[ad_1]
Malibu, California, U.S. – In 2003, Joe Torres was deployed to Afghanistan as a firefighter in the U.S. Air Force to work in crashes and rescue operations, but a fire closer to home at the time brought his retirement life back on track.
At that time, the Cedar Fire in San Diego was the largest fire in California’s history, with a total area of more than 190,000 hectares (270,000 acres) and 15 deaths.
“When I started as a firefighter, it was considered a big fire,” Torres told Al Jazeera. “I was reading about this fire and thought,’Wow, California is burning.'”
Nearly two decades ago, fires of this scale were indeed regarded as special events, but over time, nature’s anger became stronger.
According to data from the California Fire Department, since last year, 9 of the 20 largest wildfires recorded in California have swept the state. The biggest incident was the August Comprehensive Fire in August 2020, which burned more than 404,000 hectares (1 million acres) of land and killed one person.
As the threat to life and property from wildfires continues to increase, so does the demand for services to prevent fires.
Torres witnessed this prosperity with his own eyes. In 2014, he acquired All Risk Shield, a company focused on providing homes and businesses with wildfire damage risk assessments and advice on how to mitigate these risks.
When the wind and fire in the 100 giant forests of California’s Sequoia National Forest burned last month, the flames swallowed a tree [Noah Berger/AP Photo]For many years, he has been the only employee in the company-and a part-time employee.
“I sometimes feel a little discouraged because it doesn’t seem to be making any progress,” Torres said.
But according to data from risk management company RMS, his business took off last year, when wildfires in the western United States burned millions of acres of land, resulting in insured losses of between US$7 billion and US$13 billion.
Torres said: “I brought in our first employee in June 2020, and now we have about 20 employees throughout California.” “These fires are now a reality, and I think the demand for these services will continue to grow. .”
All Risk Shield offers two risk assessment packages with prices ranging from US$1,550 to US$2,250. These services include surveys of the property to determine factors such as dense vegetation that make it more susceptible to embers during wildfires, and measures to make the property more fire-resistant.
Torres is not the only supplier that has switched from firefighters to fire protection services.
Danny Glessner is a retired firefighter who has worked on the front line for 35 years and runs Wildfire Home Hardening Specialists. “Home reinforcement” includes measures such as the installation of ember-resistant fences, drain guards, and flame retardants to make the house more resilient.
Glessner travels around the western United States, inspects the site, and advises clients from vineyard owners to homeowners,
“For residential properties, my services are usually between US$500 and US$1,500,” he said, adding that he charges more for large enterprises such as wineries, equestrians and animal rescue shelters.
Currently, he is a one-man band, but he hopes this situation will change.
“I do see an increase in employees in the future,” Gresner told Al Jazeera. “The problem of wildfires will not disappear anytime soon. As long as the housing construction and population in wildfire-prone areas continue to increase, we and other similar companies will have enough space.”
Last month, firefighters passed a sign wrapped in refractory materials while fighting the wind and fire burning in the 100 giant forests of the Sequoia National Forest [File: Noah Berger/AP]Even for senior firefighters like Glessner who started their careers in the early 1980s, the scale of the current fire season is staggering.
“This year and last year there were the two biggest fires in state history,” Gresner said. “When you look at the data, it’s kind of crazy.”
Provide a safer home and safer conditions for firefighters
Many factors help explain the dramatic increase in fires throughout California. Many of these problems, such as prolonged droughts and hot weather, are driven by climate change.
Over the years, fire management, which has focused on extinguishing flames, has made the problem even more complicated. This leads to uncontrolled growth of dense vegetation, coupled with hot and dry weather, once a fire occurs, it will catch fire.
According to Frank Bigelow, deputy commissioner of the California Fire Department Cal Fire, preventive measures can have a significant impact on the likelihood of a property surviving a fire.
Cal Fire does not track the number of businesses that provide services related to wildfire property protection. But Bigelow said that when owners take preventive measures, they can create safer conditions for firefighters.
“This is good for the safety of property and the safety of firefighters,” Bigelow told Al Jazeera. “Any time an organization is spreading information about the importance of creating a defensive space, this is all positive.”
“Defense space” refers to the area about 30 meters (100 feet) around the property where homeowners can take measures such as removing dead and dry vegetation, keeping drains and roofs free of leaves, trimming shrubs and trees to maximize Increase vertical and horizontal spacing.
Bigelow explained that the larger the space between vegetation, the harder it is for the fire to spread.
Cal Fire has a complete list of homeowner preparation steps (PDF).
Torres said that areas that cross the border between residential and wasteland, the wasteland-urban interface, are at the greatest risk.
These areas include the forested areas of Lake Tahoe, the expansive plains of Napa and Sonoma, and the arid hills overlooking the sparkling Pacific Ocean in Malibu and Palisades-Torres says that all customers seek his services area.
[ad_2]
Source link