Preparing for Wildfire Evacuation: Making a Plan

When you are planning for wildfire evacuation, do so with a clear head. You must consider that in such a disaster, flames could reach your home before firefighters could extinguish them.*

This sobering possibility should inform your planning decisions as to what you would want to gather and take with you in an evacuation.

A warning will usually include how long you are given to safely exit your home.  What will you take with you?  These decisions are the heart of your family plan.

Consider the logistics of a worst-case scenario:  Your first evacuation destination could be emergency sheltering/housing. (See Below)

Planning Step One: What you plan to take with you in an evacuation is a very personal matter.  Here are questions/ suggestions to get your list started.What items are most precious and sentimental?

• What is valuable to you and not replaceable?  
• What would be expensive to replace, that can fit in your auto?  
• Your digital content. Is your data backed-up in the Cloud? Verify. Do you have external drives? 
• Your digital equipment and chargers would you take? 
• If you work from home, do you have work product you need to protect?  Is it digital or paper?  
• Do you have cash, collectibles or precious metals at home?  
• Valuable jewelry?
• Essential medicines?  Supplements? 
• When preparing your evacuation list, ask each child what is valuable to them and include, if appropriate. 
• Your pets will be coming too.  They will need food, water, bowls and carriers/ leashes.  
• Keep this list in a place known to all family members. Refrigerator?  A clip board?  Print enough copies so each family member can grab a complete list.  
• As you exit, secure your home:  Lock windows and doors; close window covering.  Lock any autos left behind.
• Do you have a 96-120 hour emergency kit of essentials/provisions already in place in each family auto?**   
• If not, there are additional things you will want to list and gather -- IF THERE IS TIME:  1) Documents--personal, legal, religious and financial, including account numbers/passwords; 2) A complete change of clothing for each family member; 3) Basic first aid items; 4) Hygiene kit; and 5) Water and snacks.  
• Dollar store thermal bags are perfect for cold food/beverages you pull from your refrigerator to supplement what you have in your emergency kit.  

Step Two: Give items a color code priority identifying the most important to grab quickly, if you have little notice.  Do the same thing for 10-15 minute notice, 20-30; and longer.  Set priorities now, pre-need.

Step Three:  Assign a family member to every item to be gathered and loaded. 

Step Four:  Include the location of each listed item.  It makes sense to store high priority items in close proximity of each other.

It is important to communicate clearly with first responders who may do a drive-by assessment.  Unless your community agrees to a different signal, use the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) uniform color messaging.  Tightly tie a long green ribbon or scarf to your front doorknob or mailbox indicating you have evacuated.  Red would mean you are still there and need help.

Manage the space in your auto to leave room for people you would expect to be passengers.  If you have more than one driver at home when the warning is sounded, and you have another car, load both autos.

Reminder:  Do you reliably keep at least half a tank of gasoline in all family autos?  You do not want to run out of gas during evacuation or have to be in a long gas line.  

Where will you take shelter or find housing, if needed? 

In a community-wide disaster, the American Red Cross (ARC) is the usual provider of temporary sheltering. This year COVID-19 has prompted some adjustments.

First: they have contracted with motels/hotels to provide non-congregate emergency housing.  Second: if ARC shelters do open in some locations, they will have a limit of 50 people, with food service being “drop and go”, pre-boxed items.  Masks and social distancing will be required.  FYI:  ARC centers permit only service animals and allow no weapons.

Do you have friends or relatives with whom you would be staying if you cannot return to your home?  Has this been discussed and agreed upon?

Conclusion:  It is indeed sobering to make a list of the very few things you could escape with, ahead of an encroaching wildfire.  This is a whole-family planning effort that will take several sessions.  You will feel a sense of peace and accomplishment when done.  Review it periodically; family priorities do change, as do item locations.

*Do you have adequate fire insurance?  Have you provided your insurer an updated video/pictures of your home, contents and landscape?  Did you keep a copy?

**For help in creating a 96-120 hour emergency kit, see articles on this BLOG:  “96-Hour Emergency Kit”; “96 Hour Kit – Components and Contents”; and, “96-Hour Kit Suggestions.”