San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
FIRE SEASON
For residents in highrisk areas of California, fires are a terrifying reality with their own vocabulary of defensible space, homehardening and ember storms. In 2018, more than 1.8 million acres burned in California, a devastating year that included the deadliest wildfire in Golden State history.
For visitors from out of state, abroad or just a different part of California, the chance of a wildfire interrupting a Wine Country vacation or Malibu weekend may seem remote. But in recent years, fires have swept through prime tourist destinations, forcing travelers to flee alongside local residents and sometimes claiming them as victims.
To people who might think, “This will never happen to me here in California,” Scott McLean, Cal Fire deputy chief of information, has a reply: “It will.”
Already this year, residents in Yolo County had to evacuate their homes near the Sand Fire, which burned seven structures, while a vegetation fire in San Luis Obispo County spread to 1,000 acres in a matter of hours.
Travelers can be especially vulnerable when disaster strikes. Far from home, they may not be familiar with evacuation routes or have informal networks to pass along early warnings about a blaze igniting nearby. Outofstate travelers in particular are less versed in how wildfires impact California, McLean says, from hazardous conditions to how fires spread and important safety preparations.
“They’re oblivious,” he says. “People don’t think of wildfires. They see it on the news, and it goes in one ear and out the other.”
But fire is increasingly a fact of life in California. If you’re planning to travel to fireprone areas this summer, a few basic precautions can make your vacation safer. Here are McLean’s tips for arriving prepared and knowing when it’s time to go:
Sign up for alerts
During the 2017 Wine Country fires and the 2018
Camp Fire, emergency alerts and evacuation notices were sent with varying success. Some people hadn’t opted into the system, others never received a notification, and officials declined to use Amberstyle alerts designed to blast every cell phone in a given radius. Many residents learned about encroaching flames from neighbors and friends — frantic text messages or knocks on the door.
But travelers may not have local networks to send that kind of warning, and if a fire starts, you want to know. Before you head to your destination, visit local government websites and sign up for whatever emergency alert system they have in place. Then download the Cal Fire app. It won’t ping you with evacuation orders, but it does offer a map of active wildfires and a news feed, so you can stay up to date on important developments.
Pack an extra bag
While you’re packing for a weekend away, stash a small gobag in your trunk in case you’re forced to evacuate and don’t have time to track down a pair of closedtoe shoes or fill up water bottles. The idea is to get out fast, so you don’t need a full survival kit — just a handful of items to keep you clothed, hydrated and moving until you can get to safety. “Another set of clothes, blue jeans, socks, sturdy shoes or boots,” says McLean. “Make sure you get some snack bars, several bottles of water.”
Embrace paper maps
A paper map or atlas may sound counterintuitive for navigating during a fire, but you can’t rely on cell phone reception during an emergency. “Over 70 cell towers went down in the Wine Country fires,” McLean says. “You’ll lose that connectivity very quickly, possibly your GPS will go down.” Keep a local print map in the glove box and highlight potential routes in and out.
Fill up your tank
Driving to your destination? Don’t arrive with an empty tank. Fill up before you settle in for the night, just in case you need to leave in a hurry. During the Camp Fire, McLean says evacuees ran out of gas while trying to escape and abandoned their vehicles, causing a roadblock for people behind them. Be sure your vehicle is gassed up and ready to go, should you need to make a hasty exit.
Check out your surroundings
While hotels may take precautions to keep their grounds firesafe, private rental properties are less likely to minimize risk from surrounding vegetation. Before you hop in the hot tub or stretch out on the deck, take a quick look around where you’re staying and think about what might pose a fire danger, things like overgrown vegetation or tall grass.
“Take that extra minute or two to be careful,” says McLean. “It’s going to save so much in the end.”
Consider the conditions
Travelers getting into the California backcountry to hike or camp have to be even more selfreliant. Besides letting friends and local rangers know where you’re going and how long you’ll be gone, McLean suggests studying topography maps and weather reports to find alternative escape plans and understand how the landscape and wind direction might promote wildfires.
“You’re walking, so you have to figure out how fast you can get out of there on your two feet,” McLean says. “It stems from preplanning. There’s so much at your fingertips now that can prepare you for these kinds of things.”
Monitor your behavior
Campfires, vehicle sparks, power lines, lawn mowers. Many of California’s worst wildfires have been started by human behavior, people sending sparks into an environment primed to ignite. The largest wildfire in state history — the Northern California 2018 Ranch Fire, which killed one person and scorched 410,000 acres — was found to have started with outdoor hammering on a dry, hot day.
Like everyone in California, travelers are responsible for monitoring their behavior: disposing of cigarettes properly, starting campfires only in approved areas, making sure grills and fire pits don’t shoot sparks.
It doesn’t take much for a fire to start, says McLean, and in California, it’s everyone’s responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Sarah Feldberg is The Chronicle’s assistant Travel editor. Email: sarah.feldberg@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @sarahfeldberg.