The concept of “wildfire evacuation” is really quite simple — leave as soon as possible and save your life. But complicating that simple tenet is the potential of lack of time for preparation; which can lead to panic; which can lead to bad decisions. To help in streamlining the evacuation process and to reduce the introduction of panic into the equation, we have multiple sources of professional educational material to properly prepare us. If these sources are studied in advance, an evacuation should be relatively stress-free. Obviously an evacuation order will never be totally stress-free, but there is a world of difference between the stress of an unexpected event, and the stress of an unexpected event for which you have at least partially prepared.
Let’s address the elements of preparing for, and then executing an evacuation. Following these steps should help you make the right decisions in the evacuation process:
— SIGN UP FOR NOTIFICATION
First and foremost, you must be notified when an evacuation is imminent. Washoe County maintains the Code Red notification program, which makes pertinent notification calls to those on its registry. It is not a mandatory registry, so one must take the initiative to be listed. Since Code Red has been around for several years, you may already be on it. But if not (or if you don’t remember if you are), click HERE to go directly to the Code Red website and sign up now.
Code Red is designed to be the quickest and most reliable notification method we have available to us. Depending on the amount of time we are given to evacuate, door-to-door notifications from firefighters, law enforcement, or even our own GFC Ambassadors, may not occur. Registering for Code Red is the most reliable method for evacuation announcements we have available at this time, and it will reach you on every device you register.
— PREPARE TO EVACUATE
After receiving notification of an impending evacuation, immediately begin the execution of your plan. Living With Fire, a UNR Extension program, is a great resource for evacuation preparation materials, including their comprehensive Wildfire Evacuation Checklist. Keep a printed copy on hand for immediate access. (Take the time to highlight the items on the list that you can't get along without, such as medicines and easily scooped-up valuables.)
Time permitting, complete as much of the checklist as you can. Remember, the most important goal is to evacuate with every family member’s life intact. Do not delay evacuation for material items, no matter what their value may be.
— EVACUATION ROUTES
With your vehicle loaded, you now must know which exit(s) from the neighborhood you will (or can) utilize. Knowing the answer to this question without hesitation is paramount. There may not be officials available to give you direction.
We have only two unrestricted exits from the GFC — Joy Lake Rd. to the north and Douglas Fir Dr. to the west. Depending on the direction a fire is approaching from, these exits could be unusable. And even if they are usable, they will surely be choked with traffic. (See Evacuate Early!)
Joy Lake Road to the south leads to the normally closed St. James’ Village gate. In an emergency, the guard manning the gate will undoubtedly allow its use if Joy Lake Road in that direction is a viable exit route. If an evacuation order is given while this gate is unattended, the plan is that somebody will be dispatched to secure the gate open for emergency egress down to Washoe Valley, but again, only if it is a viable exit route.
The GFC also has several emergency egress gates. Information and graphics on these gates can be seen by clicking on this picture, or HERE. These auxiliary gates may be helpful in relieving traffic from the main exit routes. Take the time now to drive to and familiarize yourself with their locations.
To limit these gates to emergency use only, they may be locked. The owners of any gate locks are mandated to unlock and open their gate in the event of an official evacuation order. Our firefighters and Sheriff's deputies also have the capability to unlock these gates.
If at all possible, have more than one escape route in mind!
— EVACUATE EARLY
An early evacuation is in everyone's best interests, so our officials will certainly err on the side of caution and give us more than adequate warning to prepare. Utilize any excess time you may have to beat the crowd to the exits! Do not stick around and wait for trouble to find you.
The major objections to early evacuation seem to be the understandable concerns of abandoning one’s home and valuables to an unkown fate; or the feeling that an evacuated neighborhood is vulnerable to looting; or even that we owe it to our home to defend it. But if you wait too long to evacuate, so many things can go wrong as the fire approaches, the result being a significant reduction of your chance for a safe escape. Smoke may intensify and impair visibility; ingress of firefighting equipment may choke the roads; egress of panicked or confused residents may choke the roads; or flying embers may ignite spot fires well ahead of the fire-front, perhaps blocking one or more of our few egress routes. Don't risk lives by foolishly attempting to defend material items. Trust our law enforcement officials to protect our property from looting, and our professional firefighters to do their best to defend our homes.
Evacuate early and live to tell your story!
— EVACUATION TRAFFIC
Officials will do everything in their power to accommodate egress from the evacuation area. Specifically, there are plans to change lane designations to allow more traffic flow in the egress direction. There should be plenty of officials on hand to direct such an abnormal situation, but it may be confusing.
In summary — Be mentally prepared for evacuation well before you see or smell smoke, complete your checklist quickly, and leave before the rush of the crowd! — Save lives, not "stuff."
