When minutes make the difference: At 6:29 a.m. on November 8, 2018, a small fire near Pulga, California looked like any other readily controllable blaze. At 8:03 am the first evacuation order was issued for Paradise, California. Within minutes the two main roads out of Paradise were gridlocked, visibility was gone, and people abandoned cars to run for their lives.
That razor-thin margin between “let’s wait and see” and “too late to drive out” is what this article is about. Following are suggestions to help you prepare for a wildfire evacuation and to potentially save your life should the unthinkable happen.
Take Alerts Seriously … Every Time
Wildland fires outrun sirens, cell towers, and traffic control. Embers can land a mile or more ahead of the flame front; strong winds can push a fire line the length of a football field every minute and sound like a locomotive headed towards you.
NIST’s post-mortem on the Camp Fire concluded that most towns in the wildland–urban interface (WUI) have less than 90 minutes of safe road capacity once an evacuation begins.
Do this: Treat every alert like a countdown, not a suggestion.
Know Your “Ready, Set, Go”
- Level 1: Get ready. Stay alert. Check local text alerts. Make sure your gas tank is full. Make sure your go-bag is handy.
- Level 2: Get set. Load the car. Put pets in carriers. Wear cotton/denim (clothing that won’t melt). Follow live fire maps and listen to those on the scene.
- Level 3: Go. Leave immediately. Stick to your planned route if possible. Update your out-of-area contacts.
Waiting for the sheriff’s instructions can be fatal; roads can jam before the official order reaches everyone. Leave as soon as you hit your personal trigger, even if officials are still at Level 2. Your life is more important than any of your property.
Develop Your Trigger Signs
Evacuation shouldn’t hinge on feelings. Pick hard numbers like the ones below in advance of an emergency:
Here is a short list of what can happen:
- Fire within 10 miles and sustained winds greater than 20 mph
- Any Level 2 order while humidity is less than 20 percent
- Smoke column visible and the road out of town already busy
When conditions tell you to go, leave—no committee meeting required. You don’t need anyone’s permission to escape a dangerous situation.
Map at Least Three Ways Out (One on Foot)
Waiting until you smell smoke is like waiting for the stock market to crash before checking your portfolio.
Check these resources instead:
- Primary route: The widest, fastest road to a major highway
- Secondary route: Map lesser roads that avoid choke points.
- Footpath fallback: If all else fails, know the shortest trail to a cleared area, meadow, or river bar. Firefighters call those “safety zones.”
Keep maps in your glove box and go-bag. Cell phone coverage can disappear when towers or fiber lines burn. Don’t depend on your phone for the information you need.
Pack Your Go-Bag
Be ready to go in an instant by packing a go-bag that contains the minimum amount of gear you will need for 72 hours.
Here are examples:
- Copies of IDs, insurance cards, deeds on USB and paper
- Three gallons of water and three days of non-perishable food per person
- Headlamp, N95 masks, leather gloves, goggles
- Phone charger and power bank
- Meds for one week, spare glasses
- Battery-powered radio, whistle, multitool
- Pet food, leash, litter-to-go kit
Load the bag before fire season, and keep valuables that need to go with you in a predetermined place. You will want to use every minute evacuating, not rummaging through drawers.
Harden Your Home and Defensible Space—Now
Evacuation saves lives; home hardening saves what you come back to.
- Clear dead grass, needles, and leaves within 100 feet of structures
- Trim branches 10 feet from your roofline
- Replace mulch near the house with gravel
- Cover vents with 1⁄8-inch metal mesh
- Store firewood at least 30 feet away from your home
Do these in advance so you’re not on a ladder when ash is already falling.
Special Cases for Wildfire Evacuation
- Remote workers/home businesses: Cloud-sync critical files daily. Keep your laptop and an external storage drive in a grab box.
- Pets and livestock: Carriers labeled • halters staged • trailer tongue facing out of driveway. NFPA offers species-specific checklists.
- Mobility limitations: Pre-arrange buddy system with two neighbors, and store spare wheelchair battery in your vehicle.
- Commute Gap: Keep a spare go-bag at the office in the trunk of your car.
Stay Ahead of the News
Sign up for statewide alert services and any county-level lists. Enable wireless emergency alerts on every phone line in the household. Keep at least half a tank of gas from May to October. Power outages can shut down pumps long before flames reach town.
Be Ready for Wildfire Evacuation Now
Wildfires can move quickly. Every step you finish now—route maps, go-bag, fuel removal, drills—buys back irreplaceable minutes on a day when minutes choose who lives. Make the decision today while the sky’s still blue, and you’ll never have to make it under an orange noon.
Stay ready, stay mobile, and may you never need to use your plan.