WASHINGTON — It’s a gorgeous weekend to get outside, but it’s dry: Saturday is the 24th straight day without rain for most of our region, and fire experts are nervous.
With cool nights on deck, many will be lighting the fire pit or the grill to spend an evening outside, but that could put homeowners at higher risk of a fire.
“It has been extremely dry. We’ve had a couple weeks of dry weather, no rain. I think it’s a tinder box out there,” said Pete Piringer, with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue.
Rain is the forecast for next week, but until then, Piringer asks D.C.-area residents to take extreme care if they’re cooking outside or smoking.
To prevent a fire at your home or on your land, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue suggests giving the area around your home a good dousing if you’ll be lighting any flame.
The National Fire Protection Association suggests:
- Do not discard cigarettes in vegetation such as mulch, potted plants or landscaping, peat moss, dried grasses, leaves or other things that could ignite easily.
- Use a deep, sturdy ashtray when discarding cigarettes. Place it away from anything that can burn.
- Before you throw away butts and ashes, make sure they are out. Dousing in water or sand is the best way to do that.
- Remove dead vegetation and other items from under your deck or porch, and within 10 feet of the house.
- Remove flammable materials (wood piles, propane tanks) within 30 feet of your home’s foundation and outbuildings, including garages and sheds. If it can catch fire, don’t let it touch your house, deck or porch.
- Keep your lawn hydrated and maintained. If it is brown, cut it down to reduce fire intensity. Dry grass and shrubs are fuel for wildfire.
- Have an adult present at all times when a portable fireplace is burning.
- Use sturdy candle holders that won’t tip over easily.
- Keep anything that can burn, as well as children and pets, at least three feet away from open flames.
- Use battery-operated flameless candles and solar-powered patio (tiki) torches in place of an open flame. Flameless candles come in all colors, shapes and sizes, and many are scented. Flameless candles look and feel like the real ones, and add a beautiful soft glow to any outdoor event.
