Where there's Smoke, there's Fire

By Thembi Borras

Smoke is often the only tangible reminder that wildland fires are burning and lately in some areas of the County, the smoke has been palpable. Two new fires preceded my return trip from Sacramento on Monday, July 31st. I witnessed smoke billowing above Mount Konocti from a fire burning near Kelseyville. More impressive were the visible flames and the heat felt in the cab of my pickup as I drove past the human caused Walker fire, which burnt 104 acres just south of Willits. Much larger fires continue to burn in California, one of which in Mendocino County is the lightening caused Hunter fire located 19 miles southeast of Covelo in the Black Butte River watershed. The Hunter fire has burnt 4,931 acres and has been 15% contained by 554 personnel.

I was able to glean from data provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for 2006 that the sector starting the highest numbers of fires in California was equipment use such as mowers, but it was unclear to me which fire causing sector resulted in the greatest number of acres burnt. However, it is clear that humans can play a significant role is causing or preventing the ignition of wildfires. Go to www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/prevention for tips on how to prevent wildfires. Most human caused wildfires can be prevented by using common sense.

The cost of fire suppression per acre varies widely depending on several factors including type and amount of vegetation, terrain, accessibility, home density and weather conditions but a rule of thumb is that for every $1 spent on prevention $10 is saved in suppression, which does not include lives, animals, homes and natural resources.

If you live in an urban wildland interface where your home and nature intersect, chances are, there are steps that you have not yet taken to reduce fire hazard. Fortunately, there are numerous resources at your disposal. They include the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council whose mission is to educate and motivate our county’s residents about wildfire preparedness. The Mendocino Fire Safe Council encourages you to contact them. They will provide fire safety educational materials, including delivering to groups presentations about wildfire issues. They can be contacted at firesafe@pacific.net or 462-3662. For additional guidance about how to make your home and immediate area more fire safe, go to www.firewise.org and click on resources. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Headquarters of which can be contacted at 459-7414, and your local fire departments are also excellent resources, both of whom were instrumental in informing a more fire safe driveway, turnaround, fire hydrant and water system design on our property in Navarro. To keep up to date on the fires burning on federal lands in the State go to the Incident website at www.inciweb.org.

A Well Designed Wood Burning System

By Thembi Borras

A well-designed wood burning system embodies building a strong draft quickly, so a new fire is easy to start. When a fire is started, smoke should not spill into the room and excessive creosote should not accumulate. When a fire is not burning a cold draft should not come down the chimney. A well-designed wood burning system is a pleasure to use and the kind of system you want in your home.

There are ten design characteristics of a successful stove or fireplace system, they are:

1. The chimney runs inside the heated space of the home.
2. The chimney penetrates near the high point of the heated space.
3. The chimney is tall enough, beyond where it penetrates the roof, its top is clear of obstacles and it has a chimney cap.
4. The chimney flue is insulated and is the correct size for the appliance.
5. The conduit from the appliance runs straight up from the appliance and has no offsets.
6. The appliance and venting system are well sealed.
7. The stove or fireplace is EPA certified for safety and emissions.
8. If the system is installed in a tightly sealed house, the house has a balanced ventilation system.
9. If a large exhaust fan, such as a downdraft kitchen range exhaust, is present, it is electrically interlocked to a fan-forced make-up air system.
10. The appliance is operated by an informed user and regularly maintained.

These design characteristics function to keep the chimney gasses warmer than the heated space for as long as possible to keep the gases moving as quickly as possible, which facilitates beneficial draft and minimizes creosote buildup. These design characteristics also function to balance the air going out with the air coming in. This prevents the house from becoming depressurized, a symptom of which is smoke spillage and a cold draft from the chimney when there is no fire.

For more information, visit the website http://www.woodheat.org/, from which this production was gleaned.