Wildfire Season is Here…Are You Ready?
Although wildfires can happen any time of year in California, they are more active during “fire season,” which is typically June through October.
The City of Palo Alto works every year to minimize the risk, with a multi-functional team that works on wildfire risk reduction programs. These programs help a lot, but they can only go so far. Every property owner must be proactive as well and take important steps to prepare for wildfires.
To help make sure our residents and businesses are prepared, we’re sharing an update on great resources to help you plan for, and mitigate your risks, around wildfires.
Planning Resources
Wildfire Preparedness Community Meeting — August 19
Join us for a review of the basic steps to reduce the impacts of wildfires to your property, and how to plan for a potential evacuation and re-entry. Meet with local agency representatives, ask questions, and get better informed.
Thu, August 19, 2021, 6:30 p.m. — 8 p.m.
Create a Wildfire Preparedness Plan with New Cal-Fire App
Cal-Fire recently launched a web-based app so everyone can create their custom wildfire preparedness action plan! Answer a few questions and follow the prompts to create a preparedness plan for your family, home or business, which includes prevention tips and an evacuation checklist.
Palo Alto Wildfire Planning Map
The Palo Alto Wildfire Planning Map is designed to assist community members in planning their various evacuation routes from their property, as well as locate nearby safety zones if they can’t evacuate. Check out the map here, as well as helpful videos and information on when to evacuate, what to do if someone is trapped, and other tips.
Notification & Evacuation Resources
Sign Up for Wildfire Update Texts
Knowing when a wildfire breaks out near you is crucial for keeping your family and property safe. Sign up for Cal-Fire wildfire update text messages, featuring the latest, most accurate updates about active incidents near you.
Evacuation Guide & Tips
Give your household the best chance of surviving a wildfire by being ready to go and evacuating early. It’s important that everyone covers up to protect against heat and flying embers. Wear long pants, long sleeve shirt, heavy shoes/boots, cap, dry bandanna for face cover, goggles or glasses. Wearing items made of 100% cotton is preferable. It’s also important to locate your pets and take them with you, as animals can panic and easily get lost or trapped, endangering their lives. Being ready to go also means knowing when to evacuate and what to do if you become trapped. Get an evacuation checklist here, and find out what to pack in your Emergency Supply Kit/Evacuation Bag for your vehicle.
Mitigation Resources
How to Create Defensible Space
Being Ready for wildfire starts with maintaining an adequate defensible space and by hardening your home by using fire-resistant building materials. Defensible space is the buffer you create by removing dead plants, grass, and weeds. This buffer helps to keep the fire away from your home. See helping videos and information on creating a defensible space here.
Learn How to Harden Your Home Against Flying Embers
Did you know that flying embers from a wildfire can destroy homes up to a mile away and are responsible for the destruction of most homes during a wildfire? Hardening your home, which means using construction materials that can help your home withstand flying embers, can make a huge difference in preventing or minimizing damage. Go here to find out about ways to harden your home, from a low-cost retrofit list and home retrofit guide to a wildfire survey to help create a custom checklist.
Be a Good Neighbor & Communicate
We strongly encourage you to pass this helpful information on to your neighbors and discuss how you can help each other if a wildfire happens. Talk to them about how to communicate during an emergency and what your family and their family needs, so you can be there for each other as support.
Visit the Palo Alto Fire Department’s Wildfire Ready, Set, Go page for more information and resources for surviving wildfire season, including Palo Alto utilities safety measures and power shutdowns.
