Advertising Council enlists in the fight to prevent wildfires





How firewise are you? It’s not just an idle question. In only three years, fire devastated 17,000 square miles of wildlands throughout the U. S. These fires consumed more than 2,500 homes and other structures, representing a total loss of more than $60 million in property. In 2000, America experienced the loss of 8.4 million acres of land to wildfires––one of the greatest losses since 1957. Although high temperatures, low humidity and low rainfall increase the likelihood of a fire, wildfires can happen anywhere, at any time. The best defense against loss of homes and acreage is proper preparation at the beginning of wildfire season.


What’s Being Done


In an effort to reduce the destructive impact and costs of severe wildland fires, a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign designed to generate Firewise Communities has been launched by the Advertising Council, in partnership with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters.


The campaign will help inform woodland homeowners, community groups and fire departments about the causes of wildfires and perhaps instill a sense of personal responsibility for the prevention of losses by wildland fires. The goal of this campaign is to reduce the effect of the fires by generating Firewise Communities, groups of people who are aware of existing factors in their environment that may contribute to the cause or spread of wildfires and who prepare their homes and acreage in order to reduce the risk of loss.


Firewise Safety Tips


•Remove dead or overhanging branches.


•Store firewood away from your house.


•Create a 30-foot perimeter free of fire fuel on all sides of your house.


•Space trees and shrubs to lower wildfire potential.


•Remove dead leaves and branches from trees and plants and dead needles and leaves from the ground on your property.


•Replace cedar shake roofs with a nonflammable class A alternative.


To learn how you can make your home more defensible against wildfires, visit www.firewise.org.


This story provided by North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *