Wildfires

 

🔥 Wildfire Season Readiness: Your Complete Guide to Surviving and Helping

When wildfire threatens our region, the difference between chaos and calm comes down to preparation — and knowing how to help others do the same. Below is a consolidated guide combining evacuation steps with proven donation and volunteering best practices.

📋 Before Evacuation: Stay Informed & Prepared

  • Stay informed: Check city, county and emergency service websites, social media, local news, TV and radio for updates.
  • ORAlert.gov — Opt-in to receive emergency alerts from your county.
  • Enable Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on your cell phone at Ready.gov/alerts.
  • Keep your phone charged and have an emergency go-kit ready with supplies for health, safety and identification.
  • Inform loved ones of your plans. Designate a safe meeting place and out-of-area contact person.
  • Act early if you are older, have children, disabilities or limited transportation.
  • Plan for animals: Locate your pets and keep them with you. Consider evacuating livestock early.
  • Plan possible evacuation routes. Use TripCheck.com or call 511 for road closures.
  • Plan for emergency shelter: Call the American Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767 or visit RedCross.org. Call 211 or 1-866-698-6155 for local resources.
  • Check with your neighbors if you have time — exchange information, ask for help, offer it.

Don’t wait to evacuate if you need extra time or feel unsafe. Conditions can change rapidly.

🎒 What to Pack If You Have Time

Critical

  • Prescription medications, medical devices, eyeglasses, food and plenty of water.

Safety

  • Sanitation items, first-aid kit, flashlight with extra batteries, gloves, eye protection, face coverings or N95 masks (protects against fine smoke particles).
  • Wear long sleeves, long pants, sturdy shoes and a hat to keep embers out.

Communication

  • Phones, tablets, laptops, charging cords, hard drives or backup disks, maps, AM/FM radio.

Documentation

  • Photo ID, driver’s license, birth certificate, Social Security card, passport, visa, insurance policy, mortgage deed/rental agreement, medical records, banking/financial records.

Personal

  • ATM debit and credit cards, cash, clothing, hygiene items, family photos and other irreplaceable belongings.

Animals

  • Extra water, food, leashes, cages or carriers, medication, identification, bedding, vaccination/medical records. Prepare large animals for transport.

🏠 What to Do Inside Your Home (If You Have Time)

  1. Shut all windows and doors, including interior doors.
  2. Close fireplace dampers and pet doors.
  3. Turn off any pilot lights.
  4. Remove flammable window coverings (shades, curtains, shutters, blinds).
  5. Move flammable furniture to the center of a room, away from windows and doors.
  6. Leave interior lights on so your home is visible to firefighters in smoke or darkness.
  7. Turn off the air conditioning to reduce airflow through the house.
  8. Leave contact information on your dining table.
  9. Take video or pictures of inside and outside for insurance purposes.

🚗 What to Do Outside Your Home (If You Have Time)

  1. Keep your vehicle ready: Load emergency supplies, fill the gas tank. Back into parking space and keep keys with you at all times.
  2. Gather flammables: Patio furniture, BBQ grills, toys, doormats — bring inside or to garage.
  3. Turn off propane tanks. Move propane appliances and gasoline cans away from structures if safe.
  4. Don’t shut off natural gas — utility companies handle that when fire threatens. Do not restart it yourself.
  5. Leave exterior lights on for firefighter visibility.
  6. Help firefighters: Place a ladder at the house corner, prop gates open, connect garden hoses to outside valves, fill water buckets around the house. Don’t leave sprinklers running (preserves water pressure).
  7. Seal attic and ground vents with plywood, duct tape, aluminum foil or commercial seals.
  8. Monitor the fire. If you feel threatened — leave right away. Don’t wait for an order.

🌿 After You Evacuate

  • Do not return until public safety officials announce the area is safe.
  • Seek medical help if injured.
  • Inform loved ones you’re safe.
  • Continue checking updates via city/county websites, social media, news and radio.
  • Wildfire.Oregon.gov — more wildfire information.
  • RedCross.org — disaster assistance.

💛 How to Donate Successfully After a Wildfire

When disaster strikes, the instinct to help is powerful. But not all donations are created equal. Here’s how to make your generosity count:

1. Financial Contributions Are Often the Best Kind

Cash donations to recognized voluntary organizations are the most efficient way to help. Organizations spend money locally, boosting the recovering economy, and can purchase exactly what survivors need — not just what donors assume they need. Donations are also tax deductible.

2. Used Clothing Is Rarely Useful

Hard to clean, sort and transport — clothing often ends up discarded in warehouse mounds. Instead: hold a yard sale for donations, or donate locally to community-based organizations.

3. Confirm What’s Needed Before Taking Action

The mistake of assuming “everything is needed” has created countless tons of waste over the years. Call state donation hotlines or check with voluntary organizations for precise needs lists before collecting goods.

4. Donate Through a Registered Organization

Have a plan that confirms what’s needed, who receives it, how it’s transported and distributed. Focus on one or two items an organization needs rather than scattering your efforts.

5. Transportation Must Be Planned in Advance

You are responsible for getting goods to the recipient. Local trucking firms may help if funds cover part of the cost. Don’t assume free transport.

6. Pack and Label Well

Tape content lists to the outside of every box so receiving officials can identify contents without opening it. Put yourself in the receiver’s shoes — make unloading and sorting as simple as possible.

🤝 How to Volunteer Successfully

  • Get trained before the next disaster so you can find meaningful work quickly.
  • Affiliate with a voluntary organization active in disaster response — better insurance and liability protection.
  • Consider long-term recovery volunteering — needs are often greater weeks and months after the event.
  • Check your local Volunteer Center at 1-800-Volunteer for local opportunities.
  • Be self-sufficient — bring your own food, water and supplies so you’re not a burden on the affected community.
  • Watch local media carefully for organized volunteer efforts during recovery phases.

📞 Key Contacts & Resources

Resource Contact / Link
ORAlert (County Alerts) ORAlert.gov
American Red Cross (Shelter) 1-800-733-2767 / RedCross.org
Local Resources (211 Info) 211 or 1-866-698-6155 / 211info.org
Road Closures (TripCheck) TripCheck.com or call 511
Wildfire.Oregon.gov wildfire.oregon.gov
FEMA fema.gov
National VOAD (Relief Orgs) nvoad.org
Ready.gov ready.gov
Volunteer Center 1-800-Volunteer

Stay calm. Stay informed. Take care of each other.