Written by: Amy McVeety

Spring is here, and summer is just around the corner, bringing with it fun activities, trips, and more. It also brings warmer, drier weather, creating conditions that are higher risk for wildfire. While we aren’t in peak fire season yet, it’s important to prepare early, so that you can enjoy summer activities with the peace of mind knowing you’re ready for whatever happens. 

Sign up for Alerts & Know the Evacuation Levels

If you haven’t already, make sure you’re signed up for emergency alerts. This makes sure you get notified of any emergencies, so you can be ready to respond. You can sign up for local alerts by visiting https://www.tillamookcounty.gov/emergency-management/page/test. 

Oregon uses a three-level stoplight system for evacuations: Level 1, Be Ready; Level 2, Be Set; and Level 3, Go Now. Monitor your alerts, local news sources, and any communications from officials during a wildfire event to know what level you’re in, and if in doubt, consider evacuating. 

Evacuation and Family Plan

Do you know where you would go if you needed to evacuate? What if your main route was blocked or unsafe? It’s important to plan ahead, because during an emergency, you may not have time to find an alternative route. Talk to your family to decide what route(s) you’ll take, where you’ll meet, and how you’ll communicate if you’re separated during an emergency. It’s also important to make plans for different locations, like home, work, school, and anywhere else you may spend time. Wildfires can happen at any time, and it may not be while you’re all together at home.  

Go Bags/Supplies

Having supplies ready to go can make evacuation faster and smoother, especially in complicated situations, such as having kids, pets, or medical needs. Every household should try to have a 3-day kit ready for each member of the family, including water, food, medication, personal documents, and any other individual needs like comfort items or toys. For more information on what to include in a go-bag/emergency kit, visit https://www.ready.gov/kit. 

Defensible Space

While evacuation and personal preparedness can help keep you and your family safe during a wildfire, you can also take steps to protect your property and home. Having clear defensible space, or the area around your home or business and nearby grass, trees, shrubs, or wildland, is one of the most important ways you can reduce the risk of property loss in a fire. 

The primary goal of defensible space is to remove flammable materials from around your house or other structures. This means cleaning gutters, removing dead leaves or mulch, trimming back bushes and trees (ideally at least a 5 foot gap), and storing firewood or other flammable building materials at least 30 feet away from structures. You can use this checklist from the state Fire Marshal to assess your defensible space: https://www.oregon.gov/osfm/Documents/OSFMDefensibleSpaceAssessmentTool.pdf 

Preparing for an emergency like wildfire can feel overwhelming, but breaking it down into smaller steps can make it easy and even fun. Consider making preparedness a family activity, such as taking kids shopping for go-bag supplies, planning out and practicing evacuation and communication plans, and working together to create defensible space. This can help build confidence, relationships, and even be good exercise!

To learn more about preparing for wildfires, visit https://wildfire.oregon.gov/Pages/prepare.aspx.