The L.A. wildfires have continued to blaze and displace so many from their homes. Many L.A. residents are reporting that they’ve had limited time to prepare for an evacuation. So it’s important to stay safe and be prepared before the time comes.
Here’s our full guide on how to prepare for an emergency evacuation.
❗ Please note: We’ve compiled this information to help support our community affected by these unprecedented wildfires. These details are changing quickly, and we strongly recommend checking directly with the linked sources for the most up-to-date information.
Table Of Contents
🚨What Does Each Emergency Order Mean?
Shelter-in-place
This means staying indoors, shutting all windows and doors. Under this order, you’ll have to prepare to self-sustain until further notice or until you’re contacted by emergency officials for additional direction.
Evacuation warning
This means there is a potential threat to life and/or property. People who require additional time to evacuate and those with pets and livestock should leave immediately.
Evacuation order
This means there’s an immediate threat to life. This is an order to leave immediately and the area is legally closed to public access.
You can check the L.A. County Emergency website here for more information.
🚨How To Prepare For Evacuation
Have an Emergency Evacuation Plan
It’s important to have an emergency response plan already prepared, so everyone in your household knows exactly what to do in case of emergency. Have a plan on where to go when it is time to evacuate and know the best routes for leaving your location.
Prepare Your Go-Bags
One way to prepare for emergency evacuations is by packing a Go-Bag which is a backpack or bag filled with your essentials and personal documents. The bag should contain everything you would need for an extended stay away from home with at least 72 hours worth of essential supplies. Each person in a household should have their own Go-Bag, and it should be light enough to carry easily.
Prepare Your Furry Friends
Have your pets’ Go-Bags and pet carriers ready to go in an easy to find location. If you know that evacuation could be imminent, it’s a good idea to block off rooms in your house to keep all your pets in one area. That way if you need to evacuate you can get your pets into their carriers quickly. Remember that one of the most important things you can do to help your pets during an emergency is to stay calm yourself.
Prepare Your Home
If you have time, it could be beneficial to protect your home to have the best chance of surviving a wildfire. You can read more at the Ready for Wildfire Evacuation Guide.
- Inside the House
- Close all windows and doors but leave them unlocked
- Take down flammable window treatments like shades and curtains, and close metal shutters
- Move anything that burns easily to the middle of rooms, away from windows and doors
- Turn off the gas at the meter and pilot lights
- Leave lights on for firefighters to see your house in smoke
- Switch off the air conditioning
- Outside the House
- Bring in flammable items from outside, like patio furniture, toys, doormats, and trash bins.
- Shut off propane tanks
- Move grills and other propane BBQ appliances away from the house
- Attach garden hoses to outside taps for firefighter use and fill buckets with water to scatter around
- Don’t leave sprinklers or water running as it can lower critical water pressure.
- Keep exterior lights on to make your home visible in smoky or dark conditions.
- Park your car in the driveway, facing outwards, loaded and ready, with all doors and windows shut
- Have a ladder handy for firefighter roof access
Prepare For A Power Outage
Power outages have be rampant across Southern California over the past week. It’s important to be prepared for power outages. So while preparing your home, it’s also important to keep in mind that a power outage might occur while you are gone. Read our full guide here on how to prepare for and stay safe during a power outage.
Fuel Up Your Vehicles
Keep your vehicles fully fueled in case you need to drive long distances when evacuating. If possible, keep extra fuel in your car for emergencies.
Know Alternate Travel Routes
With so many highways and roads closed, it’s important to have alternate routes in mind when preparing to evacuate. It’s also a good idea to have a paper map of your area stashed in your car in case the GPS fails to work.
Preserve Important Documents
Think about important documents that are not easily replaced. Gather all originals and take photos. If you have time, put the photos on a flash drive, save them to the cloud, and/or email them to a trusted friend or family member.
Document Your Home
Take photos and videos of your home, especially of more valuable items such as large appliances. It can be helpful if damage occurs to your home.
Wear Protective Clothing
It’s important to dress to protect yourself in a wildfire. Wear clothes that cover your skin, like long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and durable shoes. And 100% cotton is best. This helps guard you against heat and sparks.
You can get even more information here on the Ready for Wildfire checklist.
🚨Find An Evacuation Center
When evacuating, it’s important to know where to go for shelter and other resources that are available to you. You can check our full guide here on evacuation shelters for both humans and animals. Keep checking back for frequent updates.
But remember, if you must evacuate with no time to grab any of your belongings, please just go! There is no material possession that is worth risking your life for. Be prepared and stay safe!
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