After a wildfire, the water and food in your home may no longer be safe because of smoke, soot and ash, chemicals, and structural damage. The following is general information about using water and food safely after a wildfire.
Water safety
Your water's safety depends on the type of water system you have, how long you were away from home, the seriousness of the wildfire, and whether or not the wildfire impacted your water system. Public health officials and local authorities may give you more guidance for your situation.
Flushing your water system
After a wildfire, it's important to flush your water system to remove stagnant water that may have been sitting in your water lines. Do this even if a boil water advisory is in place, and flush your water system again when the advisory ends.
How to flush your water system:
- Run all cold water taps for at least 5 minutes before you use them.
- Run all hot water taps for at least 5 minutes before you use them, even if the water is not hot.
Boil water advisories
For more information on how to use water safely for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing during a boil water advisory, see how to use water at home during a boil water advisory.
Private well or cistern
Carefully check your well or cistern and test your water before using it. Your well or cistern may be damaged and your water supply may be unsafe (contaminated) by harmful germs or chemicals.
Contact a well or cistern service professional if you find damage to your well or cistern.
Safe water resources
For more information on drinking water, visit Environmental Public Health.
Food safety
After a wildfire, some of the food in your home may be unsafe to eat because of a power outage or damage from smoke or fire. Be safe when checking your food. If you aren't sure if food is safe, throw it out.
Food to throw out
For insurance purposes, take plenty of photos and make a list of all items in any fridges and freezers.
Check the food in your home, including dry goods like flour, sugar, and spices, and any fruits and vegetables that were not stored in your fridge. Throw the food out if it:
- has spoiled, even if your fridge stayed at 4ºC at all times
- was open
- is a raw vegetable or fruit that was not refrigerated
- got damaged by fire or smoke, even if the package isn't open
- was stored in containers with tiny holes (porous) like cardboard or foam containers
- was stored in a glass jar (the heat from the fire likely damaged the safety seal)
Food in the fridge or freezer
Throw away food stored in your fridge, cooler, or freezer if the temperature inside the appliance went above 4ºC at any time.
If your appliance lost power at any time, the temperature may have gone above 4ºC when the power was off and then returned to 4ºC or lower when the power came back on. Most fridges can keep food at 4ºC for about 4 hours without power.
Canned food
Throw out any canned food if the can is bulging, rusted, dented, or in any way damaged.
If canned food is in good shape, clean and sanitize the cans before opening them to keep the food inside safe to eat. Clean cans using a mild detergent and rinse them very well. After cleaning, sanitize the cans with a bleach solution of 1/2 tsp (2 mL) of household bleach per 4 cups (1 L) of water.
