Author: Kristie Wells
Wildfire is part of living in the Sierra, but preparing for it doesn’t have to be driven by fear. A little planning now can make an enormous difference if an evacuation order ever comes.
With wildfires currently burning across the West, including the Bug Fire near Reno, Inside Incline recently published a helpful wildfire preparedness guide highlighting resources available to North Lake Tahoe and Northern Nevada residents. The article covers defensible space, fire-resistant building materials, vegetation management, evacuation planning, emergency alerts, and preparing pets for an evacuation.
Read the full Inside Incline wildfire preparedness article here. [LINK]
One resource is particularly worth saving: Living With Fire’s Wildfire Evacuation Checklist, a simple guide designed to help households think through what they would need to do before an evacuation becomes necessary.
Are You Ready to Leave?
Living With Fire recommends preparing well before a wildfire threatens your neighborhood. That includes knowing your evacuation routes, deciding where family members will meet if separated, making arrangements for pets and livestock, keeping important documents organized, and thinking through what you would take if you had only a short time to leave.
The checklist also provides steps to take when wildfire is approaching, including preparing vehicles, gathering medications and essential belongings, monitoring official information, and preparing your home before leaving, when time and conditions safely allow.
Most importantly, residents should never wait until the last minute to evacuate. If firefighters or law enforcement tell you to leave, leave.
Download or print the Living With Fire Wildfire Evacuation Checklist and keep it somewhere accessible. [LINK]
Know Where You’ll Get Information
Residents can also prepare by making sure they have reliable ways to receive emergency information.
Watch Duty provides wildfire maps, incident information, evacuation updates, and notifications through its mobile app and website. [LINK]
Washoe County Emergency Management offers regional emergency alerts by text, phone, and email. Residents should make sure they are enrolled and that their contact information is current. [LINK]
Prepared, Not Alarmed
Living in Incline Village and Crystal Bay means living where our neighborhoods meet the forest. That is part of what makes this community extraordinary, and it also means wildfire preparation is simply part of living here.
The goal isn’t to worry every time smoke appears on the horizon. It’s to know what you will do if you ever need to act.
Take 20 minutes this weekend. Review your evacuation route. Put important documents together. Check your pet supplies. Make sure you’re signed up for emergency alerts. Download the checklist and talk through your plan with everyone in your household.
Hopefully, you’ll never need to use it.
But if you do, you’ll be glad you prepared before the emergency began.