What to Pack in Your Emergency Bag to Prepare for a Wildfire

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As the state marks one year since the outbreak of the devastating 2005 Los Angeles wildfires, the sudden danger posed by fast-moving blazes is on the minds of many Californians.

When hot, dry and windy weather conditions raise the risk of wildfire, residents may be ordered to evacuate their homes immediately to escape disaster. And while it’s a scary prospect — especially if you’ve never had to do it before — being prepared to leave by having a well-stocked emergency bag ready to go for you and your family can be a huge help, practically and psychologically.

Another reason you might consider prepping a “go bag” like this during wildfire season,  even if you don’t live in a typically fire-prone area? Elevated wildfire risk also increases the likelihood that power outages might take place, which could in some circumstances mean your home remains without power for days — a situation during which many people choose to temporarily relocate to stay with friends or family. And of course, being prepared for a major earthquake or another natural disaster is always a good idea as a California resident.

Keep reading for how to build an emergency bag with expert advice from San Francisco’s Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT), Listos California Emergency Preparedness Campaign  (whose guide is also available in Spanish), Cal Fire, the American Red Cross and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And after you’ve read this, take a look at our full guide to safely and swiftly evacuating your home, including when to leave, where to go and even what to wear as you’re actively evacuating.

What should be in your evacuation ‘go bag’?

According to Cal Fire PIO Heather Williams, keeping your bag by your front door is best, so you can easily grab it and go. (Keeping your evacuation kit in your car is also generally recommended, but given the high rate of vehicle break-ins and thefts from cars in the Bay Area that may not be feasible for you.)

What bag(s) should you use to pack your emergency supplies? You may have to walk to safety, so choose something that’s durable and easy to carry, such as a backpack or duffle bag.

For heavier items, such as food and water, using a tub or chest on wheels may make it easier to transport — but make sure it’s still light enough to lift.

Personal safety essentials

• An extra set of keys to your home
• Eyeglasses or contact lenses
• Flashlight
• A copy of your ID and other important documents (birth certificates, passports, etc)
• A change of clothes
• Cash in small bills
• A map marked with at least two evacuation routes from your home

Communication

• A portable radio and batteries
• Charging cables for your cellphone and a portable cellphone battery pack

Food and water

• Water: one gallon per person, per day (three-day supply for evacuation, two-week supply for home)
• Food: nonperishable, easy-to-prepare items (three-day supply for evacuation, two-week supply for home)
• Baby supplies, if applicable

Health and medicines 

• Medication, supplies and home-use medical devices
• A list of all medications you and your family need, including all prescriptions and other important medical information
• First-aid kit
• Well-fitting  N95 masks or similar (like KN95) to protect you from wildfire smoke

Items to take if time (and space) allow

• Easily carried valuables
• Personal computer information on hard drives and disks
• Extra chargers for cellphones, laptops, etc.
• Emergency blanket, extra blankets or sleeping bags
• Can opener
• Games and activities for children

And when it comes to irreplaceable items of deep personal value, Capt. Erica Arteseros of San Francisco’s Fire Department recommends building a special box that you can take with your go bag. Those items would include heirlooms, photos and scrapbooks — anything that you consider special in your life that you would be devastated to lose, but aren’t practical to keep inside your go bag itself.

What should I pack to evacuate my pets?

Cal Fire’s list of items for pet owners includes:

• A carrier for each pet
• Vaccination and medical records, proof of ownership, a current photo, contact information for the pet’s veterinarian
• Two week supply of food and water
• Food and water bowls that are non-spill
• A pet first-aid kit
• Medications and instructions on dosing
• Litter box and litter
• Waste disposal bags
• Paper towels and newspaper
• Disinfectant
• Leashes/collars/harnesses
• Blankets
• Toys and treats

Make sure your pets have collars with identification, rabies and license tags. Check to make sure your contact information is up to date.

For more information on transporting pets, larger animals and livestock, check Cal Fire’s animal evacuation guide and read our archive story on how to plan for wildfires if you have pets or livestock.

