Having had to evacuate our home during the still-active 2025 Los Angeles Fires, we wanted to share what we learned, as this experience is still fresh in our minds.

While we are extremely grateful that our home and neighborhood were spared from the devastating destruction encountered by others in nearby communities, we are deeply saddened by the continued enormity of the on-going loss. An immense amount of work, time, money, and, most importantly, spiritual fortitude lies ahead to restore and heal these once thriving households, neighborhoods and businesses.

In the spirit of learning from the hardships of others, the goal of this article is to motivate you to start preparing yourself to handle a similar challenging situation.

If you wish to give support to organizations providing assistance to communities impacted by the LA Fires, please visit: L.A. Works.

Table of Contents

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4 “Always Do” Mantras

We follow four interrelated mantras that we believe are highly effective preparation for managing serious, life- and property-threatening situations:

  1. Always remain calm and in control of your emotions
  2. Always maintain a well-organized household
  3. Always stay informed and connected with your local community
  4. Always prioritize personal safety over everything else

These day-to-day consistent approaches will position you to be able to plan, act and adapt quickly to challenging, dynamic situations skillfully.

 

Mantra #1: Remain Calm

Having watched countless hours of movies, TV series and documentaries involving the chronicling of emergency response situations, we know rule number 1 is “Always Remain Calm”. We are inspired by a wide array of best-in-class, cool-and-steady stereotypes, such as: surgeons; combat military personnel; emergency response personnel; pilots; air traffic control operators; and trauma teams.

Remaining calm is vital for making clear, rational decisions that can save your life and those of others. Maintaining a “cool, calm and collected” demeanor will also improve lines of communications and help prevent worsening the current situation.

 

Mantra #2: Maintain a Well-Organized Home

Responsible and seasoned homeowners have all learned the importance of doing what you can do today, as tomorrow may not be an option. The weather is a great teacher of this principle, as you have to stay abreast of weather patterns to take advantage of when specific chores and repairs can or must be properly completed.

Aging homeowners also know that they have to take advantage of stretches of strong, good health to take care of more arduous household tasks.

If organizing your household feels overwhelming, attack your home piecemeal one hour at a time, scheduled over a month. Knowing where things are will dramatically reduce stress and worry when you need to act fast.

Well-organized garage and well-maintained home

Religiously putting things back to where they belong is also a mandatory practice for maintaining any well-organized home. We go by a modified version of Benjamin Franklin’s famous quip: “a place for everything, and everything in its place”:

Everything has a place and everyplace has a thing!

In a digital age, having secure, easy-to-access cloud storage of your most important documents (insurance policies, financial account information, digital copies of passports, birth certificates, etc.) is immensely helpful and will prevent you from being distracted last-minute trying to find arcane documents or account information.

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Mantra #3: Stay Informed and Connected

Though we understand most homeowners have busy lifestyles with tremendous, never-ending responsibilities, do not use this as an excuse to disconnect from your community safety policies, infrastructure issues, and weather patterns.

Having access to different sources of information, especially trusted first-person, will help you decipher what to do during dynamic, emergency situations. Though you will need to rely on official communications, you also will have to vet pronouncements for your own specific situation and circumstances.

Sunset Fire mandatory evacuation gridlock at night, January 8, 2025 Hollywood

Gridlock in Hollywood, January 8, 2025 after a mandatory evacuation order
Image courtesy of MetroUK

A stark example of this is expecting ambulance services to extract infirmed members of the community in a timely fashion, or at all. We strongly recommend early extraction by someone you can trust with your life. This grave situation sadly happened to a handicapped resident of Altadena, California, and his infirmed son. They died in the fire while helplessly waiting to be extracted by an ambulance service that never arrived.

By staying abreast of your local community, you will strengthen your intuition to make proactive decisions with confidence. Our approach to our evacuation was to take proactive measures and to err on the side of caution. We left our home before the official evacuation mandate was announced. This allowed us to travel unencumbered by traffic down the canyon, gas up the car, check news reports for conditions, and devise an optimal route to safety.

 

Mantra #4: Prioritize Personal Safety

Taking pro-active, early measures to secure your home and vacate your property effectively and promptly is made easier by continually reminding yourself that you and your family are safe.

Elderly holding hands, personal safety and security

Our assumption when we locked our front door, was that we had all that we needed to continue and survive and this would be the last time we saw our home.  We were comfortable with our decision to evacuate. One of the deaths in Altadena, was a man who stayed behind to hose down his home believing that a wet home doesn’t burn. His charred body was found hours later with the hose still in his hand.

