Texas doesn’t just have a fire season – it has a fire year. Here’s how to stay prepared.

As the fires in California continue to burn and Texas sends its own to help contain the blaze, many can’t help but think about the state’s own history with wildfire. How can we prevent, or at least be prepared, for similar disasters?

Dayziah Petruska is the Wildland Urban Interface Coordinator at the Texas A&M Forest Service. She spoke with Texas Standard on how to best protect your property and ways to think ahead. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.

This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:

Texas Standard: I’m sure you’ve been watching what’s been going on in California. I know several Texas firefighting units are being sent. As you’re watching, what do you think Texas can learn from what’s happening in California?

Dayziah Petruska: I think that what’s happening in California can serve as a reminder for Texans that it’s important to be aware of the wildfire risk in their area, especially when people live in a wildland urban interface.

Fires don’t only happen during our typical summer fire season that people think of, but we also have a dormant winter season, just like in California right now. It’s the winter and people don’t necessarily expect that to happen.

Really, in Texas, there’s a lot of different eco regions and weather conditions around the state. We know the Panhandle is not the same as deep South Texas. So really in Texas, we don’t look at it as a fire season, but really a fire year. And in the right conditions, wildfires can become very complex and that can lead to extreme behavior.

So we just want people to remember and be aware that just because you’re not in a place that you think fire could happen or a time of year that people normally assume that fires happen, they still should be prepared and aware of their wildfire risk.

I’m glad you mentioned the different eco regions because, as I’ve been watching, I’ve been thinking “well, is this similar to what we saw with the Smokehouse Creek Fire last year in the Panhandle or the Central Texas Bastrop fires in 2011?”

Are there similarities to the factors that we’re seeing in California, or can it be really different?

Well, so it is really different. Even those two fires that you mentioned, they’re really in two different environment types. You think about Panhandle is mostly grassland and Bastrop area is pine forest.

But really, no matter where you are in the world, fires are dependent on three things: weather, topography and fuel. And so we can’t control weather/topography, obviously, but we can control fuel.

So that’s why we always stress how important it is to homeowners to manage the fuel around their property and create that defensible space. This can create that sort of buffer that we talk about between the potential fire and their property.

And give me that number again. Is it ten feet? Is that the recommended difference?

So there’s three different kind of zones. It starts from right where the structure is – zero feet to 100.

0 to 5 is the immediate zone. So that’s one of the most important zones where you want to keep make sure that your plants are healthy and green and low to the ground. There may be a stone buffer between your plants and the foundation of your home. Make sure that your litter is cleaned up, your gutters are clean. 1/8-inch metal mesh on your vents to keep embers out in the possibility of a wildfire.

Then the next zone is 5 to 30. So that’s more of the extended part of your yard where we talk about keeping your grass watered and short, pruning trees up to six feet so if there is a fire, the possibility of it traveling from the grass to the crowns of your trees is decreased. And then making sure that there’s separation between the trees, making sure there’s separation and clusters of trees.

And then that last one is 30 to 100 foot from the structure. And that’s where you really want to focus just on making sure there’s not standing dead plant or tree material that could possibly catch in the event of a wildfire.

Well, you mentioned weather, and there is something very different about California than Texas with the Santa Ana winds. But we do also get some pretty heavy winds. I know the Panhandle can be awfully windy. Is that something that you’re thinking about as well?

Yeah, so most fires are wind-driven. When the wind picks up to a certain way, the fire either travels the direction of the wind or it can be at the speed that the wind is blowing. So that is something that we always take into consideration when we are preparing for wildfire days or when we are setting our initial attack plan to understand how the fire behavior influences how we are going to fight it.

Well, some of the folks, sad to say, in L.A. County who have lost their lives have been said to be elderly or disabled folks who weren’t able to get out in time. When it comes to evacuation preparedness, is there a different or more urgent plan that should apply to these folks who maybe aren’t as able-bodied?

So our first recommendation for people who may be disabled is to check with their county and to see if there’s any sort of registry that they can sign up for that provides assistance from emergency officials. And if there is, sign up for that.

And then we also really just stress the importance – and really, this doesn’t even only apply to just the elderly and disabled, but for everyone – to have a practiced evacuation plan in the event that the need arises. This especially for the elderly and disabled. This could include working with your neighbors or nearby family for assistance on evacuation.

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We’ve seen many videos of people in California who’ve stayed or delayed their evacuation to defend their homes with sprinklers, water hoses, shovels and dirt. What are your thoughts when you see that?

So we highly encourage everyone to follow any communication and evacuation orders that are put into place by local authorities.

The best thing that people can do is to be prepared and take action beforehand. We mean like before the fire is even a threat. And so if you do have to evacuate, you can know that you did everything you can to keep your home and property safe.

Well, we talked about having a plan, practicing it, thinking about evacuations, that defensible space and what you can do to really protect your home practically – now, as a fire’s not just around the corner.

Anything else you really want folks at home to think about when it comes to preparing?

Yeah. So really in Texas, 90% of the fires that we have are caused by humans. And 50% of those are either from debris burning or heavy equipment use. So we just want people to kind of be aware that most fires that happen are an accident and being prepared and creating that defensible space around your property and being aware of the fire potential in your area…

Most people don’t even realize they’re in an area with fire risk. It’s really important in increasing your awareness and your preparedness that will keep you safe.

We want to make sure that people follow their local burn ban ordinances and then also just are careful when they’re participating in outdoor activities that may cause a high heat or spark. So that includes the welding, the heavy equipment use. If you’re driving down the road and your trailer chains aren’t securely attached and are dragging, those can create a spark.

And so just if people can reduce risk wherever they can to keep everybody safe as a whole.

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