A companion site for the book

Fireproofing Western Communities

Most homes lost in the West's worst fires were lit by embers that arrived ahead of the flames, then by the house next door. This lab plays out a Red Flag morning on one property: where the embers land, what catches, and how much changes after the work the book lays out.

Greg Pryor · 38-year career firefighter · wildland fire tactics & strategy instructor

Run the fire day Reserve the book
The fire-day lab · a fictional example parcel, not an inspection

One parcel, one Red Flag morning

Every rule and number here comes from the book, and the chapter is cited beside it. The scene is a play-out, not a forecast. Set the fire day and the property on the left; the work list below decides "After the work".

As it stands
Play-out, not a prediction
After the work
Play-out, not a prediction
Tall cured grass Mowed, 4 in or less Bark mulch Gravel, nothing to burn Ember Dashed rings: Zone 0 at 5 ft, Zone 1 at 30 ft, Zone 2 at 100 ft
Whatever the scene shows: leave early. A hardened house is not a place to stay.
What an engine crew would see

Engine companies sort the houses in front of them into ones they can defend and ones they cannot (Ch. 16). This sorting uses the book's ignition pathways. It does not say whether a house will survive.

The clock · Ch. 5 and Ch. 11, Step 4
The fire day
How a house catches · Ch. 4 and 7
Flame length · Ch. 6, Figure 6.1
What the record says about parcels like this
    The work · in the author's order

    What changes the outcome

    Tick what goes into "After the work". The house list follows the retrofit priority sequence in Chapter Seven, and the costs are the 2024 Headwaters Economics figures for Northern California that the book cites.

    Your house and land

    Your community

    Illustration: oak woodland limbed up with an open understory and a dirt fire road
    A shaded fuel break: the canopy stays, the ladder fuel goes (Ch. 6). Illustration made with Grok.
    Illustration: a two-lane foothill road at dawn with a few cars leaving calmly, smoke far behind
    Leaving early, before any order, while the road is clear (Ch. 9). Illustration made with Grok.
    Illustration: a wildland fire engine in a wide gravel driveway beside a prepared house, crew walking the property
    When there is time, room and water, a crew can check a prepared house and move on. Illustration made with Grok.
    The clipboard walk · Ch. 11, Step 3

    Walk your own place

    Take these eight photos and walk them against the lab's "Parcel as it stands" list. Photo rating on this site is coming; until then, set each factor by hand. For a real inspection, call your CAL FIRE unit or local fire safe council.

    The eight shots to take
    1. The house from the street, whole roof in frame
    2. The roof up close: material, valleys, gutters
    3. Each wall's first 5 feet of ground (Zone Zero)
    4. An attic or foundation vent, close enough to see the mesh
    5. Under and around the deck, and where any fence meets the house
    6. The trees nearest the house, trunk to crown
    7. The view toward your red-flag wind: what fuel is out there
    8. The nearest neighbor's house and roof
    Illustration: a clean gravel strip along a house foundation, with bark mulch and shrubs beyond it
    Zone Zero: nothing that burns in the first 5 feet. Illustration made with Grok.
    Reserve the book · nothing is charged here

    Order the book

    The book is in final preparation. Reserve a copy now and Greg will write to you with the price and shipping when copies are ready. Orders go to orders@fireproofingwesterncommunities.com.

    The letter on the right fills in as you type. Email it, or print it and mail it.

    Donations

    Chip In

    Put a copy in front of someone who decides. Fire safe councils hold chipper days so neighbors can clear brush together; Chip In works the same way for the book. Pledge copies for fire safe councils, county supervisors and fire departments that can act on it.

    Pledges go to the author, Greg Pryor, to buy and send these copies. This is not a charity, and pledges are not tax-deductible. Nothing is charged here; Greg will write to you with how to pay when copies are ready.

    Field notes · fun and factual

    From the book, and where to read more

    Illustration: wind-driven embers streaming over a roofline at night
    Embers arrive first, sometimes by miles (Ch. 2). Illustration made with Grok.