California wildfire preparedness takes the spotlight as evacuations rise

California wildfire preparedness - forest fire

Thousands of residents are learning how to prepare as power outages and smoky conditions increase.

California wildfire preparedness has become an important topic in the state as blazes continue to rage in various parts of the state, including in regions around Los Angeles.

As the threat of fire intensifies and evacuations increase, residents are learning how to be ready.

Residents who have not already made a California wildfire preparedness plan are being advised to do so. The reason is that there isn’t always a lot of advance warning before the power can go out for an extensive amount of time or an evacuation becomes necessary.

Insurance companies have been issuing advice to customers to help make sure they are ready in case they are affected by the evacuation orders or by the fires themselves. This is a step insurers take every year, but as the fires affect a larger number of residents every year, a growing number of residents are taking notice. It is becoming increasingly difficult for homeowners to believe that they are not at risk of these dangers.

California wildfire preparedness advice from insurance companies can involve a number of steps.

Insurance companies typically recommend the following steps to be ready in case of wildfire in the state.

• Prepare a “ready bag” – Create a “ready bag” for each member of the family.Each bag should be packed at all times so it is ready to go in case of evacuation. It should include emergency items such as a hand-cranked flashlight, changes of clothes, external battery charger for your phone, printed maps, a toothbrush, toothpaste and other personal items, several days’ worth of prescription medication, over the counter medications you may need such as headache pills and anti-nausea/motion sickness medications, bottled water and other essentials. Contact your insurance company for a complete list of items to pack in a ready bag.
• Create a home inventory – Use your phone to take pictures of specific valuables and video of a walk-through of your home to record an inventory of your belongings. Use secure cloud storage for the images and video so you’ll have it available as proof in case your possessions are damaged.
• Get a generator and know how to use it – Purchase or rent a generator and make sure you know how to use it. Read the complete instruction manual and consult it when you use the machine. This is a very important step to prevent injury to yourself or someone else and to prevent causing your own fire.
California wildfire preparedness - forest fire• Review your insurance policy – Make sure you know what is and is not covered as a part of your California wildfire preparedness strategy. Update your policy if needed.

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