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Making the Decision: Evacuate or Shelter in Place
Making the decision to evacuate or stay during a wildfire event must be a personal choice. While you may be advised by Fire Department or Police Department Personnel to evacuate when the fire is approaching, you must be prepared well in advance for a wildfire event. If you are advised to evacuate, it is in your best interest to follow directions given to you by emergency services workers. Firefighters and Police officers will have much more information about the fire and access routes; consider that they have communication with the Incident Management staff and know more about the current fire status.
Being prepared for a wildfire or other emergency can save your life. It is important to know how to be prepared. The same holds true for making the decision to shelter in place. If you decide to stay or must stay due to outside conditions, you must know how to stay safely.
The following guidelines are provided as informational only. It is important that you understand the risks involved with both options: evacuation and sheltering in place. A printable pdf version of these guidelines are available: Making the Decision.
For homeowners, remember that if your home doesn't ignite, it won't burn. Remove all flammable materials away from your house. Check out the Homeowner's Defensible Space Guide for details.
Making the Decision
• The decision to evacuate or shelter in place is personal.
• A fire within site or smell is a threat.
• It is more likely that an unattended house will burn down.
• More people are injured and killed in the open than in houses.
• Once embers start falling, it may be too late to evacuate.
If you decide to evacuate, ask yourself:
• Do safety zones exist near your house?
• Are pre-identified safety zones safer than your home?
• What is the rate of spread and intensity of the fire?
• Do you know whether the exit route is blocked by fire or traffic?
• Do you have enough time to reach your destination?
• Are you prepared to shelter in your vehicle if necessary?
• Would you be safe on foot if forced from your car?
• Do you have all the essential items for an emergency kit?
• Do you have time to seal the house?
• Do you have enough defensible space surrounding your home?
• Are you psychologically prepared to remain in your home during the fire?
• Are all family members in agreement to shelter in place?
• Are you prepared to defend your home after the flame front passes?
WILDFIRE EVACUATION GUIDELINES
If you invest time in preparing now, you will be ready to act in an effective, rational and safe manner should evacuation become a necessity.
Plan
• Educate yourself and your family about wildfire behavior, your risk toward experiencing a wildfire, and these evacuation procedures.
• Make a list of items you want to take with you during an evacuation. Consider the 5 P’s (people, pets, pills, photos, important papers). Keep your list handy. Practice gathering your 5P’s.
• Prepare an emergency supply kit.
• Know the emergency evacuation plans for your family members in school, assisted living and childcare facilities. The School District will be evacuating your children to an alternative school if a wildfire occurs while school is in session. Know the location of that facility.
• Designate a relative/friend as an out-of-area contact through whom family members can relay information. Make sure that everyone in your family has that person's phone number.
• Identify and learn alternate ways out of your neighborhood, in case the usual way becomes blocked.
• Keep the car fuel tank at least half full during wildfire season.
• Create a defensible space around your home and talk to your neighbors about evacuations.
• Plan how you will transport your pet(s). Do not leave your pet(s) behind. Emergency personnel will not risk their lives and safety to rescue your pet(s).
• You may not be home when wildfire threatens. The Municipality may close roads for safety. Make arrangements in advance for persons and/or pets who will be home when you are not.
Prepare to Evacuate
• Take a deep breath, and remember your plan. Remember that life and safety always take priority over property.
• Face your car toward the street in the driveway, so you have the best visibility when you have to leave. Close the car windows when you park your vehicle. Keep the keys in a convenient location.
• Load your 5P’s and emergency supply kit into the car.
• Wear sensible clothes. Sturdy shoes, long-sleeved shirt and pants (wool or cotton), hat, handkerchief, light colored goggles, and a flashlight are recommended.
• As you leave, post a visible form of notification at the end of your driveway, identifying that you have evacuated. In other communities, residents have used messages written on white sheets or towels to convey this message. This will save valuable time for emergency personnel conducting last minute evacuations.
Home Preparation Before a Wildfire Event
• Close all windows and doors (inside and outside).
• Close metal window blinds.
• Remove light curtains and other thin combustibles from windows.
• Leave exterior and interior lights on. It helps make your home visible in the smoke.
• Remove combustibles (patio furniture, firewood, etc.) from the defensible space zone.
• Strategically place garden sprinklers on your home where it is vulnerable to ignition (ie. wooden stairs & decking). Turn on just before you leave.
• Mark locations of emergency generators with yellow or pink flagging.
• Place metal (not wooden) ladder against side of house.
• Remove vegetation that touches any part of the home where combustible building materials are used (wood siding, shake roof, wood decking, etc).
• Shut off natural gas and propane.
Evacuate
• Do not wait to be told to evacuate. If you feel threatened, leave on your own initiative. In some cases there is not time for formal evacuation notification due to quickly changing conditions.
• Tune into a local radio station and listen for instructions.
