Regardless of the amount of preparation and prevention efforts we have in place, inevitably there will always be a potential for an unforeseen wildfire or house fire. There are steps that are necessary to recover land and ecosystems back to normal. Alternatively, ideally, better than normal. In this article, we will summarize the best ways to recover and restore your land and property back to normal after fires. The following are some of the efforts that are of top priority.

A.  Contact Your Agent

Contact your insurance agent immediately and avoid the temptation of solicitation by insurance contractors. Some contractors may approach you offering to help in your recovery process but they do not know you, your situation, or your insurance information. Your agent will pretty much be your escort through the steps after the fire. Your agent will advise you on coverage options, the do's and do not's, and restoration companies.

B.  Secure the Property

In this step, you will need to ask your insurance agent for suggestions on professional boarding companies if you have structures on the property. These are companies dedicated to boarding up and securing structures before and after disasters such as a wildfire or house fire.

C.  Damage Inventory

Once the fire is out and the Fire Marshall or Code Enforcement authorizes re-entry, begin to take an extremely detailed property damage inventory, itemizing every piece of your property damaged in the fire. The list should include details serial numbers, receipts for maintenance and purchases, and photos of everything that has value in your home and around your property.

D.  Cleaning and Salvage

Once the fire and code officials suggest to you the best things to salvage and the most appropriate things to send to the dump, some of the items will still have residual toxic particles on them that need to be handled with care and cleaned thoroughly. You will need to decide on a way to remove the water that is left behind by firefighters and sprinkler systems. The residual water is toxic and should be properly handled and pumped out. Fire and water damage cleaning professionals can assist you in going about cleaning up the mess left after a fire in the safest way. Toxic soot will likely cover everything. Any leather, carpet, upholstery, etc., will also need professional attention. The attics and crawl spaces should have professional attention and make sure to have your HVAC company, come, and clean the entire system.

Restoring House fires

There are two basic categories of fires and the damage between the two, greatly vary. They are as follows:

A.  Simple Fires

Simple fires are fires that burn pure fuels like dry grass, or dry fallen trees, and vegetation. Simple fires do not produce as much soot and the smoke is much lighter than in complex fuels fires. This is one of the most common types of fire that can be extinguished easily with the help of the appropriate fire extinguisher. Be sure to keep fire extinguishers handy in every part of your house, farm, or business, to put out one of these fires quickly.

B.  Complex Fires

C.  The First 24 Hours Following a House/Business Fire

• Contact your insurance agent and start filing a claim.

• Contact your utilities companies to see if they will suspend services.

• Remove your most valuable possessions from your home and see about getting them cleaned up before use.

• Remove all food and beverages from the home and dispose of them. They are more than likely contaminated and toxic.

• Secure your property by hiring a professional boarding company, to minimize the amount damage created after a house fire.

• Notify your local law enforcement officials of your leaving the house. Homes that have recently experienced disasters are targets for looters and vagrants.

D.  Specifying Damages

As we mentioned earlier in this article, a damage inventory is mandatory for proper and safe recovery of your property. Damages can go beyond material structure losses. Damages may include monetary losses as well. Proven expenditures on fire suppression and prevention items, loss of earnings, temporary housing, and loss of business or employment opportunities can all be recovered after a fire. Without a solid framework for determining property damages from wildfire on public and private forestland, courts could be expending time and resources on claims of damage that are based on theory.

E.  Fire Restoration Costs

There are multitudes of damages potentially associated with home fires. The cost for the various damages will vary greatly. As a homeowner, you can be compensated for the cost of repairs, replacement, and restoration of salvageable, damaged, and lost items.

The U.S. Fire Administration states that the average cost of moderate fire damage recovery on an average one-story house without fire sprinklers is $45,110 and $2,170 with sprinklers. Hiring a restoration company to rebuild, clean, and deodorize a single-family home costs in a range of approximately $2000 to $5000. More severe fires require extensive rebuilding. The more severe the damages are, the more it will cost to restore.

The costs of restoration are affected greatly by the method used to extinguish the fire, the heat of the fire, duration of the fire, the materials burned during the fire; even how acidic the soot is. Although fire damage falls under most homeowner's insurance policies, the value of the claim is determined by the terms of each individual policy.

Fire damage recovery-costs are affected also by the way, in which the fire was extinguished. Water damage, holes in walls and roofs, and chemical damage are some of the most common. Chemical damage can be cause by chemical extinguishers, which leave behind toxic residue. It is better to invest $200 to $500 on a CO2 extinguisher.

