NFPA and State Farm encourage communities to participate in safety activities during Wildfire Community Preparedness Day

QUINCY, Mass. – In the last two years, wildfires have claimed more than 100 lives and cost more than $25 billion in property losses. The National Fire Protection Association and State Farm are helping communities take steps toward safety with their national Wildfire Community Preparedness Day event Saturday, May 2.

Preparedness Day plays an important role in helping to raise awareness of wildfire risk and provides a platform to share information and offer guidance to residents as they make changes to improve the survival of their homes and neighborhoods. Thanks to support from State Farm, 150 communities across 26 states will receive project funding awards of $500 each to support activities on Preparedness Day aimed at reducing potential loss of life, property and natural resources to wildfire. Locally, Jim Weaver of Valley Center, Dorothy Roth of Fallbrook and John Groth of Julian received grants for Preparedness Day activities.

“Since NFPA and State Farm first partnered together on Preparedness Day, the number of projects has grown tremendously. We are pleased to provide 150 communities with a grant to fund their wildfire risk reduction activities on May 2,” Vickie Hodges, P&C underwriting analyst for State Farm, said. “For State Farm, the largest home insurer in the U.S., it is important to us to take a leadership role in helping homeowners stay safe and better protect their property.”

Over the last few years wildfire events have made the need for Preparedness Day more important than ever before. In 2018, nearly all of the $13 billion in property damage and losses from large fire incidents in the U.S. was due to just six wildfires. As annual federal spending for wildfire management has gone from roughly $1 billion per year in the mid-1990’s to close to $4 billion per year today, the average annual area burned from wildfires has jumped from about 2 million to 8 million acres over the same period.

“Since our initial launch of Preparedness Day in 2013, participation in the campaign has grown,” Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of outreach and advocacy, said. “Taking action on Preparedness Day can help make a difference in the survival of home and neighborhoods. We are inspired by all of the great work these communities are doing to reduce their risk.”

There is still time to make homes and communities safer from wildfire. NFPA and State Farm encourage people to get involved by planning a project and participating May 2. Plan a project with the help of NFPA’s free Wildfire Community Preparedness Day Toolkit.

For more information about national Wildfire Community Preparedness Day including videos and tip sheets, visit www.wildfireprepday.org.

For more information, visit www.statefarm.com.

For more information visit www.nfpa.org. All NFPA codes and standards can be viewed online for free at www.nfpa.org/freeaccess.

Submitted by National Fire Protection Association.