When the fire is out, the disruptions begin

The most common early brake on recovery is simply getting people and goods to the site. Police cordons and safety closures can prevent staff, suppliers and customers from returning. 

“Access restrictions are the No. 1 continuity issue in the first three days,” Albertini says. “If trucks and teams can’t reach you, nothing else moves.”

What you need to have established are:

• Alternate access routes and delivery points
• Re-entry letters/passes agreed with local authorities
• A call tree and channels for staff, suppliers, and customers

As emergency response stabilizes, utility problems rise to the surface. Power and telecoms are patchy; generators help, but diesel resupply can be hit-and-miss inside a disaster zone. The quiet single point of failure is water. “Post-wildfire, you can see sediment, metals, organics and even fire-retardant residues in the system,” he explains. That affects drinking water and process water. 

The fix is unglamorous but essential — plan for weeks, not days: 

• System flushing and backflow prevention
• Onsite storage sized for critical processes
• Temporary treatment skids (carbon or membrane filtration)
• Named utility contacts and priority-restoration agreements

Smoke travels far ahead of flames, carrying soot and ash deep into bearings, sensors, robots, filling lines and cleanrooms. “That’s how you get premature bearing failures, overheating, bad product quality and even product recalls,” he says. 

The playbook: 

• Secure a priority contract with a specialist decontamination firm before wildfire season.
• Clean first, then test and recertify critical spaces and equipment. 
• Document every step — photos, logs, test results — to avoid warranty and insurance disputes.

Speed comes from a wildfire-specific continuity plan — tested, updated and drilled. Standout traits Albertini sees in the fast starters are:

• Pre-mapped alternative access routes and logistics.
• Pre-agreed utility priorities and named contacts for power, water and telecoms.
• Clear crisis communications (staff, authorities, suppliers, customers, public).
• People plans: remote-work options, welfare support, roster depth.
• Annual exercises with lessons folded back into the plan.

“Generic plans focus on critical equipment,” he says. “Wildfire plans must also cover everything outside your fence — roads, bridges, utilities and your suppliers’ constraints.”

Start with low-cost, high-return steps:

• Defensible space & vegetation management around buildings and yards.
• Ember-resistant vents/meshes on buildings and rooftop equipment.
• Class A roofing; fire-rated windows/siding where exposure warrants it.

Then medium investments:

• Automatic sprinklers in key areas; improved air-intake/filtration to reduce smoke ingress.

And strategic upgrades:

• Microgrids (onsite generation + storage) to ride through grid outages.
• Redundancy for power/water/telecom and the ability to island operations.

“Don’t wait for flames at your fence line. Plan access, water and cleanup now. Those three steps can make you a priority and save you weeks when everyone else is calling for the same help.”