F.  Face Value

G.  Personal and Public Safety

Whether a wildfire or a structure fire, it is extremely important to ensure your personal safety, and that of the public around your property. After a fire or other home disaster, make sure to walk through your property and assess safety hazards. Trees damaged and located within one tree height from your home, public or private roads or any other structures should be removed. If you had a wildland fire near year home, the area is more susceptible to floods, debris and mud flows due to the lack of vegetation. For you and other people's safety, be sure to remove or contract someone to remove debris in and around area of your home that could cause injury or fire.

Restoring Land after a Wildland Fire

From spontaneous fuel combustion to lightning strike ignition, wildland fires have existed for many millions of years. Nature and humankind have learned to embrace its beneficial and destructive effects. Wildlands need fire. However, there are things that affect the land after a wildland fire that cause damage, such as increased exposure to flooding and erosion. This is where you as the landowner will be faced with a decision to contract someone or do it yourself. Nature will take care of many things when it comes to recovering from a wildland fire, but erosion can be destructive if not tended to.

A.  Post-Fire Wildfire and Land Rehabilitation and Recovery

After a wildfire, it may be difficult to envision the forest or rangeland regenerating, but nature has its way of evolving. There are fire resistant species including ponderosa pine trees and shrub-steppe that will come back. In addition, many invasive grasses will be the first to regrow. It will be beneficial to do some grass seeding in the burned areas for livestock, native, and wildlife grazing. It will take roughly two years for the land to re-gain balance. The Burned Area Emergency Response program addresses questions regarding the restoration of wildlife habitat, water quality, and deteriorated ecosystems.

B.   Prevent Future Flooding

Make sure to clear culverts and cross drains of grass, rocks, leaves, clippings, structures, limbs, etc. The idea is to remove the debris so that water can drain appropriately once again. Also, identify areas where surface or neighboring run off are coming onto your property. Put up or build water deterrents and barriers for increased preventative measures.

C.  Erosion

The best thing to do for erosion prevention directly after a wildland fire is to leave existing burned vegetation. The root systems will potentially be alive to help re-stabilize the soil. Watch the slopes and valleys closely, for erosion.

D.  Firebreaks and Other Soil Disturbances

E.  Forested Areas

Slower growing Ponderosa or Douglas fir trees can be planted for long term, but grasses and shrubs will be the first to appear. Many pine trees will recover provided they have enough green needles. Conifers that have been in the more intense heat will likely not recover. The Department of Natural Resources will answer any questions you might have. Beware of trees falling and make sure that you remove all trees that are damaged after being advised by the fire officials. On the other hand, contract it out. It is best to stay away from these areas until talking with the Department of Natural Resources.

F.   Areas with Burned Soil

If the ground has been scorched and there are areas of ash that are deeper than two inches on steep slopes or in drainages it is best to contact a professional. Make sure to leave any burned vegetation so that the root systems will stabilize the soil.

G.  Areas with Previous Weed Infestations

Seed previously weeded areas with perennial grasses to overwhelm other unwanted invasive species. This will help to cut down on the amount of invasive and highly flammable species that promote conditions for a wildfire.

H.  Reseeding

Although there are areas that will regenerate naturally, loss of grazing habitat and ecosystem due to wildfire creates a need to reseed. Reseeding or mulching can aid in the recovery of these grazing habitats and ecosystems. You should seed in late fall, and reseed burned pastureland with a dryland pasture mix. Focus your seeding efforts on your fire lines, firebreaks, etc., in the beginning of the process and use hydro seeding for steep slopes. Hydro seeding is not only effective on steep slopes but it also expedites the germination process.

I.  Soil Erosion Protection

Fires can cause lack of vegetation and therefore erosion of the soil, which increases the amount of sediment and debris that is delivered into gutters and streams. As you have previously read, there are many things you can do to your soil to keep it from eroding.

The N.R.C.S. or National Resources Conservation suggests a list of ways of preventing erosion on your property. Some of those are as follows:  

• Install sandbag barriers

• Dig water diversions

• Install log erosion barriers

• Build sediment or straw dike

• Make rock structures or other water deterring barriers

• Thin the trees and brush

• Remove any plant or tree that is infested, unless it is a protected species

• Remove severely damaged trees

With enough education and preparation, any landowner or homeowner, can smoothly recover after a wildland or house fire. Between the two, the motto should be the same, assess the damage, plan, and rebuild.