Be Wildfire Ready!

Should You Worry About Wildfire?

Visit the Texas Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal, where you can enter your address to find out your risk:

Texas Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal


Even if your home is in a low-risk area, it could be vulnerable to embers if it's within a mile of a wooded area.  Embers can be carried on the wind a mile or more beyond the leading edge of an intense wildfire and can pile up like snow drifts against homes, igniting flammable materials like dry leaves in the gutters and starting spot fires. 

Driving through an ember attack (video 0:32)

Fortunately, you can prepare in advance for wildfire by reducing the flammable fuels on and around your home.  This short video describes how one home survived a wildfire while the home next door burned to the ground.

Preparing for a Wildfire from Firewise.org (video 1:02)

Fire can’t survive without small fuels to ignite and larger fuels to burn.  Homes and landscapes that have been designed or modified to be ignition-resistant are much more likely to survive wildfire.  This video demonstrates the response of different building and landscape materials to an ember storm.

Ember Storm Test Highlights (video 4:17) 


Ready to learn more about protecting your home from wildfire?  Check out these resources:  

Ready, Set, Go! Introduction (video 4:30)

Ready, Set, Go! How to (video 12:10)

Wildfire: Preventing Home Ignitions Part 1 (video 10:07)

Wildfire: Preventing Home Ignitions Part 2 (video 8:57) 

Prepare for Wildfires: Protect Your Home (Texas A&M Forest Service web pages)
Firewise Landscaping for Texas (8 pp.)
Fire Resistant Materials (8 pp.)
Be Embers Aware (4 pp.)

IBHS Wildfire Home Assessment and Checklist (11 pp.)

IBHS Protect Your Property from Wildfire, Southwest Edition (28 pp.)