LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – In 2020, South Tahoe Now and the Tahoe Network of Fire Adapted Communities teamed up to present ways to protect you and your families in the case of wildfire. Also in that series were ways to prepare your home, create go-bags, and other helpful and necessary tips and tools.

We will be sharing that series again, with one focus a day over the next ten days.

Below are tips, lessons, videos, and hands-on activities for children at home.

This Week’s Tip: Talking to Kids About Wildfire

Preparing for wildfire is a crucial part of living at Lake Tahoe. Given the importance of planning for the whole family, children should not be left out of preparedness conversations. While your kids are home, you can use this time to talk about wildfire science and introduce fun, fire-related curriculum.

General Tips

Start the conversation with a video or activity to get your child’s attention.
Ask your child what they already know about wildfires.

Be prepared to repeat information; wildfire can be difficult to understand.

Talking Points: Pre-School and Kindergarten

What is Fire?

Fire happens when something gets very hot and burns, like a fireplace, a stove, or a campfire. There are good fires and bad fires, but all fires can be dangerous. We have to be very careful with it.

Some fires are good and help us cook, warm our houses, or light candles on a birthday cake. We typically can control these fires.

But fires can be bad if they are unplanned, out of control, or burn things we don’t want them to burn, like houses, farms, or parks.

Wildfires

A fire that burns through forests, grasslands, meadows, or other natural areas is called a wildfire. Wildfires can be started naturally or by people. They usually happen when it’s hot and dry outside.

Not all wildfires are bad. Some forests and grassy areas need them to stay healthy. They can burn away dead plants and overgrown parts of the forest.

Talking Points: Elementary and Middle School

Fire Science

Fire needs three things to exist: fuel (wood, plants, or paper), heat to get it going (lightning, a cigarette, or a match) and oxygen. Because fire needs these elements, to put a fire out, you need to take one of them away.

Wildfires

A fire that burns through forests, grasslands, meadows, or other natural areas is called a wildfire. They usually happen during the summer and fall, when it is really hot and dry outside.

Wildfires can start naturally from lighting or by people who are careless— with cigarettes, campfires, or fireworks. Escaped campfires are the leading cause of wildfire ignitions at Lake Tahoe.

Prescribed Fire

Not all fires in the forest are bad. Land management agencies like the U.S. Forest Service, California State Parks, and local fire districts sometimes create fire in the forest on purpose. This is called prescribed fire, and it is done under very specific weather conditions and kept under control.

Prescribed fire helps keep the land healthy by burning away dead plants and preventing the forest from being too thick and overgrown.

Previous Tips

#1 – Are you preparing for the possibility of wildfire in the Lake Tahoe Basin?

#2 – Creating an evacuation plan ahead of fire season

Some additional evacuation resources:

Fire Videos
Why is Fire Hot?
The Science of Wildfires
National Geographic Wildfires 101

Fire-Related Activities
Smokey Bear Story Book – Includes a story book and printable stick puppets.
Smokey Bear Coloring Pages – Printable Smokey Bear activities.
FireWorks Educator’s Curriculum – Interactive, hands-on lesson plans about wildfire.
Smokey’s Wildfire Detectives – Printable wildfire prevention poster.

More on preparing for wildfire – https://www.tahoelivingwithfire.com/. Sign up for their newsletters at http://bit.ly/TNFACnewsletter.