Fire Season Prep for Families with Kids
Wildfire season can feel especially overwhelming when you have kids, but family readiness is all about deciding a few important things in advance. A family emergency plan should cover safe exits, meeting places, who will pick children up if you are unavailable, emergency contacts, health information, and places for pets to stay. During dire season when smoke conditions can change quickly and evacuation orders don't leave time to think through logistics, having a plan in place is especially important.
A good family emergency plan should answer a few basic questions:
- Where will we meet if we cannot go home?
- Who will pick up the kids if a parent cannot get to where they are?
- Who is our out of town contact?
- What needs to be grabbed in case we need to leave quickly?
Households should think about meeting places, designated child pickup, contact people, health and insurance information, and local risks when going into fire season. Thinking these through will limit confusion, and create clear routines and expectations for everyone.
Emergency kits should be portable, easy to find, and have enough equipment to last 72 hours. You can split supplies into multiple backpacks for each person that each have personalized items if there is too much for one person to carry.
The basics that should be in your emergency kit are:
- Water
- Shelf stable snacks
- Flashlight
- Batteries
- Power bank
- First aid kit
- Radio
- Hygiene basics
You can add family specific items like:
- Children's medications
- Diapers and wipes
- Comfort items or a stuffed animal
- Extra clothes
- Copies of important information
- Snacks that you know your child will eat
As wildfire smoke can affect communities that are far from the fire itself, preparing for smoke says is also important. Planning for smoke days means:
- Knowing how to check the air quality health index and alerts
- Keep well-fitting respirators for adults and older children where appropriate
- Have indoor activities ready to keep occupied when you can't go outside
- Keep key medications accessible
- Limit outdoor activities when conditions are bad
Kids don't need to know the full emergency plan, but they can be a part of it. Parents should be honest and straightforward when talking about emergencies and include them in making their plans. You should also teach kids basic contact information and who to call if they need help. This can be things like:
- Showing your kids where the emergency kit is
- Teaching them your phone number
- Letting them choose one comfort item for the bag
- Practicing where to go and who to stay with
A family plan works better if you actually test it, so before fire season rams up, do at least one run through:
- Where's the emergency kit?
- What still needs to be added?
- Who grabs documents?
- Who handles the pets?
- Who picks up the kids if needed?
Fire season prep for families works best when it's calm and already decided. A portable emergency kit, a family plan, and comfort items make stressful situations more manageable.
