Here are some of the plan-ahead actions that El Dorado County Fire Marshal, Brandon McKay, recommended we take when he spoke at an August 2018 neighborhood meeting about fire safety.

1. Put together a Go Bag for each member of the family.
2. Sign up for the Code Red program. This allows you to register multiple phone lines, which will send out an alert, like evacuation orders, in the event of an emergency in your area.
3. I can’t stress this enough: When told to evacuate, evacuate early. This not only gets you out in a safe manner and time, but also means one less thing we have to worry about.
4. Prepare your house through good defensible space measures (and harden your home). This helps us to be able to defend your house.
5. Have good, visible address numbers: Two-sided to face both sides of the street, non-flammable, 6 inch tall number, with a contrasting, reflective background is best.
6. Clear your driveway, limb trees a minimum of 14 feet wide and 15 feet high to allow us to get resources back to your house.

Per CAL FIRE, the Sheriff’s Department and/or CHP, are responsible for directing evacuations. We should follow their direction. In the absence of such direction, use your best judgment in evaluating alternatives.