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 39 Results

Large Animals and Livestock in Disasters

Website / Interactive Map
American Veterinary Medical Association
This resource helps those with large animals prepare for a disaster. Contains information about livestock and equine identification, how to evacuate large animals, checklists for evacuation kits, and even information about evacuation of backyard poultry. Read More

Keeping Food Safe During and Emergency

Website / Interactive Map
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
Did you know that a flood, fire, national disaster, or the loss of power from high winds, snow, or ice could jeopardize the safety of your food? Knowing how to determine if food is safe and how to keep food safe will help minimize the potential loss of food and reduce the risk of foodborne... Read More

IPAWS Program Planning Toolkit

Agenda / Template / Tool
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Alerts, Warnings, and Notifications (AWN) Program Planning Toolkit is designed to aid alerting authorities and alert originators at federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial levels in the development of mature alerting programs using customized resources, best practices, and program templates. Read More

Information for Disaster Evacuation Centers

Guide / Pamphlet / Handout
Centers for Disease Control
Information on how to set up evacuation centers, a shelter assessment tool, guidelines for accessibility and how to deal with common health concerns at evacuation centers. Focused on public health professionals but applicable to other fields as well. Includes resources for pets in evacuation shelters for animal health and control of disease at animal shelters... Read More

InciWeb

Website / Interactive Map
InciWeb
Find information about active fires in your area. Read More

How Do I Protect My Home From Wildfire?

Guide / Pamphlet / Handout
Arizona Wildfire Initiative and the Southwest Fire Science Consortium
A factsheet outlining four steps to help prepare for wildfire and a chart of common misconceptions about wildfire, along with quick facts that set the record straight. Read More

Go! Evacuation Guide

Guide / Pamphlet / Handout
CAL FIRE
Guidance for safe and efficient evacuation during wildfires. Read More

Functional Needs Planning Toolkit for Emergency Planners

Guide / Pamphlet / Handout
Minnesota Department of Public Safety Homeland Security and Emergency Management
An online guide and comprehensive resource list for including people with access and functional needs in whole community emergency plans. Ideal for emergency planners in Minnesota, but includes useful information for emergency planners in other regions. Read More

FAQs about Building Evacuation

Website / Interactive Map
National Fire Protection Association
This resource is focused on building evacuation for high-rise buildings. A good resource for those living in apartment buildings, condominiums, or other multi-story large structures. Read More

Evaluating Rural Pacific Northwest Towns for Wildfire Evacuation Vulnerability

Database
USDA Forest Service
This map shows wildfire evacuation vulnerability rankings for 696 rural communities in Oregon and Washington. For each community there are 7 rankings: four representing road network vulnerability, two representing vulnerability to wildfire, and an overall vulnerability ranking. Rank of 1 represents the highest vulnerability. Please see the following journal article for details: Dye, A.W., J.B.... 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