Mstywoods,

We also prepped as the wind was blowing all the smoke our way. Took pictures of the entire house contents and had our to-go bags packed and by the door. Thankfully did not have to evacuate but didn't want to be caught flat footed if the order came in. Glad you are OK in your area also.

Since the wild fires ripped through I've been looking at our houses. Especially as a gardener I can see somethings around that could use attention.

Having a break a minimum five feet around the house with landscaping that won't burn which mostly means rock beds or I've read ice plants are good. Make sure the mulch is kept moist. Have breaks in the landscaping that won't burn.

What I have learned is that some of the worst trees are conifers especially planted close to the house. This entire neighborhood has conifers planted too close to the house and I mean virtually every house has conifers too close (planted by the builder) along with aspens in various states of decline.

Anyways here is a good link to look at https://www.southmetro.org/DocumentCenter/View/177/Ready_Set_Go_SMFRA?bidId=

Thanks for that article, gjcore! Looks to have some really valuable information - I will read through it more in-depth for sure. For some reason, my first thought would be that conifers would be less flammable, I guess thinking evergreen would have moisture. But interesting that it's the opposite most likely as it's the resin/pitch being basically a fire starter. We share a front yard with a neighbor due to the way the culdesac is structured, and they have a huge conifer right between our houses, unfortunately. Other than that, we have deciduous trees in our backyard as well as landscape rock all along the back of the house and probably more than 15 ft out. Although I've never really cared for that rock being there, lol, guess I will now as it is helpful for fire resistance.

I drove through Louisville a few weeks ago. I've seen the videos, but it takes seeing the burned neighborhoods up close (although I could only view from the main streets) to get the full impact. Still such a bizarre disaster in that the fire seemed to hop due to the winds and leave big gaps of land/structures untouched. Have not heard any more about how they believe it started other than the theories of a shed fire, old abandoned mine (which is very interesting that they say fire has been burning underground in it for years!), and downed lines (which I believe they ruled out).