Squaw Valley’s Emergency Evacuation Plan provided by the Squaw Valley Fire Department. 

Attire and Equipment:

• Cotton or wool clothes are more fire resistant than synthetics

• Proper attire includes long pants, long sleeved shirt or jacket and boots

• Carry gloves, a handkerchief to cover your face, water to drink, and goggles

• Keep a flashlight and portable radio with you at all times

• Tune in to a local radio station and listen for instructions

Family Members and Pets:

• If possible, evacuate all family members not essential to preparing the house for wildfire first

• Make sure to designate a meeting place and contact plan using cell phone, e-mail or a relative in another area

• Evacuate pets to a safe location – contact the Humane Society or Animal Control for assistance if needed

Vehicles:

• Place vehicles in garage or in the driveway, pointing out. Leave the keys in the ignition!

• Roll up the windows, close the sunroof

• Open the garage door using the garage door opener, then disconnect the garage door opener drive. Then, manually lower the door so that it can be opened manually from the outside if needed

Essential Items:

• Important documents (financial records, insurance policies, birth certificates, medical records, etc.)

• Credit and ATM cards, insurance cards, address book, PDA, laptop computer

• Drivers license, passport

• Medications, prescription glasses, toiletries

• Computer backup files -flash drive, external drive for desktop machine

• Inventory of home contents (video before possible emergency), photographs of interior and exterior of house

• Cell phone and charger

• Change of clothing

• Family photo albums and videos, family heirlooms

• Place essential items in car

Inside the house:

• Close all interior doors

• Leave a light on in each room

• Remove lightweight curtains and other combustible materials from around windows

• Close fire-resistant drapes, shutters and blinds

• Turn off all pilot lights

• Move overstuffed furniture (couches and easy chairs) to the center of rooms

Outside the house:

• Place combustible patio furniture in the house or garage

• Shut off propane at the tank

• Close all exterior vents if possible

• Prop a ladder against the house to provide firefighters easy access to the roof

• Make sure that all garden hoses are connected to faucets and attach nozzles

• Close all exterior doors and windows, leaving all exterior doors unlocked

• Turn on outside lights

• If available and there is time, cover windows, attic openings, and vents with 1/2″ plywood

• Wet down wood shakes or shingle roofs before leaving if possible

• Fill trash cans and buckets with water and place where firefighters can find them

• If you have an emergency water source (pool, pond, etc.) and/or portable pump, clearly mark it’s availability so it can bee seen from the street

If evacuation is needed:

• Take Squaw Valley Road to Highway 89. Go to Truckee or Tahoe City – Whichever is away from the fire

• Listen to local radio stations for evacuation locations

• If it is not possible to leave the Valley, go in your car to the Squaw Valley USA parking lot and wait there

• If not possible to leave your residence, shelter in place until all is clear and leave the Valley if possible

• Please evacuate early if asked to do so to avoid entrapment by the fire storm! Studies from the recent fires in Australia showed that people who died were the ones who planned to leave, but waited to long to do so. They encountered conditions that were untenable, but only a short time earlier had been safe to travel.

• Drive with headlights ON so that you can be seen in the smoke

• Drive carefully and with caution for changing conditions -vehicle accidents clog roads and lead to confusion and unnecessary deaths

Be prepared: it will likely be dark, smokey, windy, and hot. There may be airborne embers, no power, no telephone service, and poor water pressure.

Remember, NOTHING you own is worth your life!