Have an evacuation plan
Taylor Poisall, with the American Red Cross of Central California, emphasized the importance of creating a detailed plan in case the County issues an emergency evacuation order.
“A few things to consider or to think about are, ‘where you will go, how you will get there, where you will stay, and what will you take with you?’” Poisall said.
Safe places to evacuate to include:
- A hotel/ motel.
- The home of friends or relatives a safe distance away.
- An evacuation shelter.
An evacuation plan should also include choosing meeting spots and picking an emergency contact who lives outside the area.
The website emergencyslo.org shows active local evacuation orders and warnings. Tips and shelter locations may also be found on the Red Cross emergency app.
Pack a survival kit
Poisall also advises packing an emergency kit with essentials like food, water, medications, toiletries, clothes and important documents ahead of time.
“Gathering those supplies and items from your home takes a lot of time, and sometimes we don't have time in the event of an emergency, like a wildfire, to evacuate,” Poisall said.
She also suggests identifying irreplaceable items, such as family heirlooms, in case residents need to leave quickly.
American Red Cross lists the following items as the bare-minimum supplies needed for a survival kit:
- One gallon of water per person, per day.
- Food: non-perishable, easy-to-prepare items (3-day supply for evacuation, 2-week supply for home).
- Flashlight.
- Battery-powered or hand-crank radio.
- Extra batteries.
- First aid kit.
- 7-day supply of medications and medical items.
- Multi-purpose tool.
- Sanitation and personal hygiene items.
- Copies of personal documents (medication list and pertinent medical information, proof of address, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies).
- Cell phone with chargers.
- Family and emergency contact information.
- Extra cash.
- Emergency blanket.
