Get ready to leave

A home can be rebuilt. People can't. The safest plan is to have your bags packed before fire season, and to leave early, before you are told you must.

Before fire season: pack a go bag

Keep one bag for each person, ready to grab. CAL FIRE suggests remembering "the six P's": A wildfire may force you to leave very quickly.

• People and pets. Pet food, a leash or carrier, and a plan for larger animals.
• Papers, phone numbers and important documents. See the list below.
• Prescriptions, vitamins and eyeglasses.
• Pictures and things you can't replace.
• Personal computer, hard drive and phone, with chargers.
• "Plastic": credit cards, ATM cards and cash.

Also pack food and water for several days, a map with at least two ways out, spare car keys, spare glasses or contacts, and your pets' vaccination records and a current photo of each pet.

Papers and photos

• Copies of important documents, such as birth certificates and passports.
• Your homeowner's or renter's insurance policy. Read it before fire season so you know what it covers.
• An up-to-date list of what is in your home. Photos or a video of each room make it easier.
• Family photos and other things you can't replace, and the computer drives that hold them.

Know the three evacuation levels

Oregon and Washington both use three levels. Sign up for your county's emergency alerts so you hear them.

A fire can move fast enough that you never get Level 1 or 2. If you feel unsafe, go.

If a fire is coming and you have time

Only if officials have not told you to leave yet, and only if it is safe:

• Put your go bags and pets in the car. Park it facing out, loaded, with the doors and windows closed.
• Bring in doormats, patio cushions, trash cans and anything else that burns from around the house. Embers can land on these things and start a fire by the house.
• Shut all windows and doors, but leave them unlocked. Embers can get in through open windows and burn the home.
• Turn off the gas at the meter, turn off pilot lights, and turn off the propane tank.
• Leave the outside lights on, so firefighters can see the house in smoke or at night.
• Connect garden hoses to the outside faucets so firefighters can use them. Turn off sprinklers and running water; they lower the water pressure firefighters need.

Then leave. Don't wait to see the flames. Fire conditions can change very quickly.

Sources

• Why each step matters: Ready.gov (FEMA), IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home, Oregon home hardening guide (Building Codes Division), Oregon wildfire evacuation guidance.
• Oregon's three levels, Be Ready, Be Set, Go Now: State of Oregon, evacuations.
• Washington's three levels, including that you may not get a Level 2 warning before Level 3, and that people who need more time should leave at Level 2: Pierce County Emergency Management.
• The six P's: CAL FIRE, Wildfire action plan. Go bag contents and copies of important documents: CAL FIRE, Create your go bag. Pet records and photos: CAL FIRE, Go! evacuation guide.
• Review your insurance policy and keep an up-to-date list of your home's contents: Washington DNR, 12 steps to defend your home from wildfire (PDF).
• What to do if you have time before you leave: CAL FIRE, Go! evacuation guide.
• Keeping anything that burns out of the first 5 feet around the home: IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home.