More and more people are making their homes in areas adjacent to grasslands, as well as rural wooded sites around Sacramento. There, homeowners and visitors enjoy the beauty of the environment but face the very real danger of wildfire outbreaks. Wildfires spread quickly, igniting brush, trees and homes. Plan with your family where you would go and what you would do if your home is threatened by wildfire. The American Red Cross offers these recommendations:

- People, either intentionally or accidentally, start most wildfires. Find out how you can promote and practice fire safety.
- Contact your local fire department, health department or forestry office for information on local fire laws.
- Make sure that firefighting vehicles can reach your home.
- Clearly mark all driveway entrances, and display your name and address.
- Report hazardous conditions that could cause a wildfire.
- Teach children about fire safety. Keep matches out of their reach.
- Plan several escape routes away from your home by car and by foot.
- Plan how the neighborhood could work together to prevent and respond to wildfires. Consider how you could help neighbors with special needs.
- Regularly clean roof and gutters.
- Inspect chimneys at least once a year, and equip each with a spark arrestor.
- Install a smoke detector on each level of the house; test it monthly, and change batteries at least once a year.
- Teach family members how to use a fire extinguisher, and show them where it is kept.
- Keep a ladder that will reach the roof.
- Consider installing protective shutters or heavy fire-resistant drapes.
- Keep on hand household items that can be used as fire tools — a rake, axe, handsaw, chain saw, bucket and shovel.
- Design and landscape your home with wildfire safety in mind.
- Select materials and plants that can help contain rather than fuel a fire.
- Create a 30- to 100-foot safety zone around your home.
- Mow grass regularly, rake leaves, and remove dead limbs and twigs. Clear all flammable vegetation.
- Thin a 15-foot space between tree crowns, and remove limbs within 15 feet of the ground. Remove dead branches that extend over the roof, and vines that have grown onto the house.
- Stack firewood at least 100 feet away and uphill from your home.
- Place stove, fireplace and grill ashes in a metal bucket, soak them in water for two days, and bury the cold ashes in soil.
- Store gasoline, oily rags and other flammable materials in approved safety cans in a safe location away from the base of the building.