For life-threatening emergencies, call 911
WILDFIRE EVACUATION PLANNING
Ready, Set, Go!
Prepare your household, animals, vehicle, and evacuation routes before wildfire threatens. When an evacuation order is issued or officials tell you to leave, go immediately.
A Safe Evacuation Starts Before a Wildfire
READY, SET, GO AT A GLANCE
REDUCE WILDFIRE RISK BEFORE IT REACHES YOUR DOOR
READY: Prepare Your Property
Being READY means reducing wildfire hazards before a fire starts. Strengthen your home against embers, maintain defensible space, and correct conditions that could allow flames or radiant heat to reach the structure. These actions cannot eliminate wildfire risk, but they can improve your home’s ability to withstand exposure and provide firefighters with a safer place to work.
Wildfire readiness begins long before an evacuation warning. Reduce combustible material near your home and address vulnerable areas where embers could enter, collect, or ignite nearby materials. Small improvements completed throughout the year can make a meaningful difference when wildfire threatens.
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✓ Keep the first five feet around your home free of combustible vegetation, mulch, debris, and stored items
✓ Remove leaves, pine needles, and other debris from roofs, gutters, decks, and areas beneath structures
✓ Trim trees and shrubs to break up continuous paths of vegetation that could carry fire toward your home
✓ Remove dead plants, branches, dry grass, and accumulated combustible material throughout your property
✓ Maintain required clearance around chimneys, structures, propane tanks, driveways, and access roads
✓ Inspect vents, eaves, roofs, windows, siding, decks, and fences for areas vulnerable to embers, flames, or radiant heat
✓ Move firewood, lumber, outdoor furniture, and other combustible items away from your home
✓ Ensure your address is visible and gates, driveways, and access routes can accommodate emergency vehicles
Take practical steps to reduce wildfire risk, strengthen your home against embers, and create defensible space around your property.
PREPARE NOW SO YOU CAN LEAVE WITHOUT DELAY
SET: Prepare to Evacuate
Being SET means knowing how your household will respond when wildfire threatens. Create your evacuation plan before an emergency, prepare the supplies and transportation you will need, and make sure everyone understands when, where, and how to leave.
Wildfire conditions can change quickly. Roads may close, electricity may fail, and family members may be in different locations. Planning for these possibilities now can reduce confusion and help your household leave earlier and more safely.
✓ Register for official emergency alerts and keep notifications enabled
✓ Identify at least two evacuation routes in case your usual road is blocked
✓ Choose safe destinations in different directions and confirm which locations will accept your animals
✓ Select a household meeting place outside the fire-risk area
✓ Choose an out-of-area contact who can help family members reconnect if local communications are disrupted
✓ Prepare a go-bag for each person with water, food, medications, identification, important documents, protective clothing, and essential supplies
✓ Arrange transportation and assistance for children, older adults, people with disabilities, and anyone who may need additional time to leave
✓ Keep a printed contact list and paper map in your vehicle in case phones, navigation systems, or cellular service are unavailable
✓ Maintain at least half a tank of fuel and know how to open electric gates and garage doors during a power outage
✓ Practice your evacuation plan with every household member, including pets, horses, and livestock
ACT EARLY WHEN CONDITIONS BEGIN TO CHANGE
Put Your Plan Into Action
When wildfire is nearby or an evacuation warning is issued, put your evacuation plan into action. Monitor official information, gather everyone in your household, load your vehicle, and prepare to leave immediately. If conditions become unsafe, move directly to GO and leave without waiting for an evacuation order.
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✓ Monitor official alerts, local news, and your NOAA Weather Radio
✓ Charge phones and backup batteries, and keep vehicle keys with you
✓ Dress in long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, sturdy closed-toe shoes, and other protective clothing
✓ Load go-bags, medications, important documents, water, and essential supplies
✓ Park your vehicle facing the direction of departure with the windows closed
✓ Bring pets indoors or keep them close, secured, and ready to load
✓ Evacuate horses and livestock as soon as an evacuation warning is issued
✓ Tell your out-of-area contact where you plan to go
✓ Check on nearby neighbors who may need assistance, but do not delay your own departure
✓ Leave immediately if conditions feel unsafe, even if an evacuation order has not been issued
LEAVE EARLY BEFORE FIRE, SMOKE, OR TRAFFIC BLOCKS YOUR WAY
GO: Leave Without Delay
Being ready to GO means recognizing when it is time to leave and acting without hesitation. Leave when an evacuation order is issued, when officials advise you to evacuate, or whenever wildfire conditions make you feel unsafe.
Do not wait to see flames or assume someone will come to your door. Wildfire can change direction quickly, and evacuation routes may become congested or inaccessible. Leaving early gives your household more time to reach safety and helps keep roads open for firefighters and other emergency responders.
✓ Leave immediately when an evacuation order is issued
✓ Leave earlier if conditions feel unsafe or anyone in your household requires additional time or assistance
✓ Take everyone in your household, including pets, medications, go-bags, and essential supplies
✓ Follow official evacuation routes and instructions from emergency personnel
✓ Use your planned destination unless officials direct you to another location
✓ Do not use closed roads, unfamiliar shortcuts, or routes leading toward the fire
✓ Drive carefully and remain alert for smoke, poor visibility, emergency vehicles, animals, and changing road conditions
✓ Do not stop to take photographs or record the fire
✓ Do not remain behind to defend your home after being ordered to evacuate
✓ Tell your out-of-area contact where you are going and confirm when you arrive safely
✓ Remain outside the evacuation area until authorities announce that it is safe to return
