There's plenty of articles discussing how to avoid fires during your summer travel plans, but what about for those of us that live in these fire prone regions? How can we feel comfortable leaving our home, full of our belongings, during fire season?
1. Bring the absolute essentials with you. Prescriptions, important documents. These small personal items can be kept on you while you're traveling, ensuring their safety.
2. Back up your data. Invest in cloud storage to back up important photos and documents. Or carry an external hard drive wherever you go, we'll let you make that choice!
3. Pack a go-bag of second tier items. Pack up important items like family heirlooms, memorabilia, electronics, and spare keys. Things you wouldn't necessarily want to bring on your trip. You can leave this bag with a friend or neighbor OR if you'll be able to stay engaged while you're gone, leave it somewhere easy to grab in your house and let that friend or neighbor know where to find it.
4. Stay connected. Unless you're going entirely off-grid, stay loosely connected to friends and family in the area while you're gone. Our local authorities are being exceedingly cautious with their warnings since the Tubbs fire in 2017. No guarantees, but we've had much better warnings in the subsequent years. With a little planning, and advance warning of an impending wildfire, you can likely have someone do a sweep to grab your go-bag and valuable items like your car.
5. Maintain your defensible space. Leading up to your departure, make sure you've taken every precautionary measure possible in creating your defensible space. Removing limbs or trees in close proximity, cleaning out the gutters, and creating a buffer between your house and potentially flammable landscaping can help prevent embers from reaching your home. Learn more about defensible space from Cal Fire here.
We've heard from friends, family, and customers that they have hesitations about traveling this fire season. We hear you! If there's an active fire burning in your region, we don't necessarily recommend leaving. But for many of us, summer is the time for traveling, attending weddings, seeing old friends, or getting off the beaten path and we're here to make that tangible. If you have any questions about your policy's coverage, reach out to us at info@barberinsurance.com or call 707-526-7900.
Safe travels!