Summer is in full swing here in Murrieta, and with the Southern California summer comes the Southern California fire risk. Just a few weeks into Summer 2015, and Murrieta residents have already been alerted to the potential fire risk to the area. This warning acts as a reminder that Murrieta homes and their owners are always at risk of fire damage. Are you ready for when fire damage strikes? Statistics from the American Red Cross suggest that you probably aren’t.  Fortunately, there are some simple steps to take to ensure that you and your family are ready.

Create a Fire “Buffer Space”

Cal Fire has advised homeowners to create a “buffer space” between their homes and the surrounding brush in the area. This can be accomplished by minimizing the presence of flammable wood and plant material near the home. Clearing your lawn of weeds and brush, keeping firewood piles away from the house, and removing overhanging branches are all actions that a homeowner can take to create this anti-fire “buffer space”. Depending on the size of your property, that space should range from 30 to 100 feet.

Plan With Your Family

Given how frequently wild fires occur in Southern California, Cal Fire has also advised homeowners to have an emergency plan in place in case fire damage strikes. The steps in this plan are as easy as creating a meeting place for family members after evacuation, mapping out escape routes, and arranging emergency contacts. Despite an emergency plan’s simplicity, a startling amount of families don’t have one ready. By taking time with your family and planning out a fire emergency plan, you can be confident that when wild fire damage strikes, everyone will be secure.

Talk to Your Insurance Provider

When wild fire damage does strike, there won’t be a lot you can do to keep back the flames and prevent wild fire damage. Instead, verify that you have a homeowner’s insurance policy that covers fire damage, and confirm what the protocol is for when the worst happens. You may not be able to put out a wildfire already happening, but you can ensure that any fire damage inflicted on your home can be easily restored once the worst has passed.

It’s Up to You

Not many Murrieta residents are ready for when fire damage and wildfires strike. Make yourself the exception! By taking precautionary steps with your property, creating an emergency plan with your family, and keeping tabs on your insurance policy, you can ensure the safety of both your loved-ones and property from fire damage from years to come.

Imagine, for a moment, that the worst has occurred and disaster has struck your home; flood, fire, whatever you can think of. Fortunately for you, your home is insured against that type of disaster. Your insurance company, after assessing the damage, calls in a restoration company to begin renovation on your damaged home. Sure, a contractor can rebuild the home itself, but what happens to the damaged goods inside? “Contents restoration” is the term that refers to the process of removing, restoring and replacing the damaged goods inside your home. This is how they do it.

Inventory

The first, obvious step is to remove all of the items to be restored from the home. These items are then catalogued and stored safely off-site, where they are assessed for service.

Repair or Replace?

The restoration company only has a certain amount of resources to use on items from the home. Some inexpensive items, such as a plastic lawn chair, might be more easily and cheaply replaced than more substantial items.

Restore and Refinish

After items are assessed, the real work begins. Items are cleaned of stains and odor, whether they came from water, mold, fire, or smoke. Wooden furniture items are refinished, and fabric furniture items are sometimes reupholstered. Special techniques might be used for artwork, electronics, or other specialty items.

Safe Keeping

Household items are usually finished before home repairs are complete. The contents restoration service will then return the restored items into their storage facilities until home repairs are complete.

The Return Journey

Once the home is habitable again, the restoration team goes to work taking all the restored items out of storage and moving them back into the home. Items are set up for the homeowners to move back in.

Content with Restoration

Contents restoration is, simply put, the restoration of the contents of your home. If disaster strikes, and your property is damaged, partner with your insurance company to find the contractor and content restoration company that’s right for you. Many restoration companies, such as Superior Restoration, are capable of providing both services to clients affected by disaster. Regardless of what path you take, content restoration helps get your life back on track.

With rain in the forecast for areas recently affected by fire, the threat of flooding is ever-present. Ground that has recently seen major burns does not absorb water very well, leading to an increase in fire chances in many areas of San Bernardino County affected by the lake fire. NBC Los Angeles Reports as follows:

“Desert and mountain areas will likely see the most significant shower and thunderstorm activity. The storms increase the chance for lightning-sparked wildfires and flooding in the Lake Fire burn area in the San Bernardino County mountains…

…The threat of flooding will continue early this week.

