How To Reduce Wildfire Risks With PG&E

In our part of California, a spark could change everything. With my husband on the fire lines, wildfire safety starts at home.

Fire season doesn’t just bring stress — it brings urgency. While Max is out protecting other homes and communities, I focus on making sure ours is as ready as it can be.

Over the years, we’ve learned how important it is to prepare early and often. All that forethought can sometimes feel overwhelming, but the good news is that many of the most effective safety measures are simple and doable.

Max and I follow a safety checklist each year, which we’ve developed based on our experiences and PG&E’s Wildfire Preparedness recommendations. It helps us stay organized and ahead of fire season and gives us peace of mind, knowing we’re doing what we can to protect our home, family, and neighbors.

Step 1: Create defensible space

The first step on our checklist is ensuring our home has proper defensible space. That means clearing out dead vegetation, dry leaves, and anything flammable within at least 30 feet of our home. We also trim low-hanging branches and cut back shrubs often, especially if they’re near the house or windows.

We also keep our lawn short and hydrated — dry grass fuels the fire. It’s a bit of weekend work in the spring, but it makes a huge difference in slowing the spread of fire if one ever gets close. Max always says, “You don’t want to give a fire anything to feed on.”

Step 2: Clean roofs and gutters

Speaking of dry grasses, little clumps of dry leaves and pine needles love to gather in our gutters and on the roof, which are the two places that can quickly catch fire from floating embers. So, we do a complete cleanup at the start of every season. Digging through the gutters with clumps of leaves in our hands isn’t too glamorous, but it’s one of the simplest, most effective things we can do to protect our home.

Step 3: Prepare an emergency plan

While you never want to be in a situation where you’d have to use it, having a thorough, pre-discussed emergency plan is paramount to any fire season.

Max says there’s no time to deliberate when it’s time to evacuate—you need to act fast and follow the plan. We have a packed go-bag for each family member, including our pets, set aside in an easy-to-reach place. Inside are essentials like drinking water, nonperishable food, clothes, important documents, medications, and flashlights. We also have an evacuation plan with multiple routes mapped out.

Creating an emergency plan tailored to your family and household can take as little as 10 minutes with this PG&E tool. It takes a bit of preparation, but staying safe is worth every effort.

Step 4: Stay informed

One of our most crucial tools is information. Nowadays, you can be informed on virtually anything, so why not take advantage of readily available information that’ll keep you safer? We signed up for emergency alerts and regularly monitor local fire weather conditions. PG&E also offers text alerts and a wildfire safety map that shows high-risk areas and planned safety shutoffs.

To reduce wildfire risk even further, PG&E has installed high-tech weather stations, undergrounded power lines, and strengthened poles and equipment where wildfires are most likely to occur. All of this helps reduce the chance of a fire sparked by utility infrastructure, making a huge difference for communities like ours.

Why it matters

As someone married to a firefighter, I’ve heard countless stories of homes that were saved because of just a few smart steps. That’s why it’s become a family routine for us to prepare each spring — not because we expect the worst, but because it gives us peace of mind.

Wildfire risk isn’t something any one of us can solve alone. But when households take action and utility companies like PG&E invest in prevention and safety, together we strengthen our communities. Preparing doesn’t guarantee control — but it helps us face fire season with more confidence and care.