Wildfire Danger Alert: 5 Actions to Take NOW to Help Protect Your Home
- Metal Roofing Alliance
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
Key Points:
Wildfire season is earlier than ever for many regions. The time is now to make sure your home is as protected as possible.
Experts offer advice and tips for steps you can take around your home to make it wildfire ready.
Programs like Firewise USA offer homeowners and neighborhoods resources, tools and information to increase wildfire resilience.
Baby, it’s dry out there and for many regions, that means wildfire danger is already upon us.
Some leading sources are issuing frightening forecasts: Due to alarmingly low snowpack levels, unusually scarce moisture patterns and early heat “domes” that have spiked temperatures and exasperated drought conditions—especially in the western regions of the U.S. and Canada—2026 may indeed be a very long and tough wildfire year.
“In some places, there really isn’t a ‘wildfire season’ anymore; it’s essentially all year long. That means, homeowners need to stay vigilant and prepared year around,” said Renee Ramey of the Metal Roofing Alliance.
On the bright side, more resources are available now than ever to help you take action to get your home prepared and protected against the threat of wildfire. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) offers its Firewise USA program and plenty of free information and resources designed to help make homes safer. Many communities now participate in Firewise USA programs and offer free wildfire safety home assessments in their neighborhoods. Soon, additional incentives may be available for homeowners to take actions that better protect their homes. California is leading the way by recently enacting “Safer from Wildfires” regulations that require insurance companies to recognize Firewise USA® designated communities by providing discounts to property owners in those communities. NFPA processes Firewise USA applications and provides information on the communities that have earned that designation to companies that provide data to home insurers doing business in California.
According to home improvement and Firewise USA experts, here are 5 essential tips you can implement now to decrease the threat of wildfire danger to your home:
1) Protect against little sparks, which can cause big disasters
85-90% of homes are lost in a wildfire due to burning embers that can travel from miles away, rather than direct flames. The best defense includes eliminating opportunities for those sparks and embers to enter your home by protecting your roof, gutters, the crawlspace, under decks, and along wooden fences and any hidden corners where dry organic material accumulates. Here are some specific actions to take:
Install a Class A fire-resistant metal roof which will maintain its fire resistant properties over time without degrading. Ask your installer about extra protection including fire-resistant underlayment and installation methods. Remember that wood shake roofs are particularly dangerous in wildfire zones; make it a priority to replace them with a Class A roof instead.
Eliminate wood piles or use certified fire resistant tarps to cover.
Install 1/8” metal mesh screens to cover small vents and stainless steel screens for larger widths and lengths such as wood deck skirting and large vents.
Consider installing gutter guards that effectively screen out organic materials common to your region. Perform gutter/roof maintenance and cleaning regularly.
Understand how wildfires behave and take steps to guard against those dangers by watching this short video
2) Keep it tidy
Use a critical eye when evaluating the exterior of your home to help reduce ignition risk. Can the wooden outdoor furniture be stored safely away when not in use? (Note: never store anything combustible under a wood deck.) Is there an old wood fence that is no longer serving a purpose that could be removed? Are organic material and debris starting to accumulate up against or too close to your siding? Does your yard debris pile need to be hauled away and are there any dead trees or plants that need to be removed or limbed? Regularly doing this home self-evaluation and performing needed maintenance can help increase protection against wildfire dangers.
3) Pay attention to your landscape design and plant selection
Carefully select, position and maintain vegetation (paying extra special attention to the 0 to 5 foot zone around your foundation). Your plants and trees should never touch or be close enough that fire can “jump” from them to the roof. Don’t use wood mulch that could ignite. Instead, choose noncombustible materials like gravel, rock, concrete and pavers. Trim tree branches at least 6 feet up from the ground. Check with your local extension service to see if they provide listings of fire-resistant plants suitable for your area, which typically have these things in common:
Branching patterns that are open and loose
Plants that have little dead wood and tend not to accumulate dry, dead branches and material
Sap is waterlike and doesn’t have a strong odor
Leaves that are wide, flat, moist and supple
4) Be prepared
Register for Emergency Alerts in your region so you are notified and alerted to local wildfire dangers as soon as possible. WATCH DUTY is a service powered by over 150 volunteers in 22 states– firefighters, dispatchers, and first responders – who diligently monitor radio scanners and other official sources 24 hours a day to send you the most up-to-date information. Download the app (Apple or Android) to get alerts of nearby wildfires and firefighting efforts real-time. Prepare an emergency “go now” bag that you can grab with essentials and evacuate immediately if necessary. Install new reflective address signs so emergency responders can easily find your property at night or in thick smoky conditions.
5) Make it a team effort
You can take all the steps necessary to help protect your home from wildfire danger, but if your neighbors aren’t doing the same, your property and your community can still be at high risk. Get involved and encourage your community or HOA to participate in neighborhood safety and evaluation programs available through Firewise USA and other organizations, which help provide resources, volunteer information and tools that make wildfire safety a community wide effort. The NFPA even offers select programs and grants for communities to help them increase wildfire safety.
Check with your local HOA and advocate for any existing CCRs, rules and regulations that aren’t up-to-date or don’t allow for improvements and designs that reduce wildfire threats, including the use of more ignition resistant materials like Class A metal roofs.
For more information about metal roofs and wildfire protection, visit https://www.metalroofing.com/fire
