Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Campaign Social Media Toolkit

Preparing for Evacuation:

• Wildfire evacuations are stressful events, and residents often don’t have much notice before leaving their homes. So prepare now for evacuation. Learn how at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/make-an-evacuation-plan/
• A go-bag can help you quickly and safely evacuate during a wildfire. Learn how to put one together at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/make-an-evacuation-plan/make-a-go-bag-and-disaster-supplies-kit/
• Know your neighborhood! Plan an escape route for when wildfire hits your community. Make sure to plan a secondary route in case the primary route is blocked. Learn more about preparing for evacuation at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/make-an-evacuation-plan/
• When evacuating from a wildfire, you only have time to bring the essentials, leaving your valued possessions behind. While nothing can replace these possessions, a regularly updated home inventory can ensure you are reimbursed for damaged and destroyed property. Learn how to create a home inventory at https://www.iii.org/article/how-create-home-inventory
• Many people living in high fire hazard areas have pets and livestock. Prepare to evacuate your animals before wildfire happens. Pack a go-bag with everything your animals might need and make sure that you can safely transport them. Learn more at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/make-an-evacuation-plan/prepare-my-home-and-family-for-evacuation/preparing-pets-and-livestock-for-evacuation/
• When preparing for wildfire, think about people in your community with disabilities and their access to functional needs. Learn more at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/make-an-evacuation-plan/prepare-my-home-and-family-for-evacuation/
• Local Emergency alert systems, like the CodeRED system, deliver emergency messages to individuals located in affected regions, such as specific neighborhoods or communities. Sign up for emergency notifications in your county at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/make-an-evacuation-plan/sign-up-for-emergency-notifications/

Defensible Space:

• Creating Defensible Space can reduce the wildfire threat, allow firefighters to safely defend the house, and can improve the likelihood of a home surviving without assistance from firefighters Learn how to create effective defensible space at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/how-to-improve-my-defensible-space/
• Flammable vegetation close to homes poses a significant wildfire threat. Creating and maintaining defensible space can reduce that threat. Learn how to create effective defensible space at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/how-to-improve-my-defensible-space/
• The zone within 5 feet of your home has many different names (e.g., the noncombustible zone, the immediate zone, the zero zone), but the objective is generally the same—to reduce the vulnerability of the home to embers by creating a zone of ember-resistant materials around the home. Learn more at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/how-to-improve-my-defensible-space/
• Firefighters often refer to ornamental junipers as “little green gas cans”. They contain flammable resins and dried vegetation, and when ignited can burn intensely. Keep these “little green gas cans” at least 30 feet from the house or replace them with low-growing deciduous shrubs, herbaceous flowers, rock mulches and hard surfaces.
• Dense groups of trees and shrubs pose a significant wildfire threat. Thinning dense plant life to create more space between them can increase the effectiveness of defensible space. Learn how to create effective defensible space at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/how-to-improve-my-defensible-space/
• If you live in a high fire hazard area, you have the power to improve the odds of your home surviving a wildfire. One key thing that individuals can do is choose the right plants in their landscape. Learn how at https://bit.ly/3G8C9b4
• To reduce the risk of wildfire, remove all dead vegetation near buildings, houses and structures. Learn more about preparing your property for wildfire at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/how-to-improve-my-defensible-space/
• Dry cheatgrass is probably the most easily ignitable vegetation on Nevada’s rangelands. Learn how to manage cheatgrass to reduce the wildfire risk at https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=2364

Home Hardening:

• “Home Hardening” is a term that refers to the practice of retrofitting components of a home to reduce vulnerability to wildfire. Learn more at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/how-to-make-my-home-fire-safe/
• Research Suggests that 60-90% of homes lost during wildfires are ignited by burning embers. Hardening your home will reduce your home’s vulnerability to embers and decrease the chance of ignition. Learn more at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/how-to-make-my-home-fire-safe/
• Reducing the vulnerability of homes to ember ignition will increase the chance of homes and neighborhoods surviving a wildfire. Learn more at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/how-to-make-my-home-fire-safe/
• This Wildfire Home Retrofit Guide includes specific recommendations for retrofitting existing components of a home to withstand wildfire. Each section contains an explanation of how the component is vulnerable to wildfire and what can be done to improve that component. View the guide at https://naes.agnt.unr.edu/pms/pubs/2020-3810.pdf
• The most effective way for homes to withstand wildfire is a “coupled approach” that considers the home’s exterior construction materials and how they are put together, as well as the surrounding vegetation and other near-home combustible materials.

