Courtesy Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team & Cal Fire
If you were told to get ready for an evacuation or to evacuate immediately, do you have a Go Bag of essential items ready? If not, there’s no better time than right now to put yours together.
A Go Bag should be prepared before an emergency, be easily accessible and filled with at least a three-day supply of items needed to help you quickly and safely evacuate your home.
Essentials include:
- Clothing & personal toiletries
- Face masks or coverings
- Inventory of home contents & photographs/videotape of the house & landscape
- An inventory checklist from your insurance agent
- Flashlight, portable radio tuned to an emergency radio station & extra batteries changed annually
- Extra set of car & house keys
- Contact information for family, friends & physicians
- Cash & extra credit cards
- Medications & prescription glasses
- Water & non-perishable food
- First-Aid kit
- Pack a Pet Go Bag for each pet (see below)
- Important records – passports, birth certificates, titles, medical records, etc.
- Electronic chargers
- Paper map marked with Evacuation Routes (especially if you don’t live here full time)
Other items to pack:
- Hand sanitizer/wipes
- Books & magazines
- Games, cards & toys
- Trash bags
- Rain poncho
- Blankets
- Laundry detergent
- Rubber gloves
- Sleeping bag & tent
- Family heirlooms & photos
- Computers & hard drives
Prepare a Pet Go Bag
- Pack several days of food, water & prescriptions for each pet along with:
- Leashes, harnesses & collars
- Toys & blankets
- Litter box, litter & scoop for cats
- Doggie bags
- Treats
Always keep a sturdy pair of shoes and a flashlight near your bed and handy in case of a sudden evacuation at night.
Read our 3rd Annual Wildfire Preparedness Guide
