There are fires in dry, hot climates but they can happen anywhere.The majority of wildfires start small and spread quickly.A large, active wildfire can throw burning embers up to a mile ahead of the actual fire if the wind currents are low.It's important to know what to do if you find yourself facing a fire.
Step 1: When did it last rain heavily?
It can get very dry if it has been several months since the previous rainstorm.shrubs burn a lot more quickly than wet shrubs
Step 2: The wind forecast.
The Santa Ana winds in Southern California allow for fire to spread more quickly.Hot ash and burning embers can be carried up or down the hill by these winds.
Step 3: It's important to be careful during the summer.
There may be little or no rain during this time.Even at night, these can ignite dry brush.Stay updated on the situation.
Step 4: The fire danger makes it necessary to read it.
The fire department puts up this to let you know about the risk of fires.If the fire danger is orange, don't light campfires or shoot fireworks.
Step 5: Stay calm.
panicking will not help you adapt to the situation and survive.If the air is not too smoky, breathing techniques are an excellent way to keep calm.Take a deep breath and exhale slowly.If the air is already smokey, you should not take deep breaths.You have the ability to escape and survive.The ability to make it out alive will be determined by your mental condition.
Step 6: Protect your airway.
Ensuring your safety is the most important thing you can do.If you can breathe, you have a chance of escaping the fire.You're going to pass out and die if you start inhaling smoke and carbon monoxide.Stay low.Put a wet cloth over your nose and mouth until you get to safer grounds.If you are hiking, you should have some type of cloth with you, like a bandanna.If the fire gets close, and heat becomes your biggest enemy, switch to a dry cloth.Breathing through a wet cloth does help with smoke, but with a fire nearby, the heat can evaporate the water, making it harder to breathe and possibly damage your airways.
Step 7: Three courses of action can be determined.
Try to come up with three different escape plans.If the situation changes and you need to adjust your plans, you will already have two backups.The most dangerous places to be in relation to the fire are uphill from the flames.Keep an eye out for the fire at all times.The wind can be used as a guide.If the wind is blowing towards the fire, then run into it.If the wind is behind the fire and blowing towards you, you should run parallel to it so that you can escape both the flames and the course they will blow towards.New mini-fires up to one mile ahead of the existing flames can be started by winds.Don't allow yourself to be surrounded by fire.
Step 8: Non-flammable terrain is where to head.
If you can, head for the biggest area that is not likely to burn.The fire may be wide and sweeping, but it needs trees, brush, and tall grass to burn.There are areas that are free of trees and brush.Put a water body between you and the fire.If you don't have any other options, places which have already burned are the safest place to go.You should make sure that the area is completely extinguished before moving forward, as fires could cause burns and breathing problems.
Step 9: You should avoid high-burn places.
You need to avoid places that could cause you to be trapped as you flee the fire.If possible, avoid areas with a lot of vegetation.If there is not a lot of vegetation, low-lying areas are generally considered safer.Don't go to canyons, natural "chimneys" or saddle-like ridges.If the fire suddenly spreads around you, and a canyon leaves you trapped in a dead end, these areas don't have a lot of options.
Step 10: If trapped, hunker down.
If the fire surrounds you, or if there is no place to hide, your safest option is to hunker down in an area that won't burn.If you are able to continue fleeing the fire, you should.Take refuge in a building or vehicle.If you are near a body of water, seek safety in the water or use it to keep a distance from the fire.Unless it is a narrow creek with a lot of trees, fire won't burn across the water.If you can't follow the road to safety due to the width of the fire, you may want to use a road as a barrier.The fire will take time to spread if there are overhanging branches.If you are trapped, lie face-down on the pavement as far from the fire as you can get.If there is a ditch on the far side of the road, lie down.Try to cover your body with something that will protect you from the fire.Even covering the back of your body with soil or mud can keep you cool in the heat.Stay down until the fire is out.
Step 11: Search for a vehicle.
If your choices are running on foot or using a vehicle, you should use the vehicle.It's still dangerous, but will give you better odds of survival.If you find an abandoned vehicle as you flee from the fire, you can enter it and hotwire it.If you need to break a window to get into the vehicle, you should break the rear window.This will help keep smoke out of the vehicle.Don't break into a car that someone is going to look for.You shouldn't take someone else's means of escaping the fire.If you find a car that someone left behind to flee on foot, this method is applicable.
Step 12: Make sure that you can exhale.
You need to make sure that the car is sealed from the smoke surrounding you.If you pass out from carbon monoxide, this is crucial.Close the air vents when you roll up the windows.
Step 13: Drive if you can.
If the vehicle runs and you can drive it, then do so.It's important to drive safely so that you can see your surroundings and that anyone else on the road is able to see you.Continue to drive slowly and keep your headlights on.Keep an eye out for pedestrians.Allow pedestrians to ride along with you.Don't drive through smoke.The smoke may be too thick to see where you're going.If you have to stop the vehicle, park far away from trees and brush.
Step 14: Be in the vehicle.
If the smoke is too thick to see the road or you can't drive the car, you should stay in the vehicle.If you leave the vehicle, you are more likely to be killed or injured than if you stay inside.Don't worry about the gas tank.Vehicles with metal gas tanks are very rare to explode.Staying in the car is much safer than walking.The windows should be kept up and the air vents closed.If you can, lie down on the floor of the vehicle and cover yourself with a blanket or coat.
Step 15: Understand what to expect.
If you are forced to hunker down inside a vehicle, it is important to know what to expect so that you don't panic.If the car is on fire, you should not leave it.The temperature inside the vehicle will go up.It's still safer inside the vehicle than outside.The air currents may rock the car.There may be smoke and sparks in the vehicle.Don't be alarmed.Keep breathing through a wet cloth and stay low on the floor of the vehicle.
Step 16: Take all precautions you can.
If the fire is quickly approaching, you may not have time to protect the structure.There are a number of things you can do to keep the building safe.All fuel lines, including propane, natural gas, and oil, should be shut off.Move curtains and furniture away from windows.You don't want anything to explode if the glass breaks.Gas grills and fuel cans should be thrown away as far from your structure as possible.The stacks of firewood should be moved as far from the building as possible.Grass and vegetation should be trimmed as low to the ground as possible around the building and propane tanks.The fire would be able to reach you or the fuel source if the material was too much.
Step 17: It's a good idea to try and wet the area.
If the building has running water, use it to create a safer structure.Water may not stop a fire, but it will slow it down.To saturate the roof, walls, and ground of the building, use hoses or sprinklers.If possible, surround the perimeter of the building with large containers of water.
Step 18: Stay in the house.
If you become trapped in your home or take shelter in a building, stay inside.You are more likely to survive inside if the fire surrounds the building.To prevent a draft from spreading the fire inside, close the doors, windows, and vents.The doors to the building should not be locked.If you need to escape or if firefighters find the building, you'll want to make sure the doors aren't locked.Stay away from the exterior walls.If the building is large enough, you can get into the middle of it to be as far away from the exterior as possible.Stay together if you are with other people.