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Boise Fire offering wildfire prevention tips with free home evaluation

The Boise Fire Department is encouraging residents who live close to the Foothills to keep their homes safe in the event of a wildland fire.

BOISE, Idaho — Boise Fire officials announced a partnership that allows fire experts to come to your home and evaluate your property. Residents who live close to the Boise Foothills are encouraged to keep their homes safe in the event of a wildland fire.

More than 20 wildfires are burning across Idaho and smoke continues to pour into the Gem State from wildfires burning in neighboring states. 

"Firewise is all about neighbors helping neighbors," Boise Fire Department Wildfire Mitigation Specialist Captain Jerry McAdams said. "We rely on homeowners to be the first line of defense for wildfire mitigation. In many cases, properly preparing your property can make a huge difference in preventing the spread of wildfire."

Elements of Ready, Set, Go planning include:

• Get Ready – Prepare yourself, your family and your property well in advance of a wildfire.
• Get Set – Be aware of what is happening around you during periods of high fire danger and be prepared to evacuate.
• Go Early – Leave early when there is a fire, or as directed by public safety officials.

Residents are also urged to sign up for the Ada County Code Red notification system, which may be used to alert the community in the event of a wildfire or other emergency.

"With our city wildlife mitigation team, we have several wildfire professionals within the city that do wildlife home safety evaluations, it takes anywhere from a week to two weeks to get scheduled and then the timeframe for actually coming out there, we are looking at 45 minutes to maybe an hour," McAdams said.

The service is free. Sign up here

"In addition to preparing outside your home, we also encourage community members to think about how you and your family would respond in the event of a wildfire," Boise Fire Department Division Chief Tony Piscopo said. "One of the tools we recommend is the Ready, Set, Go plan."

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