder fuels - plants, shrubs and low branches that let a fire on the ground climb into the trees.
• Clear five feet around the base of the house and fill the space with fire resistant plants or materials such as rocks or gravel.
• Take care of the clean, open space around your home on a regular basis.

About the "Take Responsibility" Campaign
The "Take Responsibility" campaign is a campaign of the California Fire Alliance, an interagency forum that coordinates member agencies' efforts to develop loss mitigation plans for at-risk communities. For more information on the "Take Responsibility" campaign, the California Fire Alliance and defensible space, visit www.CAFireAlliance.com. Updates and information is also available via Twitter by following @cafirealliance or on Facebook (search California Fire Alliance).

SOURCE California Fire Alliance