Floodwaters can carry trees, large rocks, gravel, ash and other debris.

Lightning strikes also brought the risk of more wildfires during an active fire season. Hundreds of lightning strikes overnight sparked three dozen new wildfires in Northern California, authorities said Sunday.

The 36 blazes triggered by 800 lightning strikes were small and quickly put out, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The agency reports 2,486 wildfires since the start of the year, compared with 2,030 during the same period last year. The state averages about 1,650 wildfires from January to mid-June.

Temperatures will be in the 70s and 80s, accompanied by humid conditions throughout Southern California.”

While rain might sound like a blessing to drought-stricken Californians, it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. That’s exactly what meteorologists predict with the upcoming El Niño weather event this winter that will see a sudden rain increase across California. When you suddenly have increased rainfall in drought-stricken areas, flash floods and water damage are bound to occur.

“Yes, El Niño’s great, and it could provide us with relief and replenish some of these reservoirs,” Climatologist .Woods said. “The flip side of that is it could mean catastrophic flooding, too.”

For the uninitiated, El Niño is a phenomenon that occurs where warm water cycles through the seas along ocean currents. These warm water surges affect the atmosphere and weather, especially in areas along the Pacific Coast.

“What we want is just enough water to come in slowly enough for the watersheds to hold that,” Woods said. “The nice thing is that so many of them are dry that they have the capacity, but the flip side of that is, as anybody knows in a desert climate, is that terrain is just parched and so a lot of that can be runoff if those storms are too warm.”

It’s always important for California residents to be prepared in the event of flooding.

The Buffalo Wild Wings located off of Murrieta Hot Springs Road has been closed indefinitely while it undergoes repairs for both fire damage and water damage. The restoration double-whammy occurred when a small fire set off fire sprinklers, which in turn flooded the restaurant. The fire was apparently triggered by a deep fire left on overnight. Cooking equipment is the number one cause of indoor fire damage.

This turns out to not be the only eventful occurrence in the history of this particular Buffalo Wild Wings location. This was also the same Buffalo Wild Wings that actor Andy Dick was arrested at following some bad behavior, which was the region’s foremost celebrity story up until a certain donut-licking incident in Lake Elsinore.

When it comes to any building structural integrity is key. Floor supports walls, walls for roof and the whole structure builds upon itself to support itself. Because the structural beams of our houses are covered up with drywall and stucco we often have no idea what’s going on behind those walls. Meruliaporia incrassate may be hiding just behind your wall without you knowing it.

This voracious mold, orange in colour, eats away at the wooden structure of your house. In the worst cases a formerly strong wooden crossbeam can be so even the way that you can push your finger through it with little effort.

What makes this fungus all the more dangerous is its ability to move around the house. Most mold growth is limited to a small area around a leak or other source of water. Poria on the other hand is not limited to a small area. It can form in the soil under a new patio or around a small leak in a pipe. It then continues to grow feeding off the wood of the house and using its roots to pump fresh water to its furthest extremity’s. It can then grow up the wooden structure of a house eating it as it goes. Unchecked this mold has the potential to destroy a house.

Recently California homeowners have noticed this mold and are seeking ways to deal with it. This may be due to a shift in how houses were built after the 1970s. They were built closer to the ground and with poor ventilation creating the ideal breeding ground for this type of mold.

If as a homeowner you suspect this mold might be present in your house here is something to remember. A patch job will not help you in the long run. This mold has to be eradicated entirely by a qualified mold remediation company. Left alone your house will literally fall down around your ears. Talking to your insurance and seek professional help.

Many people believe that by getting rid of mold using bleach and chemicals they will fix their problem. The problem with that is the dead mold spores are just as harmful to human lungs as live spores. If do not seek professional help from the get go you may have only put the problem on hold rather than actually solved it.

