Wildfire Preparedness Guide: Evacuation Planning, Air Quality, and Go-Bag Essentials
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Wildfires move faster than most people expect. A fire that is miles away in the morning can be at your doorstep by afternoon. In 2018, the Camp Fire in Paradise, California destroyed an entire town in hours. Residents who had a plan and left early survived. Many who waited did not.
Wildfire preparedness is not about being pessimistic. It is about making decisions in advance so that when the order comes to evacuate, you are not making those decisions under panic with smoke on the horizon. This guide covers the three most critical areas of wildfire preparedness: evacuation planning, air quality protection, and go-bag essentials.
Evacuation Planning
The single most important thing you can do to survive a wildfire is leave early. Evacuation orders come in three levels in most jurisdictions: Ready, Set, and Go. Most fatalities occur among people who waited for a Go order before leaving, or who ignored the order entirely. Treat a Set order as your personal Go order and leave before the roads become congested and the fire cuts off your escape routes.
Know Your Zone
Most counties in wildfire-prone areas have established evacuation zones, typically designated by letters or numbers. Find out which zone your home is in before fire season begins. Sign up for your county's emergency alert system so you receive evacuation notifications by text, phone call, or email. Do not rely on social media or news broadcasts as your primary alert source. Official alerts through your county system are faster and more reliable.
Search your county name plus evacuation zone map or emergency alerts to find your local registration system. This takes five minutes and could be the most important five minutes of your preparedness planning.
Plan Multiple Evacuation Routes
Wildfires can block roads without warning. A single evacuation route is not a plan. Identify at least two routes out of your neighborhood in different directions and know how to reach a major highway from each one. Drive both routes before fire season so you know them without needing to navigate under stress.
Discuss your routes with every adult in your household. If family members are separated when an evacuation order comes, each person needs to know independently how to get out and where to go.
Establish a Destination
Know where you are going before you need to leave. Identify at least two destinations: a nearby option such as a friend or family member's home outside the fire risk area, and a farther option such as a hotel or shelter in a city well outside the region. Have the addresses written down and loaded into your phone's navigation before an emergency.
Do not assume you will figure out the destination when you get in the car. During a mass evacuation, cell networks become overloaded and internet access may be unreliable. Know your destination in advance.
Prepare Your Home Before You Leave
If time permits before evacuating, take a few minutes to reduce the fire risk to your home and make it easier for firefighters to defend. Close all windows, doors, and vents to slow the entry of embers. Remove flammable items from decks and porches including furniture, doormats, and potted plants. Connect garden hoses to outdoor spigots. Leave exterior lights on so your home is visible in smoke. Leave a note on your door indicating that you have evacuated and when you left.
Do not spend so much time on home preparation that you delay your evacuation. Your life is the priority. Everything else is replaceable.
Practice and Update Your Plan
Review your evacuation plan at the beginning of every fire season. Update your routes if road construction or new development has changed your options. Confirm that your emergency alert registration is current. Walk through the plan with every member of your household including children. A plan that has been discussed and practiced is a plan that will be followed under stress.
Air Quality During Wildfire Events
Wildfire smoke is a serious health hazard that affects people far beyond the immediate fire zone. Smoke can travel hundreds of miles and create dangerous air quality conditions in cities and towns with no visible fire nearby. Fine particulate matter in wildfire smoke, known as PM2.5, penetrates deep into the lungs and can cause or worsen respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Even healthy individuals are affected by prolonged exposure.
Monitor Air Quality
Check the Air Quality Index for your area daily during wildfire season. The AQI is available through AirNow.gov, the EPA's official air quality monitoring site, as well as through weather apps and local news. An AQI above 100 is unhealthy for sensitive groups. Above 150 is unhealthy for everyone. Above 200 is very unhealthy and requires immediate protective action.
PurpleAir is a network of community-based air quality sensors that provides more localized and real-time data than official monitoring stations, which can be miles apart. During an active wildfire event, PurpleAir data is often more accurate for your specific location than the official AQI reading.
Shelter in Place When Air Quality Is Poor
When outdoor air quality is unhealthy, stay indoors with windows and doors closed. Run your HVAC system on recirculate mode rather than fresh air intake to avoid drawing outdoor air inside. If your system has a MERV 13 or higher filter, it will capture a significant portion of fine particulate matter. Replace filters more frequently during wildfire season.
Use a portable air purifier with a true HEPA filter in the rooms where your family spends the most time. A HEPA filter captures particles as small as 0.3 microns, which includes the fine particulate matter in wildfire smoke. Run it continuously when air quality is poor. Size the purifier to the square footage of the room for effective filtration.
Seal gaps around windows and doors with towels, tape, or weatherstripping to reduce smoke infiltration. Even a well-sealed home will eventually see indoor air quality degrade during a prolonged smoke event, but slowing that infiltration buys significant time.
Respiratory Protection Outdoors
If you must go outside when air quality is poor, wear a properly fitted N95 or P100 respirator. A standard surgical mask or cloth mask does not filter fine particulate matter and provides minimal protection against wildfire smoke. An N95 respirator, when properly fitted with a seal against the face, filters at least 95 percent of airborne particles including PM2.5.