How can I prepare my home?

If you live in a fire-prone area, it’s important to make sure your home is prepared though home hardening and maintaining a defensible space to increase the chance of your home’s survival in the case of a wildfire.

Depending on where you live, you can request for a Cal Fire inspector to come to your property and assess your home for defensible space. You can also conduct a self-assessment of your home’s defensible space that’ll help you identify where any weaknesses may lie, and address them.

Should I turn off the natural gas?

If you need to evacuate immediately, you should follow evacuation orders and leave.

However, if you have the time, FEMA and Cal Fire recommend that you turn off the gas supply. First locate the shutoff valve, which is usually located close to your gas meter. Using a 12-15 inch wrench, turn off the gas by turning the hand wheel clockwise so that it is perpendicular to the pipe. You should also turn off any propane tanks.

Do not turn your natural gas back on by yourself after an evacuation. PG&E crews will inspect each meter and turn it back on.

How do you get information on fires prior to evacuation?

You should monitor local alerting systems for the most up-to-date emergency information and instructions. It’s best to set up multiple ways to receive emergency weather alerts:

• Sign up to get your county’s wireless emergency alerts from the governor’s Office of Emergency Services, which are also available in Spanish
• Monitor Cal Fire’s online incident map and download its app, where you can create a readiness plan and learn about imminent threats to your area
• Listen to NOAA Weather Radio, which broadcasts information from the nearest National Weather Service station
• Follow the Bay Area National Weather Service’s X alerts

You can also consult our county-by-county list of regional safety alerts, including Nixle.

What can I do if I can’t use my smartphone to connect with family and friends?

“We’ve become so reliant on smartphones. And when it fails us, there is that panic moment,” said Arteseros of the San Francisco Fire Department. “So, we always recommend to identify an out-of-state person to be a check-in contact.”

Arteseros said you should send a text message to that out-of-state person with the time and your location, even if you don’t have wireless service, because that text message will eventually get to that person. Phone calls will fail when cell towers are down for either you or your contact, but text messages work on a relay system between emergency beacons on cell towers, so they are more likely to reach people than voice messages and phone calls.

It’s also a good idea to update your social media profiles on Facebook,  X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram to let friends and family know your status, including where you are and when you plan to update your status again. This allows people to know when to expect information from you and will save cellphone battery, allowing you to go without cell service and Wi-Fi for a little while, if you must.

Remember, some smartphones allow you to change settings to make calls over Wi-Fi, and some apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp allow Wi-Fi phone calls.

If you notice that you have no signal and you’re concerned about your phone battery, placing your phone in airplane mode – and making sure Wi-Fi and bluetooth connectivity are also disabled – will conserve battery life. You can periodically turn it on and off to check for signal while also conserving battery life. Turning down your screen’s brightness will also help save your battery, as will putting your device in low power mode (even if your battery still has significant charge).

Read more about how to keep communicating with loved ones during a disaster situation in our guide.

Will I miss important news because I don’t have a smartphone?

Not necessarily. Counties increasingly rely on the WEA system — wireless emergency alerts that by and large are delivered to cellphones through the IPAWS system, the federal integrated public alert and warning system. Those alerts also go to NOAA Weather Radios, which operate on emergency cranks or battery power. NOAA weather radios broadcast official warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information consistently.

You can also sign up to get Nixle alerts, which can come via texts, voice messages and emails. If you have a friend, family member or neighbor who does have a smartphone, set up a system so they can get you important info.

What should I do about my neighbors?

“Make a plan,” Arteseros said, who said it’s important to know who your neighbors are.

You can help your neighbors make a go bag if they don’t have one, and make sure they have a way to escape, especially if they don’t have a car. It’s also a very good idea to keep your gas tank as full as you can, so you’re not trying to evacuate in a car that’s very low on gas.

“We don’t want anyone waiting for a neighbor that just can’t get ready,” she said. “But it is important for everyone to look out for each other when something happens.”

KQED’s Molly Peterson, Danielle Venton and Michelle Wiley contributed to this story.