Mold is toxic and can cause many health issues. In fact, mold produces mycotoxins that are pathogenic to animals and humans. There have been cases where pets placed under anaesthesia, in a home that contains mold spores, had failed to regain consciousness. Humans with weak immune systems should avoid mold like the plague.

If you discover mold in your home or business, just remember that some molds can be toxic and that it is best not to disturb the mold, which could inadvertently release spores in the air and create even more problems. We recommend that you contact a professional for their assessment. a professional mold remediation company will take the burden of decision off your shoulders and provide you with much-needed information. The goal is to provide you with peace of mind.

If you haven’t experienced it yourself you’ve definitely heard of it. That horrible moment when you realize that the sewage lines have busted and the malodorous human waste of ages starts to overflow from your toilet. If you are a do it yourself kind of person this is not the situation where a quick browse through Google will give you all the information you need. Here are some reasons why you should call in a professional sewage cleanup team.

• The disease-causing pathogens and heavy metals found in sewage can be extraordinary risky to your health. Handling such waste products in without the proper equipment and training puts you in danger of contracting deadly diseases.

• Sometimes a shortcut is not cost-effective. You may be able to clean up the sewage yourself but without the benefit of professional help you cant be sure that you got all of it and mold may form afterwards. The costs will start to mount higher and higher if after all the effort you put in to clean up the sewage you now have to fight off mold.

• There are tools of the trade which unless you’ve been waiting for this event with baited breath you will not have in your toolset. Not only will a professional have all the tools necessary to deal with your problem but they will also have the benefit of the most current training.

• There is nothing quite so horrible is realizing after you’ve completed a job of work and now something else has gone wrong and you have to do it all over again. Hiring a professional and will not only help you out with your current difficulties that give you tips on what to do to prevent this ever happening again.

Water damage happens in unexpected places and that unexpected times. It can even happen in places of your home where you least expect it but there are certain rooms that are more susceptible to water damage than others. The bathroom has a sink, toilet, after and numerous pipes all of which could burst at any moment flooding the bathroom. Another problem area is the kitchen. It too is filled to bursting with pipes and sinks and it is used every day.

The reason the cages and is so susceptible to water damage is because it houses appliances such as your refrigerator dishwasher and possibly even your washer and dryer, the sink and the multiple waterline supplying each of them.

Most homes today have a dishwasher that with a little bit of human health claims of your dishes helping you prepare for the next meal. This device is prone to water damage especially as it ages and the hoses leading to it start to weaken and crack. Changing the hoses on a regular basis can prevent this.

The same is true for refrigerators and for your washer and dryer. The more often you change the pipes leading to them the better. It is a good idea to at least twice a year inspect the pipes and hoses leading to all these appliances.

Another common area for water damage is the kitchen sink. Of all the items in your kitchen this is probably one that is use the most often. A small it can become a very big problem if left unattended to. Even a very small leak can expel more than 22 gallons of water a day.

If you find that your preventative measures of not take effect and water has flowed your kitchen contact quality water damage Restoration Company and seek their help. When in doubt leave it to the professionals, in the end they will save you time and money and is of mind.

What are your plans for yourself and your family in the event of a flood? Do you have a plan to minimize the flood damage? Do you know who you would call for help? Do you already have an insurance company and if so are you certainly a loss would be covered? Floods caused by a number of different factors but think that is always the same is that they leave destruction in their wake and preparation is your best weapon with which to fight them.

The clogging of city drainage due to garbage, random soil deposits, hurricanes and of course ineffective drainage systems are all factors that will help the flood rather than hinder it. Apart from the inherent water damage that floods cause, they also bring Earth, garbage and other hazardous materials along with them and leave them behind. These materials are often extremely hazardous and should only be handled by a professional cleanup crew.

A professional water damage restoration company will not only remove the standing water in your home, but will also sanitize and clean areas affected by the flood and dehumidifier your home. There were also cleaning carpets and most importantly communicate with your insurance provider. Be aware that most home insurance does not cover flood damage. If you’re in an area that suffers from flooding you should seek out a separate flood insurance. That way you know that in the event your house will be covered. Floods cause destruction but insurance leads to peace of mind.