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--></style><title>A best way to protect homes from
fire?</title></head><body>
<div><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#0040C2"><u
>http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-u-s-west-can-live-</u
></font><font face="Arial" size="-1"
color="#1A1A1A">with-fire/</font><br>
<font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#1A1A1A"></font></div>
<div><font face="Arial">Excerpts<br>
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</font><font face="Georgia">Experts say the keys to adapting Western
lives to these wildfire risks lie in how fires and the lands that fuel
them are managed; and in how yards, neighborhoods and cities are
planned, built and run.</font><font face="Arial"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Georgia">"The end game is to reduce the risk
of structure ignition," Schmidt said. "Embers are one of the
most significant threats to any structure during a wildfire. What we
want our residents to do is reduce the likelihood of that ember
landing on something that it likes. It's really going to like dried
pine needles in a gutter. What we want to do is change what it lands
on with less combustible material."</font><br>
<font face="Arial"></font></div>
<div><font face="Georgia">That has meant residents clearing their
rooftops of debris, and replacing timber-based roofs and other
flammable building materials with fire-resistant ones. It has also
meant clearing firewood, pine needles and shrub from around homes and
beneath decks.</font></div>
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