While living in the San Francisco Bay Area years ago, we regularly took walks through the pleasant East Bay community of the Oakland Hills. This was the same area where the Oakland Hills Fire of 1991 occurred. Though we learned quite a bit about this tragic event, there are three key insights we will never forget:

  1. The fire surprisingly reignited after it was thought to be fully extinguished, including crossing over a major highway in the middle of the night
  2. Eleven of 25 deaths took place on Charing Cross Road, a narrow, winding road that became congested due to panicked residents fleeing all at once, parked cars, large emergency vehicles traversing against traffic, and poor, chaotic visibility due to smoke, wind and sparks.
  3. Some properties were never fully cleared or rebuilt, eerily portraying the role of permanent memorial and reminders of the dangers of canyon living

The persistent lessons of Charing Cross never left us and played a role in how we chose our current home in Southern California. Living on a wide road with more than one way to reach a highway was imperative for us. We also learned the importance of leaving early when the situation is calm and orderly to avoid panic-driven congestion, road rage and the anxiety of those who do not adhere to Mantra #1: Stay Calm.

 

Understanding Evacuation Codes & Orders

Most states and jurisdictions follow a version of the 3-level “Ready, Set, Go” approach to evacuation levels.

  1. Level 1: Be Ready
  2. Level 2: Be Set
  3. Level 3: Go Now

 

Level 1: Be Ready

This is a precautionary advisory which can also be referred to as a “Red Flag” warning. This classification means there’s a potential threat, and that you should begin making preparations to leave if necessary. Monitor emergency apps, such as Watch Duty, as well as local news and community sites, like Nextdoor, for emergency alerts and updates. With Watch Duty, be sure that you know your specific fire zone, as it will be referenced in changing evacuation notices.

Watch Duty App screenshot of the 2025 Eaton Fire on January 10, 2025

January 10, 2025 screenshot of the Eaton Fire on the Watch Duty app

Most importantly, make sure you are registered with your local municipality to receive official community emergency alerts by text and voice messages. Messages from your local emergency teams should always be given priority over updates from other unofficial apps and websites.

You should also start preliminary efforts to secure your home and prepare your go-bag. In our case, we prepped the exterior of our home, the day before our evacuation, to reduce risks from the severe Santa Ana winds, e.g.: removing or tying down anything that could become a projectile.

We also made sure our vehicle was gassed up and ready to be loaded. If you have electronic garage doors or gates, now is the time to open them in preparation for your departure. Many municipalities shut down electricity, to reduce sparking, but neglected to consider that many residents would need to exit their properties via electronically controlled garage doors and property gates.

 

Level 2: Be Set

The situation has escalated, and you should be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. Pack your car, ensure your go-bag is ready, and stay tuned for further instructions.

In our case, we started to pack by 3:30AM and left our home by 5:30AM, while we were still at Level 2. We weren’t alone, either, but fortunately there was no gridlock at this early hour.

 

Level 3: Go Now

Immediate evacuation is required as danger is current or imminent. Emergency response agencies state at this point you should leave immediately and not stop to gather belongings or make further preparations.

In our case, we beat the mandatory evacuation order by about an hour. So we were already safely out of the area.

Evacuation orders can also be classified as:

 

Voluntary Evacuation

This level is issued when there is a potential threat. While it’s not mandatory to leave, authorities recommend packing and preparing to evacuate. Take this as your opportunity to finalize your “Go Bag” and secure your home.

 

Mandatory Evacuation

A mandatory evacuation is issued when there’s a high risk to life and safety. You are legally required to leave. Staying behind can put you, rescue workers, and your community at risk.

Emergency response personnel need areas to be evacuated so they can focus on curtailing the expansion of a fire and protecting structures. When human life is involved, they have to shift their focus to rescuing persons in peril.

When under a mandatory evacuation order, keep in mind that once you leave your zone you should not expect to be allowed to re-enter until the order has been lifted. However, law enforcement officials can make exceptions, such as needing to retrieve life-critical medical prescriptions.

 

Immediate Evacuation Orders

Natural disasters often escalate rapidly, necessitating immediate evacuation. In such situations, you may not have time to pack. It’s crucial to prioritize safety and leave without delay.

 

Shelter-in-Place Orders

In certain situations, staying in your home can be deemed a safer course of action. Listen to local authorities for guidance.

 

Preparing Your Go-Bag and Go-Car

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of a “Go-Bag”, think of a backpack or a small carry-on luggage piece that will carry all of your key essentials for the next few days. Think cash, wallets, ID, keys, chargers, phones, and medication.

Red first aid go-bag ready for an evacuation

Many emergency preparedness organizations and websites site “The 5 P’s of Go-Bags”, which can be very helpful and calming during a stressful time:

  • People, Pets, Prescriptions, Photos, and Papers.

We also recommend adding at least three more “P’s”:

  • Packing List, Power and Phones

We prepared our go-bag and packed our vehicle when we were at Level 2, starting very early in the morning. Our decision to pack early made the experience less stressful and more thorough.

Emergency supplies for an evacuation go-bag

Here are summaries of widely-recommended items to include in your go-bag:

  • Essentials: water and non-perishable food (3 days’ worth per person); flashlights; extra batteries; first-aid supplies; emergency cash (in small denominations); important documents (IDs, insurance policies, deeds); medications; personal toiletries; and a multi-tool knife.
  • Clothing: dress for the weather, with sturdy, comfortable athletic shoes; plus extra clothing. We dressed for a CrossFit workout, including pullover jackets with zippered pockets.
  • Communication: portable radio; charged mobile phones with backup chargers and portable battery packs; charger cables for your vehicle; multi-adapters; key emergency apps pre-loaded on your mobile phone, with alerts enabled.

