What is an ember attack?

Ember attacks are an occurrence near wildfires where are a huge number of burning fragments of wood and vegetation are caught on the wind. These can travel well ahead of the main fire before burning out, starting smaller fires well ahead of the the front line. This is how wildfires skip over roads and unvegetated areas.

As far as wildfires go you may think direct flame contact is the main method of fires bringing houses down, but it has been brought to light that ember attacks are also a serious threat. In a way similar to the heat that melted the tires of cars as people trying to escape Paradise in 2018 in the Camp Fire, embers attack civilization in rapidly enveloping storms, as a single tree can release untold numbers of embers into the prevailing wind, which is further intensified by the heat created by the fire.

7 years after the fire

Also known as firebrand blizzards, ember attacks play huge roles in burning houses down.

Before being heat activated and sealed completely, our vents outer mesh layer filters out the embers large enough to gather and cause these fires by a statistically meaningful amount. After the buildings vents are all closed, no embers or flames will penetrate, cutting off flame intrusion as well as the ventilated oxygen supply to the attic.

Because the attic is above the compartmentalized space of the home below, an attic fire poses a risk to the entire home. An attic with a fire inside it will soar in temperature very quickly, super-heating the attic and ‘prepping’ the house to erupt into an encompassing fire. If the fire does spread enough into the attic, the entire house can be destroyed this way.

For those in the wildland urban interface we recommend ember and fire resistant vents.

Image credit: “7 years after the Little Bear Fire” by joncutrer is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Featured photo courtesy DFES.

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