Supervisors in Sonoma County are urging residents to prepare for wildfire season.

May is Wildfire Community Preparedness Month in the county, which means it’s time to be proactive, the county said.

“Approximately 95% of wildfires in California are human-caused and preventable,” said a statement released by the county.

The first thing the county suggests is getting to know neighbors by creating a Firewise Community, and Cal Fire can even officially designate your borough once it meets certain standards.

Creating defensible space around a property is always stressed, as well. This can create a buffer between fire and structures. It also makes it easier for firefighters to defend property. Defensible space is a series of zones that reach approximately 100 feet out from a property, and involves spacing of vegetation, putting in fire-resistant landscaping, and other guidelines.

A screenshot of the Sonoma County Emergency Readiness, Response and Recovery website with resources to help prepare residents for fire season. (Screenshot via socoemergency.org)

All residents should familiarize themselves with their evacuation zones and be ready to evacuate. This means signing up for alerts and building a go-bag or bags with 72 hours worth of essential supplies including water, medications, food, blankets, lights, face masks and copies of important documents.

Visit the Fire Safe Sonoma website to read more about the county’s Wildfire Community Preparedness Month.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.