Living With Smoke:

• Wildfire smoke contains microscopic, fine particulate matter that can enter your eyes or be inhaled deep into your respiratory system, causing serious symptoms and potentially worsening chronic lung or heart conditions. Learn how to live more safely with wildfire smoke at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/living-with-smoke/
• During a wildfire, smoke affects air quality. Before going out, make sure to check the air quality often. Consult airnow.gov for real-time air quality updates.
• Reduce your exposure to smoke and create a “clean room” in your home. Choose a room with no fireplace and with few windows and doors. Use a portable air cleaner or purifier in the room. Learn more at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/living-with-smoke/
• Wildfire smoke is bad for your health. Using the right air filter in your home can help improve your indoor air quality during a wildfire. Learn more at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/living-with-smoke/
• Strong winds can move wildfire smoke from an area on fire to communities otherwise unaffected, greatly reducing air quality and extending the health risks of wildfire. Learn more about smoke and how it travels at https://www.iqair.com/us/newsroom/wildfire-smoke-travels-farther-you-think

Prescribed Fire:

• There is such a thing as good fire. Many ecosystems have become unhealthy after years of fire exclusion and can become overgrown with vegetation which can become a fire hazard. Under specific and controlled conditions, prescribed burning can help restore ecosystems while also reducing hazardous fuels and mitigating the risk of wildfire to communities. Learn more at https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/resilient-landscapes
• Healthy and resilient landscapes are less vulnerable to extreme wildfires because they can adapt to climate change and are more resistant to invasive species and insect infestations. Prescribed fire is a tool to help restore resilient landscapes. Learn more at https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/resilient-landscapes
• Like all fire, prescribed fire leads to smoke. However, prescribed fires are planned carefully to keep smoke at acceptable levels. Occasionally, smoke from a prescribed fire can accumulate in a community, but usually only for a few hours, as opposed to smoke exposure from uncontrolled wildfires which typically last longer, resulting in harmful air quality. Check with local officials for burning schedules so you can be prepared.

After Fire Recovery | Home and Property:

• After a wildfire evacuation, do not return to your home until re-entry is permitted by law enforcement officials.
• Before you enter your home after a fire, check for remaining hazards in and around your property such as burning embers, unstable power lines, and large pits of ash left from burned trees. Take notes and photos of all damaged property and belongings to report them to your insurance company. Learn more at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/what-do-i-do-after-the-fire/
• When you enter your home after a fire, check your attic and crawl space each day, for several days. Check for smoke from embers that may have entered the home and could still smolder and ignite the home from within. Learn more at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/what-do-i-do-after-the-fire/
• After a wildfire, make a list and take photos of any damage to your property. Do not eat food or take medications that have been exposed to heat, smoke or soot. Learn more at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/what-do-i-do-after-the-fire/inside-the-house/

After Fire Recovery | Landscape:

• Erosion almost always follows wildfire. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to control postfire erosion. Learn more at https://www.uidaho.edu/-/media/UIdaho-Responsive/Files/Extension/topic/forestry/After-the-Burn-2015.pdf
• Plants vary in their response to wildfire. Fire kills some plants, rejuvenates others, and some plants require fire to exist. After a wildfire, the resulting barren and burned landscape might not stay that way for long. Learn more about what grows back after a fire at https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=3343
• Many trees can recover after a fire. Water them as quickly as possible afterward and check on them weekly to make sure they are absorbing enough of it. Lastly, prune off dead, broken, and heavily burned limbs. Learn more about taking care of your trees after wildfire at https://bit.ly/31I23iA
• After a wildfire, removing dead trees from your landscape is important, especially around your home. Learn what to plant after tree loss at https://www.livingwithfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/What-to-Plant-After-Tree-Loss-1-accessible.pdf
• Some wildfires cause damage that requires special attention to prevent future problems. Rehabilitation and reforestation are long-term processes that focus on repairing damaged natural resources. This includes planting trees, reestablishing native species, restoring habitats and treating invasive plants. Learn more about rehabilitation after a fire at https://www.fs.usda.gov/science-technology/fire/after-fire

Flood After Fire:

• Individuals living in and around areas impacted by wildfire face an increased risk of flooding up to five years after. Learn more about flood after fire at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/what-do-i-do-after-the-fire/flood-after-fire/
• Why are wildfire burn scars a flood risk? After a fire, water-repellent soil is formed causing more water to run off and leading to flooding with much less rainfall. Learn why this happens at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/what-do-i-do-after-the-fire/flood-after-fire/
• If you live near a wildfire burn scar, having an evacuation plan, staying informed with emergency alerts, and preparing your property can help you stay safe during a flood. Learn how to stay safe in a flood at https://www.livingwithfire.com/get-prepared/what-do-i-do-after-the-fire/flood-after-fire/

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