I was in the fire area of Sonoma county, there was cell and text services. When calling 911, it gave you a busy signal....

I was one of the lucky ones, but I am going to rethink having a cell phone only house. Most of us leave the cell phone charging in the kitchen or on the table somewhere, not by the bed. I for one am going to get my landline back & have a phone in the bedroom. Maybe, just maybe, I would have gotten earlier notification & could have gotten out sooner.

As an experienced wildland fire professional I am deeply concerned that our entire area, with its heavy (and beautiful) fuel/vegetation load and with the significant use of flammable construction materials is as significant risk of exactly the type of devastation that occurred in Santa Rosa.

We need better preparation, planning, alerting systems, voluntary and mandatory fire safety/fuel load reduction/removal zones, voluntary and mandatory removal of flammable construction materials and well defined, tested and signed evacuation routes.

Remember the Los Altos Hills fire at Arastradero-Page Mill-280 in the mid-'80s? Luckily it was confined by big roads on 2 sides to a relatively small area but it was devastating for those within its boundaries.

How about a warning system like those for tsunamis in Hawaii?

I would like to see a discussion about fire resistant paints and additives to make houses less flammable.
We could also discuss wildfire structure wrap to cover flammable roofs.
There is much on the internet. These sites should get you started.
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- acomfort

The rain of embers typically enters a house through the attic vents and the house burns from the inside out. Applying the correct screening over roof eave vents at over hangs and gable ends helps. Don't forget about crawl space vents.

"The rain of embers typically enters a house through the attic vents and the house burns from the inside out. Applying the correct screening over roof eave vents at over hangs and gable ends helps. Don't forget about crawl space vents."

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An absolute must read - Does California need to rethink urban fire risk after wine country tragedy?:

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