Fit matters as much as filtration rating. A gap between the mask and your face allows unfiltered air to bypass the filter entirely. Perform a seal check each time you put on a respirator. Facial hair prevents an effective seal. Keep a supply of N95 respirators in your home, vehicle, and go-bag so you always have one available when you need it.
Children require respirators sized for their faces. Standard adult N95 masks do not seal properly on children. Look for respirators specifically designed for smaller faces or consult your pediatrician about appropriate respiratory protection for your children's age and size.
Vulnerable Populations
Elderly individuals, children, pregnant women, and people with asthma, COPD, heart disease, or other respiratory and cardiovascular conditions are at significantly higher risk from wildfire smoke exposure. These individuals should shelter indoors earlier and more strictly than the general population and should consult their healthcare provider about additional protective measures during wildfire events.
Go-Bag Essentials
A go-bag, also called a bug-out bag or 72-hour kit, is a pre-packed bag containing everything you need to survive for at least 72 hours if you have to leave your home immediately. The goal is to be able to grab it and go in under two minutes without having to think about what to pack.
Every adult in your household should have their own go-bag. Children should have age-appropriate bags with items they can carry themselves. Store go-bags in an accessible location near your primary exit, such as a closet by the front door or in your vehicle during fire season.
Water and Food
Include at least one liter of water per person in your go-bag. This is a minimum for immediate needs. Plan to resupply from stores, shelters, or your vehicle supply once you are safely evacuated. Include water purification tablets or a portable filter as a backup for sourcing water if needed.
Pack at least three days of calorie-dense, non-perishable food that requires no cooking or refrigeration. Energy bars, jerky, nuts, dried fruit, and crackers are practical options. Choose foods your family will actually eat and that do not require utensils or preparation. Rotate food annually to keep it fresh.
Documents and Financial Resources
Keep copies of critical documents in a waterproof bag or folder in your go-bag. Include identification documents such as passports, driver's licenses, and birth certificates, insurance policies including home, auto, and health, medical records and a list of current prescriptions, bank account information and a small amount of cash in small bills, and contact information for family members, doctors, and insurance agents.
Digital copies stored in a secure cloud service provide a backup if your physical documents are lost or damaged. Photograph every document and store the images in an encrypted cloud folder that you can access from any device.
Medications and First Aid
Include a minimum seven-day supply of any prescription medications your family members take. Refill prescriptions before they run low during fire season so you always have a buffer. Include a complete first aid kit with bandages, antiseptic, pain relievers, antihistamines, and any other medications your family regularly needs.
If any family member uses a medical device such as a CPAP machine or insulin pump, include the necessary supplies, backup batteries, or a portable power source to keep it running for at least 72 hours.
Clothing and Shelter
Pack one complete change of clothing per person appropriate for the season, including sturdy closed-toe shoes. Include a lightweight emergency blanket for each person, which provides significant warmth at minimal weight and bulk. A small tarp or emergency bivy can provide shelter if you are unable to reach indoor accommodations.
During wildfire season specifically, include long-sleeved shirts and pants made from natural fibers such as cotton or wool rather than synthetics, which can melt and cause burns in extreme heat. Include N95 respirators for every family member.
Lighting and Communication
Include a headlamp with fresh batteries for every person in your household. A headlamp keeps your hands free for tasks and is more practical than a handheld flashlight in most evacuation scenarios. Include a battery-powered or hand-crank NOAA weather radio to receive official emergency broadcasts without cell service or internet.
Keep your phone charged and include a power bank in your go-bag to extend your phone's battery life. A fully charged 20,000mAh power bank can charge a smartphone four to six times, which may be enough to last through the critical first days of an evacuation.
Tools and Miscellaneous
Include a multi-tool or pocket knife, a lighter and waterproof matches, a whistle for signaling, duct tape, and a local paper map of your area in case GPS and cell service are unavailable. A pair of work gloves protects your hands during debris clearing or vehicle work. Include pet food, a leash, and any medications for pets if applicable.
Maintain and Review Your Go-Bag
Check your go-bag at the beginning of every fire season. Replace expired food and medications. Check battery levels in flashlights and radios. Update documents if anything has changed. Make sure clothing still fits every family member, particularly children who grow quickly.
A go-bag that has not been checked in two years may have expired medications, dead batteries, and clothing that no longer fits. Set a calendar reminder at the start of fire season every year to conduct a full review.
Start Before Fire Season
Wildfire preparedness is not something you can build in the hours before an evacuation order. The time to prepare is now, before the threat is imminent. Sign up for emergency alerts today. Drive your evacuation routes this week. Build or review your go-bag this month.
The families who survive wildfires intact are almost always the ones who made decisions in advance. They knew their zone, they had a bag ready, and they left early. That is the entire formula. Everything in this guide is in service of those three outcomes.
Build Your Wildfire Go-Bag
From headlamps and fire blankets to portable power stations and water filtration, we carry the gear you need to evacuate fast and stay safe when wildfire threatens your community.