• Acting early is the key to a safe evacuation. Wildfire conditions change quickly. Notice of an evacuation means that municipal officials feel you are at risk. Do not delay your decision to evacuate.
• Obey orders of the Anchorage Police and Fire Departments. They understand the risk and are acting on current fire information.
• Listen to the emergency instructions regarding evacuation routes. Your normal route out of your neighborhood may not be the safest.
• Drive with your headlights on for visibility and safety.
• Drive calmly and with special attention to fire trucks. They are not as maneuverable as your vehicle.
• Do not block access to roadways for emergency vehicles or other evacuees. Do not abandon vehicles on the roadway. Do not stop to let pets have a break.
• If you are trapped by fire while evacuating in your car, do not try to outrun the fire; you are much safer in the car. Park in an area clear of vegetation, close all vehicle windows and vents, cover yourself and lie on the floor.
• If you are trapped by fire while evacuating on foot and cannot reach the shelter of a building, select an area clear of vegetation along a road or lie in a road ditch. Cover any exposed skin with a jacket or blanket.
• Avoid canyons that can concentrate and channel fire.
After you have evacuated:
• Check-in at an emergency shelter. Whether you stay there or not, your checking in will help others know that you are safe. Pets will be not be accommodated at the shelter, but emergency pet provisions will be established by the Emergency Operations Center. It's best to bring your own provisions for your pets.
• Proceed to the location your children have been evacuated to by the Anchorage School District.
• DO NOT call 9-1-1 for non-emergencies.
• Do not attempt to re-enter the fire area until the area is declared safe.
SHELTERING IN PLACE
Basics
• Each member of the family should have their own emergency kit
• The emergency kit is the most important item for personal safety during a wildfire
• All items in the kit should be kept in a bag and brought along for any travel during fire season
• Remember, no matter how hot it is inside your home or vehicle, it is ALWAYS worse outside.Stay inside!
Emergency Kit Items
Clothing
• Use natural fabrics, such as heavy duty denim or pure wool.
• Several layers of lightweight wool are ideal since they would protect from radiant heat while allowing perspiration to escape and cool the body.
• Clothing should fit comfortably, not tight or loose.
• Long pants made from pure wool or denim.
• Long sleeved, wool pullover shirt that covers to the neck and is tucked into pants.
• Wool socks tucked over pant legs and sturdy boots with Vibram type soles.
• Thick canvas or leather gloves to remove smoldering material.
Accessories
• Thick, pure wool blanket, large enough to cover a person completely when crouched or laying down.
• Smoke filtering mask made from cotton or wool such as a handkerchief or scarf.
• Goggles, preferably anti-fog, with side protection and a strap to wrap around the head.
• Moisturizing eye drops to prevent eyes from becoming dried out – gels are best.
• Plenty of drinking water.
• Cream for forehead and nose, such as Desitin, to protect from heat.
• First aid kit.
• Battery operated radio.
• Fire extinguisher.
• Shovels and rakes for putting out spot fires.
• Two metal buckets of water for each room in your home plus reserve water stored in large containers elsewhere around your home.
Safe Refuge Room
• Strong construction of non or low flammable materials.
• Flooring made of concrete, tile, or insulated wood.
• Small windows reinforced with metal screening.
• Heavy doors - cleared of brush and debris outside.
• Sheltering in normal cellars or basements is not recommended unless the ceiling has been reinforced with concrete and an additional exit is present that leads directly outside.
Traveling during wildfire season:
• Bring your emergency kit along for any travel during fire season, and utilize the items just as you would if you were inside of your home.
• During fire season, keep a first aid kit and wool blankets in your vehicle AT ALL TIMES.
If you are in your vehicle when the flame front passes:
• Park in an area with very little or no vegetation, with at least 30 feet of clearing including above your vehicle.
• Ideal stopping spots:
Beside a dam or river
Rocky ground
Grass field
If you are caught outside of your home during a fire:
• “One foot in the black” - An area already burned over; little or no vegetation.
• This rule can be followed whether you are in a vehicle or on foot when a flame front approaches
When using your car as a safe refuge:
• Position vehicle facing into the wind.
• Turn engine off and leave lights on.
• Roll up windows and close air vents.
• Wear protective clothing and place wool blankets over passengers and seats when flame front passes.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Stay in vehicle until after the flame front passes or until you are forced out of your vehicle by toxic fumes.
• If you are forced out of your vehicle, cover with a wool blanket and lie flat under the vehicle.
If you are caught on foot during a wildfire:
• Seek shelter:
Under bridges
Ditches
Rivers or lakes
Burned out areas
Green grass flats
• Cover yourself with dirt and mud
• Drink water
• Remain calm and avoid running
• Use any available clothing to cover your face and head when the flame front passes – NOT FLEECE
The Municipality of Anchorage assumes no liability for the use or misuse of this information, which is intended to provide fire safety and emergency guidelines for homeowners.
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