Wildfires across the United States have taken more than 100 lives and cost more than $25 billion in property losses in the last two years. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and State Farm are helping communities take steps toward safety with their national Wildfire Community Preparedness Day (Preparedness Day) event on Saturday, May 4, 2019.
Preparedness Day serves as an opportunity for residents to participate in wildfire safety activities. Thanks to the generous support from State Farm, 150 communities across 27 states will receive project funding awards of $500 each to support activities on Preparedness Day aimed at reducing potential loss of life, property, and natural resources to wildfire.
Keeping homeowners safe
Since our initial launch of Prep Day in 2013, participation has continued to grow"
"Since NFPA and State Farm first partnered together on Preparedness Day, the number of projects has grown tremendously. We are pleased to provide 150 communities with a grant to fund their wildfire risk reduction activities on May 4," said Vickie Hodges, P&C underwriting analyst, State Farm. "For State Farm, the largest home insurer in the U.S., it is important to us to take a leadership role in helping homeowners stay safe and better protect their property."
Recent wildfire events make the need for Preparedness Day more important than ever before. In 2018, California wildfires burned nearly one million acres, a large amount of burned acreage recorded in a fire season. Several other states that experienced large fires in 2018 including Nevada, Utah, and Oklahoma, are putting the U.S. on pace to exceed the average acreage burned annually over the past 10 years.
Neighborhoods safer from wildfire
"NFPA and State Farm are pleased to be working together on the Preparedness Day campaign," said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of Outreach and Advocacy. "Since our initial launch of Prep Day in 2013, participation has continued to grow. We are inspired by the number of residents who feel empowered to take the necessary steps to keep their homes and neighborhoods safer from wildfire."
There is still time to take action and NFPA and State Farm encourage people to get involved by planning a project and participating on May 4.
