BY ALLIE JO PINICK

Imagine you’re at home with your family, and someone knocks on your front door. It is a fireman, informing you of the fire that is quickly approaching. He requests that you and your family find a place, other than your home, to stay tonight. 

You and your family grab a few things and get in the car. Driving through the neighborhood, you wonder what is causing these fires. They’ve been covering the news. Every day there seems to be an update on it. So what is making these fires pop up around my home, destroying anything and everything in its path? 

Causes: 

People’s actions create most of the fires that have destroyed many homes. More than 80% of wildfires are created by humans. Usually accidentally, from cigarettes and campfires.  

Some are created by the heat of the sun or lightning strikes. California has been dealing with droughts, which has created a great environment for fires to take over.

Since there are so many natural disasters happening around us, agencies can’t get the victims the help fast enough. It seems that every time I turn on the news or look at articles, there is a new fire or flood that has destroyed an innocent person’s home. When looking at these sources, I never see any tips on how to prevent them. I know you can’t really stop the flooding, but since the wildfires are mostly our, humans, fault there should be a way to help stop them, or at least decrease the fires.

Evacuations: 

Authorities can order or advise that you evacuate. With mandatory evacuations, you don’t have a choice. If they ask you to leave you must. Personally, if you’re able to leave, it’s probably best that you get away from the danger. It’s never ideal that you’re leaving your house as the fire in the background is spreading, but citizens’ safety comes first. When evacuating there can be a lot of steps, you should take a look at Ready to know what you should do to ensure you and your family’s safety.

Prevention:

Instead of watching these places burn down, we should at least try to help. The fires are usually our fault anyway, so it is our job to make sure we’re always being cautious. The smallest bud of a cigarette can make an entire city fall to ashes. People’s main goal is usually to protect themselves, so the key to making sure your house doesn’t catch fire is to maintain it.

-Create space between shrubs, so there is a smaller chance of fire spreading.

-Clean your yard by mowing and getting rid of fallen leaves.

-Be smart about the plants you get, maybe get fire-resistant ones.

Preparedness: 

Survival kits are very important, maybe the most important thing to have for a natural disaster. It can be a bag that is always packed, with basic necessities, and ready for when you need to leave quickly. The majority of people don’t have one and end up with nothing. 

Even though I live in the midwest, and haven’t personally experienced a wildfire, I still find it important to know what is happening around us. Some of the stuff that was talked about can possibly apply to natural disasters around me too.