Ready your Family

Gather everyone and let them know you are getting ready to evacuate.

Dress for safety. Put on socks, closed-toed leather shoes or boots, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt. Leather gloves, a bandanna, and a hat can also be handy.

Ready your vehicles. Park vehicles facing the direction of escape. LEAVE KEYS in IGNITION.

Put pets in carriers and place in a safe location until vehicles and loaded.

Ready your animals. Put pets in carriers (in a safe, accessible place), ready to load into your vehicle. Load horses or other livestock into trailers and hitch the trailers to vehicles.

Put your emergency kit and valuables in vehicles.

Contact the neighbors. Check with neighbors to see if they need assistance. Offer to share transportation. Notify others when you leave and where you plan to go.

If it’s Safe/If There’s Still Time

If all vehicles are packed and everyone is ready to go, you may still have time to do a few things to protect your home.

Ready your house. Close all windows and doors. Place removable covers on attic and basements vents. Remove flammable window treatments. Close metal window blinds. Turn on all outside lights to help firefighters find your house.

Prepare emergency water supplies. Place generators near pumps to provide backup power for your well. Connect hoses, and place them where they can be easily found. Ensure that enclosed water tanks are marked and easily accessible.

Clear outdoor living spaces. Move flammable items to enclosed storage areas and/or cover them securely.

Store recreational vehicles. Move recreational vehicles away from structures and/or into enclosed storage areas, or cover them securely.

Wet it down. Strategically place sprinklers to wet structures and surroundings, and turn them on.

Break up contiguous fuels. Open gates to prevent flames from spreading from a fence to a structure.