Since time immemorial: in the United States, Wildfire Season began in May and ended around October. That’s no longer the case. In 2020, nearly 59,000 wildfires happened. 2021 was even worse – surpassing 50,000 before September – during one of the worst droughts in American history. These fires raged through 20 million acres of land, destroying nearly 30,000 homes and other buildings, resulting in billions and billions of dollars in damages.
They’re also occurring earlier and later in the year. In Boulder, CO: an enormous wildfire punctuated the last days of 2021. No fatalities occurred, but hundreds of homes burnt down. The very next morning, 10 inches of snow fell on the scorched community. Images of the smoldering, snow-covered remnants became, for many, an unsettling and tragic reminder of our ongoing climate emergency. To add insult to injury: 84% of wildfires occurring in the United States are directly caused by humans. Every year, the number of wildfires grows, leaving more and more people vulnerable to the financial, physical, and emotional devastation wrought by climate change.
If you’re a homeowner in a high-risk area like Alaska, California, Oregon, Idaho, or Texas: it’s imperative you know how your insurance coverage can protect your life’s work from going up in smoke.
First off: does homeowners insurance even cover wildfire fire damage?
The answer is a resounding YES. Wildfires are, unfortunately, the most common total-loss event in the United States. As a result, smoke and fire damage coverage is almost always included in the basic HO3 policy. It provides coverage for the following, which might come in handy in the event of a wildfire:
- Dwelling Coverage (or, in non-insurance lingo: your house)
- Auxiliary structures within the property line
- Personal property
- Additional living expenses, in the event your home becomes uninhabitable due to fire or smoke, or mandatory evacuation.
But, in the immortal words of Benjamin Franklin: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. There are essential, additional steps to protect your home from wildfires.
Clean Your Property:
Fire needs fuel, and it can use nearly anything lying around your property. Needless to say: if there’s fire on the way, immediately get stacks of wood, mulch, coal, and especially propane tanks away from the perimeter of your house. Be extra cautious around pine and juniper trees, as their leaves contain highly flammable oils and resins. If you have those trees on your property, stay on top of ’em.
Fire-Proof the Roof:
The roof is both a first line of defense and the weakest link when it comes to wildfires. It’s the most exposed, therefore, most-vulnerable surface. But if the roof catches fire, the entire house burns in a matter of minutes. If you live in one of the areas mentioned earlier: your roof must be crafted out of fire-resistant material like concrete, metal, stone, or ceramics. Not wood. And if you do have wood features on other areas of the house, coat them with a flame retardant finish. But even chemical fireproofing isn’t a surefire solution. Dead leaves, brush, and debris in the roof and gutters are all fuel for fire; and all it takes is a tiny, falling ember to set it off. A clean roof is a fireproof roof.
Seal It Off:
Embers are those tiny, red-hot pieces of burning wood that glow at the bottom of a dying fire. They look lifeless compared to a flame, but they actually burn hotter. And since they’re so small, they can even travel on the wind. If they enter your home through a hole, vent, or other openings: it’s almost sure to burn the inside. During Wildfire Season, cover outdoor vents with hardware cloth and seal off doorjambs to prevent embers from entering your home. It’s worth looking into fire-resistant windows, too, as even ambient heat from a nearby wildfire can cause non-tempered glass to crack or burst.
As the size and scope of Wildfire Season expand, so does the importance of fire prevention.
If you live in a wildfire-prone area: be prepared. A thorough understanding of your homeowner’s insurance coverage can provide much-needed peace of mind in the face of looming natural disasters.
