Every time you see the distinctive yellowish-brown smoke of a wildland fire I’d like you to envision a homeowner standing on his roof with a garden hose. Sure enough, when the TV news comes on there he is! Brave. Proud. Protecting his property. Makes you want to be just like him.

Well, if you have a "garden hose attitude" this article is for you!

Someone recently told me they truly believed that even with 40 mph winds they could protect a very large building with garden hoses because it was out in the open and there weren’t many trees nearby. The fact is, however, that standing on the roof of a house with a garden hose in hand in those conditions is a useless effort regardless of how heroic it might make one feel.

Did you know that Fallbrook is the second most fire-prone community in California? It is considered a "very high fire hazard area." That’s not a good thing.

Remember the Gavilan Fire? It has only been five years since that inferno ravaged the north part of Fallbrook and destroyed or damaged 56 homes and caused more than $25 million in property damage. That wasn’t a good thing either and no one wants a repeat incident.

It is very, very dry in North County this year and it will be months before it rains again. Wildland fire danger is extraordinarily high and every single person needs to be exceptionally cautious. If they haven’t done so already, every property owner needs to get out immediately and remove the weeds and brush and anything else that might torch their house. Eliminate the fire hazards as soon as possible.

Many people honestly believe they can handle any wildfire that comes their way. The truth is that very few people understand the behavior of fire and even fewer are prepared to cope with a wall of flames roaring through their neighborhood. The ferocity and magnitude of a windswept wildfire with 1,500-degree temperatures racing through "light grass" or "heavy fuel" is devastating and often deadly. It tests the preparedness of homeowners and the skills of all firefighters.

In my opinion, the North County Fire Protection District (NCFPD), headed by Chief Bill Metcalf, is superbly managed and staffed by a group of professional firefighters who know their way around the fire business and who are highly competent by any standard. The five Fallbrook and Bonsall stations are staffed twenty-four/seven.

The NCFPD can quickly mount a fierce attack, and outside resources can be pouring into the Fallbrook area in a short period of time, but it can’t prevent every catastrophe. That’s why every resident has to participate in fire prevention efforts.

Remember, firefighters respond to events they do not create. They have to have nerves of steel, they have to know what they are doing, and sometimes in spite of their efforts it is impossible to get a handle on the fire.

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West Coast Auto Registration and they can’t control fire behavior. When it’s hot and windy and the humidity is low it’s time to pray for lots of fire engines and lots of suppression personnel.

Critics who think it is easy to tame a wildfire have never been on a fire line!

The success of firefighters in mitigating the danger depends in large part on good training, good equipment and skilled leadership. Aggressive attempts to extinguish the fire are essential. Dependable, up-to-the-minute reports on the fire and its behavior are imperative and totally reliable communications are an absolute must. The NCFPD is up to speed in all of these areas and as new technology becomes available it is adopted quickly.

Another absolutely essential ingredient is the preparation that a community, neighborhood or individual homeowner takes to reduce the exposure to fire damage. It’s called fire prevention.

Remember the guy on the roof with a garden hose? "What? You want me to clear out the thicket and cut down the trees surrounding my property? You want me to clear back how many feet? You want me to cut off those wonderful overhanging branches that keep the house so much cooler? You want me to replace my wood-shingled roof? You want me to trim the trees so the fire engine can make it up my driveway – and be able to turn around? You’ve got to be kidding!" But then again, that’s probably why he’s on the roof.

Dozens of hours of hard labor were spent clearing a 125-foot buffer zone around my own house to minimize the effects of a wildfire passing through my part of Fallbrook. But am I sufficiently protected? Let’s put it this way: I no longer have a jungle of junk trees and vines growing within 50 feet of my house, and I qualify for fire insurance. I think I have minimized my exposure, but if a 40-mile-per-hour Santa Ana wind pushed a wildfire through the south part of town I would still want a lot of fire engines on my street!

The Fallbrook Fire Safe Council has published a wonderful pamphlet entitled "Fallbrook isn’t fireproof; let’s make it firesafe." Every resident should read it. You can get a copy by calling (760) 728-1100.

I urge every resident to take a critical look at their property and get rid of the clutter that would make fuel for a fire. Making your house fire safe should be very high on your list of things to do starting this week!

Editor’s note: The author, Ken Munson, is a member of the Board of Directors of North County Fire Protection District but has written this article as a private citizen. He was a volunteer fire captain for 19 years with the Orange County Fire Authority and served a term as chairman, California State Firefighters’ Association Committee for Volunteers. He retired in 1997. He moved to Fallbrook just after the Gavilan Fire.