WHAT

Safety & Evacuation

Evacuation and shelter-in-place preparedness, planning, and communication are crucial for all hazards. It is important to help your community understand how they will be notified in the event of a wildfire (or other hazard), know what actions they should take, and how prepare for evacuation. Work with your local Office of Emergency Management, Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department and others who may be involved during an evacuation to do exercises, planning and relationship building.

This page contains resources, tools and examples of safety and evacuation resources.

Considerations

1
Understandable, timely and accurate information are important.
2
Accessibility for all community members is key. Do you have a plan for translation of crucial messaging in to languages other than English? Do you have a plan for alerts and warnings that are accessible to all community members? It's critical to think about how people will get information, what methods and tools there are for communication, and how to make information accessible to all.
3
Planning and practice are key. Agencies and important community partners have roles to play in the evacuation, alert and warning, and sheltering components of disaster. Does everyone know their role and how they will communicate?

EXPLORE Safety & Evacuation RESOURCES

  • WHO

  • WHERE

  • FORMAT

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Found 31 Results

WUI-NITY: a platform for the simulation of wildland-urban interface fire evacuation

Guide / Pamphlet / Handout
National Fire Protection Association
This report introduces a modeling platform called WUI-NITY. The platform provide simulation of human and fire behavior during wildfire evacuations to enhance the situational awareness of responders and residents in evacuation scenarios. The platform provides information on the dynamic evolution of the situation. Read More

Wildfire: Preparing the Home and Ranch

Guide / Pamphlet / Handout
Oklahoma State University Extension
This guide from Oklahoma State University Extension focuses on actions which can be taken around homes, barns or buildings to reduce wildfire risk. The guide covers defensible space, hay storage, outside equipment storage, livestock, and what to do if a wildfire is approaching. Read More

Wildfire Safety

Video
American Red Cross
Tips and resources for planning for safety and evacuation during a wildfire. The page includes videos, checklists, and resources to help children prepare for emergencies. Read More

Tips to Coordinate an Evacuation Drill

Guide / Pamphlet / Handout
Fire Safe Marin
“This document will walk you through how to practice a drill on your own, and then coordinate and run an evacuation drill for your neighborhood. It is important to practice on your own first, including any housemates/family members, and pets, before trying to participate in a larger evacuation drill with the neighborhood.” A good example... Read More

The Panic Myth: What Does the Research Say and What Can Practitioners Do?

Blog Post / Story
Sarah McCaffrey, Annie Schmidt
This blog article, posted by the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network, focuses on what the research says about panic and information delivery during disasters as well as provides helpful tips on how to better communicate. Written from both a research and practitioner perspective, the blog contains lots of helpful tips and resources for additional learning. Read More

Reducing Utility-Related Wildfire Risk: Utility Wildfire Mitigation Strategy and Roadmap for the Wildfire Safety Division

Guide / Pamphlet / Handout
Wildfire Safety Division, California Public Utilities Commission
Strategy to reduce utility-related wildfire risk. Contains information on the drivers of utility wildfires and the current state of utility wildfire mitigation in California. Identifies priorities actions, metrics to enable utility improvement, and more. Focused on California, but can provide a good example nationwide. Read More

Ready.gov – Wildfires

Graphic / Illustration
Ready.Gov
This page offers basic tips, resources, videos, and social media graphics focused on actions you can take before, during and after wildfires. Resources are available for kids, families, residents, pet-owners and more. Read More

Ready, Set, GO! Program

Website / Interactive Map
International Association of Fire Chiefs
The Ready, Set, Go! (RSG) Program provides tools and resources for fire departments to use as they help residents gain an understanding of their wildland fire risk and actions individuals can take to reduce that risk. Read More

Ready, Set, GO! Kittitas County

Video
Kittitas Fire Adapted Communities Coalition
From Kittitas County, WA, this video details the steps necessary to prepare yourself, your family and your home from wildfire. Read More

Preparing Together: Ashland, OR

Website / Interactive Map
Ashland Chamber of Commerce and Ashland Fire & Rescue
This website provides clear resources on smoke, evacuation, and risk mitigation for visitors, employees, business owners, and residents. This site is a good example of wildfire communication for visitors in areas with significant out-of-area guests. Read More
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Photo Credit: Canva Creative Commons
Community Profile
Fire Adaptation in the Field
South Lake Tahoe, California

Evacuation impacts everyone in a community.  The Tahoe Resource Conservation District is part of a multi-partner and multi-jurisdictional effort to ensure everyone is prepared for wildfire.  The 2021 Caldor Fire saw these evacuation preparations (and others) put to use as the entire City of South Lake Tahoe was evacuated.

Photo Credit: Anya Obrez, Tahoe Resource Conservation District