
In the American West, historically low rainfall and drought caused an extreme 2021 wildfire season, lasting several months and burning 2.6 million acres. Despite record-breaking rain throughout the winter, it was a false relief. The rainfall was too inconsistent, and parched land throughout California and other Western states soaked it up quickly.
Sadly, this cycle of drought and wildfire is a new reality. The changing climate has increasingly shifted wildfire season from a few months of prevention and response to a year-round crisis threatening denser areas of the West. This year’s forecast is sobering. Experts predict a hot and dry spring will offer no respite and send the West relapsing into drought. Meanwhile, wildfires have already begun to break out.
With the threat of wildfires here to stay, preparedness is critical for apartment owners, operators, and residents. Setting up and rolling out wildfire resiliency strategies to protect residents and properties is more important than ever. Here are a few questions to guide your organization in solidifying a preparedness plan.
What Do the Experts Say?
When implementing a preparedness plan, taking the first step can be the hardest part. Luckily, there are several resources that can guide you on this journey. The ability to quickly reestablish business operations and get residents back into their homes after any type of natural disaster is key. NMHC’s resources on establishing an Incident Response Plan is helpful for firms confronting an unpredictable and volatile risk landscape and can assist them in readying their communities to handle and navigate all crises that might come their way.
Specific to wildfire resilience, planning will require a focus on preparedness, long-term strategy, and relationships with external partners and community leaders. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Prepare Your Organization for a Wildfire Playbook provides organizations with the tools and resources to do just this.
Ready.gov is another valuable resource for property owners evaluating their wildfire preparedness. This website outlines preparedness and mitigation steps for every period surrounding a wildfire incident: recognizing warnings, preparing your community, evacuating, and returning to your property.
What’s Our Coverage?
You don’t have to be in the middle of a drought to check off a crucial item in your preparedness plan: understanding your firm’s insurance policies. Lack of appropriate insurance can financially cripple your firm, so don’t wait until you’ve suffered a loss to understand your coverage’s limitations, deductibles and necessary documentation.
Ensuring your properties have sufficient coverage to help repair and rebuild your apartment community and replace your firm’s damaged belongings within it are obvious boxes to check. But looking at the fine print, in particular any policy exclusions or limitations, is critical. These days an important aspect of this review is to make sure your coverage is keeping pace with changes in costs, given the challenges our industry is facing in labor shortages, increasing development costs, and supply chain disruptions. A shortage of lumber and labor demand could mean your repairs exceed your policy limits.
Your firm’s insurance coverage is critical to landing on your feet after a wildfire. Likewise, renter’s insurance is key for your residents’ financial health should damage occur to your community. Most standard renter’s insurance policies cover damage from wildfires, including possessions and living expenses. Encouraging your residents to take out a renter’s insurance policy could make a meaningful difference in their financial well-being after a fire.
Are Our Residents Informed?
Now that you’ve studied the resources at your disposal and made sure your insurance is up to date, it’s important to outline the steps you’ll take if you’re alerted a wildfire is nearby. Working to make sure residents are safely evacuated is the priority. Your firm’s on-site team and residents should be ready to receive alerts about wildfires in their area. The FEMA app, community alerts, and air quality alerts are all important resources for knowing when you should evacuate the property.
Let your residents know about the importance of gathering emergency supplies ahead of time. The Red Cross recommends having a go-kit with “three days of supplies that you can easily carry with you” and a stay-at-home kit with “two weeks of supplies if you need to stay at home.” They also recommend safeguarding a one-month supply of medication and personal, financial, and medical records.
Ensuring your residents know your building’s evacuation route is basic but paramount. Distribute this information ahead of time, and make sure it is clearly posted throughout your community. Identify the shelters in your area.
Is Our Property Prepared?
If there is a wildfire threat to your immediate area, there are steps to take to protect your apartment community. The National Fire Protection Association outlines how you can prepare your property to withstand “ember attacks” and reduce the likelihood of flames touching your property. Other critical preparation steps include cleaning your roof and gutters of dead leaves, debris, and pine needles; moving flammable material away from wall exteriors; and clearing your lawns and common areas of any brush or debris.
Apartment owners and operators should survey anything within 200 feet of a community, or what experts call the Home Ignition Zone (HIZ). These simple steps can help reduce a wildfire’s fuel and potentially slow down its spread.
What’s the Aftermath Look Like?
After a wildfire has hit your area, wait for local authorities to say it is safe to return to your property. Use your usual channels for outreach to alert residents of this. In the event of a natural disaster, the Department of Homeland Security has developed a website to consolidate all federal assistance programs at disasterassistance.gov. This website outlines available resources like financial support, housing, legal aid, and medical care. Let your residents know this website provides step-by-step instructions on how to file for federal aid.
FEMA’s National Referral List is another valuable resource in the aftermath of a wildfire. This page details agencies and organizations that can provide services from insurance claims to post-disaster counseling. It is important to remember that in the case of a wildfire, there is an abundance of resources here to help you and your residents.
How Can We Be More Resilient?
Post-fire studies have shown properties ignite due to their structural condition. This means focusing on resiliency during a property’s construction or ongoing maintenance, which can make all the difference in the event of a wildfire.
FEMA’s Guide to Construction in Wildfire Zones outlines specific design strategies that can be implemented during the construction of your buildings. This resource explains how everything from community infrastructure planning to physical features such as roofing, ventilation, and siding can act as fire-resistant strategies. The Journal of Light Construction, one of Multifamily Executive’s sister publications, also offers techniques to reduce the risk of building ignition. This detailed graphic outlines how a building’s roof vents, eaves, soffits, foundation, and windows can be outfitted to control fire hazards.
These strategies are essential for owners overseeing construction of a property, but there are also wildfire resiliency steps that you can utilize on preexisting structures. FEMA’s Defensible Space Technical Factsheet provides strategies for protecting your property from wildfire damage in a cost-effective manner.
The 2021 season proved wildfires are getting bigger and more dangerous. And unfortunately, more and more apartment communities are in at-risk areas. But solidifying a wildfire preparedness plan now can make all the difference for your community’s safety, health, and financial well-being for months and years to come. All it takes is pooling available resources, evaluating your risks, and looking ahead to make your community as secure as possible against the growing threat of wildfires.