This is a press release from the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council:

Wooden fences and gates, once considered innocuous, can act as kindling in a wildfire: if they connect to your house, they can act as a fuse carrying the fire directly to your home.

But fear not! We’re here to revolutionize your defense strategy. We’d like to introduce the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council (MCFSC) Dangerous Gate Makeover Contest! We’re on a mission to identify the most hazardous fence-to-home connections out there. Think yours might qualify? Snap a pic and send it our way.

If your fence wins the contest, get ready for a transformation. We’ll collaborate with you on a design for the last 5 feet of fencing that’s both fire-safe and stylish. And the best part? The bills on us. All we ask is that you provide before-and-after snapshots to showcase your home’s epic upgrade.

How to apply? Submit your photo of the last 5 feet of your home-to-fence connection, include your name, contact info, and address. Entries get rated for their fire danger and finalists will be entered into a lottery to win! Submissions can be made by emailing MCFSC at [email protected], texting 707-518-3088, or posting them on our Facebook page with #DangerousGateMakeover. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis until September 1, 2024.

More tips:

– Clearing weeds, grasses, and other flammable materials around any wooden fence will reduce the chance that it will catch fire.

– If you happen to be home when there is a wildfire in the area, and if you have time before evacuating, open any wooden gates that connect to your home to break that connection.

For more home-hardening tips, the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council (MCFSC) has a great video series that walks through steps you can take at firesafemendocino.org, in the Safeguard Your Home drop-down menu.

Contractors – do you build and install metal or other fire-resistant gates for safer homes? We want to hear from you! Please contact us at [email protected] or 707-462-3662.