Your evacuation plan must be prepared and familiar to all members of your household well in advance of a wildfire. Use the outline below to help create your plan. Each family’s plan will be different, depending on a variety of issues, needs, and situations.
What to Include in Your Evacuation Plan
- A designated emergency meeting location outside the fire or hazard area. This is critical to determine who has safely evacuated from the affected area.
- Study our wildfire evacuation guide.
- Learn the different escape routes from your home and community. Practice these often so everyone in your family is familiar in case of emergency.
- Have an evacuation plan for pets and large animals such as horses and other livestock.
- A family communication plan that designates an out-of-area friend or relative as a point of contact to act as a single source of communication among family members in case of separation. (It is easier to call or message one person and let them contact others than to try and call everyone when phone, cell, and internet networks can be overloaded or limited during a disaster.)
- Download and print our evacuation checklist, which includes a condensed family emergency communication plan template.
Be Prepared
- Follow our evacuation checklist whenever there is a wildfire burning nearby or when fire weather conditions are severe.
- Assemble an evacuation go-kit for each person in your household, including an extra go-kit for visitors.
- Maintain a list of emergency contact numbers in your family communication plan and keep it posted near your phone and in your emergency supply kit.
- Keep an extra evacuation go-kit in your car in case you cannot get to your home because of fire or another emergency.
- Have a portable AM/FM radio or scanner so you can stay updated on the fire.
- Tell your neighbors about these resources and your wildfire evacuation plan.