Preparation improves survival in a wildfire

Nevada residents threatened in a wildfire usually have the option of staying and defending their homes, but are rarely prepared to do it safely.

A wildfire in Australia, where a philosophy of allowing residents to "stay and defend" their homes to extend firefighting resources claimed more than 200 lives.

East Fork Fire Chief Tod Carlini said the key to defending property in a wildland fire is to prepare.

"People want to stay and fight the fire, but they don't want to prepare beforehand," he said.

Long-range forecasters are predicting a worse than normal fire season this year in western Nevada, thanks to drought conditions, which are expected to persist through spring.

Carson Valley hasn't seen a severe wildfire that destroyed homes since 1996's Autumn Hills fire. Carlini said the wildfire that most recently came close to disaster was the Sleeping Elephant fire in 2007.

Carlini said lives are saved by early evacuation of residents during a wildfire. But that's complicated by Nevada law, which requires that the governor declare an emergency before evacuations are mandatory.

"All evacuations short of a direct order from the governor are voluntary," Carlini said.

He said the key to protecting property in a wildfire has more to do with what a homeowner does before the fire begins.

Preparation can begin as early as the construction of a home with nonflamable materials or refitting homes.

Carlini said establishing defensible space and having a plan for both defending and abandoning a home are critical to preparation.

"'Stay and defend' assumes residents know when to go," he said. "The majority of people died in their cars when they were trying to flee. For us early evacuation has proven to save more residents' lives."

Residents sometimes believe that if firefighters are protecting a home, they should stay and help.

"It's a misconception that people should stay," he said. "We have set triggers that prescribe when we have to leave. If residents stay, that means the firefighters have to evacuate themselves and the residents."

The chief goal for the East Fork Fire & Paramedic Districts is to preserve life, Carlini said, which makes it hard to recommend a stay and defend policy.

The district has mapped about 75 percent of the properties that might face a wildfire and rated them as to their survivability.

"We notify the property owner, and it allocates resources graphically," he said. "If we have a lot of red in an area, it might not be defensible. In areas where there is a lot of green, we might allocate more resources because we know we can protect the property safely. It's a good tool to have."