Austin officials urge residents to be prepared for wildfires

AUSTIN, Texas - Think of your home as fuel for fire. That's how seriously Austin officials want you to take wildfire risk.

Several city departments gathered at a symposium about wildfire preparedness on Wednesday. 

What they're saying:

"It's not a matter of if we're going to have a fire, it's a matter of when we're going to have a fire," Fred Richardson, president of the Austin Area Firewise Alliance said.  "We need residents across Austin and across Travis County to be prepared for wildfire, and it could happen this month."

"We just heard one panelist say, we need to have people start thinking about homes like they're fuel. At the same time, a home is generally the most important investment anybody is ever going to make in their lifetime," Richardson said. 

Fire officials say in Central Texas, there have been fewer wildfires since it's been a rainy season, but that also means fuel for fires can grow.

Other parts of the state have seen big fires. Austin is part of the Texas Interstate Fire Mutual Aid system, which means firefighters help out in other places when needed and vice versa. 

Firefighters also learn from every wildfire they go to. 

"The biggest example of some of our learning experience in Central Texas occurred back when we had the Bastrop Complex fire," Mayor Kirk Watson said. 

As for power lines, Austin Energy says they're making them more fire-resistant. They can turn off power right away in case of a fire. Pano cameras can also detect smoke easily to alert first responders. 

"Sometimes you may think your home is not at risk because you're not where the flames actually are, but the truth of the matter is that most ignitions can come from embers traveling up to a mile," Watson said. 

What you can do:

Here are some tips on how to prepare for wildfires:

• Sign up for emergency alerts
• Have a go bag and evacuation plan
• Use an online search tool to see your wildfire risk

The Austin Fire Department can do a free wildfire risk assessment for your home. They can make recommendations about how to prepare your house.

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