In the back of our SUV, we included a case of bottled water, blankets, extra jackets, work gloves, grocery bags, a computer bag and extra food.

Additional items, we wished we had brought:

  • Extra warm blankets, knit caps and winter gloves – Californians get cold at 60 degrees F
  • Fully-charged battery chargers, plus a small solar battery charger
  • Masks, including N-95 for all of the ash and smoke

 

Preparing Your Home

  • Secure Your Home: lock doors, close windows, close interior doors, shut blinds, unplug electrical devices, shut off utilities (electricity, gas, and water) if advised, and secure or move indoors any items that could become projectiles.
  • Protect Important Items: Keep irreplaceable items in a waterproof, fireproof safe or consider storing digital copies in cloud storage.
  • Vehicle Readiness: Keep your vehicle fueled and stocked with emergency supplies.
  • Document Your Home with Photos and/or Videos: take cursory photos and videos of key items and spaces, both indoors and outdoors

 

Know Where to Go

Though it’s a great accomplishment to secure your home and get your collective go-bags and vehicle ready in a timely fashion, you also need to choose your temporary destination wisely. For those with ample family or friends situated in areas safely outside of evacuation zones, this should be an easy decision. However, for others without a nearby personal network, you need to pick an area that is safely reachable and well beyond harm’s way.

Aerial diagram of the 2025 LA Fires by The Australian

Aerial diagram of the 2025 LA Fires
Image courtesy of The Australian

We chose a safe and familiar area that is approximately 45 miles west of our home. The weather conditions were safe there and we could easily return home once conditions improved closer to our residence.

Official emergency evacuation messages will also include the name and location of the nearest evacuation center. If you are unsure of where to go, visit your nearest center first to see if it is good fit for your needs and concerns.

Even if you know where you are heading, review multiple routes out of your neighborhood as routes can be blocked during an emergency. This is another reason to err on leaving you home earlier than recommended.

Steps to follow when evacuating:

  1. Act Quickly: Follow evacuation orders without delay.
  2. Gather Essential Items: Bring your emergency kit, important documents, and personal items.
  3. Secure Your Home: Lock doors, close windows, and unplug electrical devices.
  4. Assist Neighbors: Check on elderly or disabled neighbors if possible.
  5. Follow Routes: Use designated evacuation routes and avoid shortcuts.

 

Monitoring the Situation

We especially relied on Watch Duty to be able to visually anticipate changing evacuation orders and read official updates. Though we found Watch Duty to be very informative, the site aggregates publicly available information, so it should not be viewed as “official” or “most up-to-date”. However, the app did a fabulous job providing links to official news conferences, as well as detailed status updates.

We were also on Nextdoor extensively sharing information with other nearby neighbors. Nextdoor was especially helpful to get statuses on specific streets or neighborhoods via first-person reports, as well as photos and videos from Ring cameras.

Use multiple sources for information: local news, weather channels, emergency alert systems, and social media from official sources.

  • Local Alerts: sign up for local emergency alerts and community warning systems.
  • Weather Updates: monitor weather conditions through trusted apps or the National Weather Service.
  • Evacuation Routes: familiarize yourself with local evacuation routes and alternative paths.

 

Re-Entering Your Neighborhood and Home

When deciding to re-enter your home:

  • Stay Informed: Continue monitoring local updates for information on when it may be safe to return — are conditions improving, worsening, or changing inconsistently?
  • Receive Permission Before Re-Entering: If conditions have improved, prior to an official announcement, it may be possible to receive permission to re-enter your area with ID and acknowledging that you are entering at your own risk.
  • Monitor Official Communication Channels:  If you are unsure if it is safe to re-enter, wait for an official announcement beforehand.

When re-entering your home:

  • Inspect Your Home: Once allowed, carefully inspect your home for damage.
  • Document Damage: Take photos, videos and notes for insurance claims.
  • Address Safety Issues: Take care of any precarious situations around your property within reason.
  • Stay Packed and Ready to Go: Continue to monitor the situation and be ready to re-evacuate if necessary.
  • Stay Abreast of Curfews and Closed Areas: Remain aware of on-going safety and security policies.
  • Check on Nearby Neighbors and Properties: Share status updates and offer help as you deem appropriate.

 

Helping Others

Another important lesson of Charing Cross is to get to know your neighbors, especially elderly and those with disabilities. If you are unable to help transport them to the nearest evacuation center, you can help them secure early extraction.

Neighbor giving a ride to an elderly neighbor

Participating on social community sites, such as Nextdoor, is an easy way to assist others who may be worried and less prepared to handle their situations. For example, sharing updates on specific streets can help prevent others from taking unnecessary risk to return to their home prematurely.

 

Wildfire Resiliency Resources

 

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