Wildfire is the biggest threat in Yavapai County. 
Why prepare now? You may need to wait until help arrives; resources may be limited during a catastrophic event. Preparation reduces fear and anxiety.
Sign up for your local emergency notification system. The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office uses alertYavapai. Register at YCSOaz.gov.
Know your zone. Most jurisdictions have adopted evacuation zones, using pre-determined areas for the delivery of vital information. Go to protect.Genasys.com.
Create a family communication plan. If your cell phone fails, can you reach your family members? If you are away from home when that GO order is issued, where will your family meet?
Create a list of items to collect as you evacuate. What would you take if you had 10 minutes? Consider: People, Pets, Prescriptions, Personal Items, Papers and Priceless items.
Prepare a GO kit for humans and animals and keep it updated. A list of suggested items for humans can be found at https://www.yavapaiready.gov/Resilience/Prepare/Get-Ready/Make-a-Kit. For the needs of your household pets go to AnimalDisasterServices.com. The LASER website has a list for your barn animals at www.laser-shelter.org.
Create defensible space around your home. Check out the Yavapai Firewise website, https://yavapaifirewise.org.
Have a neighborhood evacuation plan and get to know your neighbors. If you are out of town when disaster strikes, can your neighbors get your animals out?
Teach your animals to load quickly – even under stressful situations.
Find various ways out of your neighborhood. If the route you usually take is blocked, how will you get out?
Stay informed. A designated public information officer will broadcast vital information. Social media can be full of misinformation and AI-generated images; make sure you are following reputable and reliable sources of information.
Do not self-deploy or attempt to enter an evacuation area. Seeing images of disaster may compel you to head to the impacted area, but you will endanger yourself and disrupt complex first responder and rescue efforts.
Be patient. Recovery lasts a lot longer than the media attention. There will be volunteer needs for many months, often years, after a disaster. Donate or volunteer now for organizations dedicated to disaster response such as the Red Cross (redcross.org), Animal Disaster Services (animaldisasterservices.com) and Large Animal Shelters & Emergency Readiness – LASER – (laser-shelter.org). QCBN
By Gregory Valenti
Gregory Valenti, president of LASER, is a retired police officer, bringing 34 years of experience with the Los Angeles Police Department and extensive experience in the LASER Emergency Operations Center as intelligence and planning coordinator during disasters and evacuations. For more information on LASER, go to www.laser-shelter.org.
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