Are You Red Flag Ready?

June is National Pet Preparedness Month. As the California hills turn gold, it is a smart time to stop and ask yourself the question — Am I truly ready if a fire starts today?

Being ready involves the process of creating a disaster plan, communicating the plan with those around you, and practicing the plan with your animals.

The January LA wildfires spread so rapidly under a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag declaration that even those with solid evacuation plans were unable to execute them. Many were not home when the fire started and could not return for several days. A PDS Red Flag warning is issued when extreme fire conditions are expected — the kind that can overwhelm even the most experienced responders.

One of the many lessons from those fires was the need to rethink how we manage animals at the first declaration of red flag conditions. Several stories emerged of neighbors helping to evacuate animals because they not only had each other's contact information, but because they were also familiar with the animals behavior, personalities, and needs. Those connections saved lives. The time to make those connections as part of your Red Flag Ready plan is now.

Disaster preparedness is easier to take on if approached in stages. Consider starting with your individual preparedness — you, your family, and your home.

The next stage is preparing your animals and their environment — which may include barns or enclosures.

This is followed by sharing your plan with neighbors and animal care providers in your circle.

Once you have completed these stages, practicing the plan on Red Flag Days allows you to identify gaps, and helps your animals to learn and accommodate to the conditions of evacuation and sheltering.Even one small action today can make a difference when every second counts.

Here are some steps to help set you and your animals up for preparedness in action: 

Step One: Individual preparedness. Red Flag readiness begins with you.

Start by assembling a Go Bag with the essentials you would need if you had to leave home for a few days at a moment's notice. Include a change of clothes, toiletries, medications, glasses, and other personal items. Pack with the mindset that you might be away for several days.

Designate a “Ready Box” — a container placed in a convenient location where you can quickly collect high-value and critical items such as phones, computers, chargers, wallets, and important documents. Keep a written checklist nearby with the location of your must-haves to help ensure you’ll know what to include if an emergency happens.

Establish a family communication plan.

Use an app like WhatsApp that performs reliably during disasters. Many cell towers are damaged or destroyed by wildfires or other natural disasters, so consider apps that support satellite technology when available. Hold a brief family meeting to confirm that everyone knows how to use the app and agrees to check in on Red Flag Days.

Take time today to review your home insurance policy.

Construction costs have doubled in the last decade — many policies no longer reflect actual rebuild costs. Update your coverage if needed, and walk through your home with your phone camera or video to document possessions for your records.

Secure your critical documents off-site in a lockbox or safety deposit box. Fireproof safes have proven unreliable in the extreme temperatures of recent firestorms. 

Your Home and Barn

Create defensible space by trimming back all vegetation and ladder fuels to at least 10 feet. Clear the area around all buildings of anything combustible, including cushions, furniture, and decor. 

Hay should be stored separately from animal enclosures. Once ignited, hay takes two to three times more water to extinguish than other materials, spreads rapidly, and burns extremely hot.

Additionally, remember to:

• Create a well-lit loading area for large animals that is free of debris and provides good traction.

• Ensure your driveway is clear for emergency vehicle access. There should be ample room for a rig to turn around and reach water sources on your property.      

• Create a perimeter fence and establish a defensible area where animals could be turned out safely if evacuation is delayed. Never turn large animals loose onto the road.

• Check that barn doors function properly and can be securely closed. Horses will return to a burning barn if they are stressed, seeking the comfort of their stall.

• Clean gutters on all outbuildings in May or June each year to help prevent roof ignition.

• Ensure every structure has a working fire alarm, and a spigot with an associated hose. Attach hoses and fill water troughs as part of your Read Flag Readiness routine.

• Post emergency contact numbers in both your home and barn, including local dispatch, animal haulers, and veterinarians.

• Hang Pet ID sheets in visible locations in your home and barn. Include recent photos, physical descriptions, vaccine records, dietary needs, veterinary contact info, emergency contacts, and behavioral notes.

• Stage collars, leashes, halters, and lead ropes for each animal, with attached identification tags that include your address and phone number.

• Stage emergency gear including headlamps, work gloves, a first aid kit, bolt cutters, and zip ties in an easily accessible location.

Your Animals

Place any daily medications in a small cooler box along with written instructions. Ensure the cooler is easy to grab in case of evacuation, and check medications regularly for expiration dates or storage needs.

Gather one week’s worth of feed for each animal and either load it into the back of your vehicle or stage it by the front door. Include a one-liter bottle of water per dog or cat, and five-gallon buckets of water for hooved animals. This preparation supports both evacuation and shelter-in-place scenarios.

On Red Flag Days, remove fly masks, sheets, nylon halters, or any other flammable materials from animals who live outside.

Work with your veterinarian to ensure all animals are current on vaccines and have been microchipped. Confirm that each microchip is registered with your current address and contact information, including your email and phone number.

Identify a trusted neighbor or animal caregiver who can be present or nearby on Red Flag Days. Make sure they are familiar with your animals, your emergency plan, and how to reach you quickly if a situation arises.          

Practice on Red Flag Days

Train your animals to come when called and to stand quietly for gathering. This behavior should be consistent not only with you, but also with a trusted neighbor or animal caregiver.

Practice loading your companion animals into a crate and your large animals into a trailer. Use treats and allow them to spend some time in confinement. Reward calm behavior to build positive associations with the experience.

Chickens can also be trained to come when called and to load into a crate. Be aware that chickens should not be sheltered at communal shelters due to biosecurity concerns. Have a separate, safe plan for them.

Identify a friend or acquaintance across town who can serve as a temporary hauler and as a safe waiting location, if a fire breaks out. Practice the short trip in advance and troubleshoot details such as shade, parking, and water access.

On Red Flag Days, gather grazing animals into a catch pen to reduce time and stress if evacuation becomes necessary.

Cats who are difficult to catch should be confined to a single room — such as a bathroom or bedroom — with their litter box on Red Flag Days. This allows for quicker evacuation and reduces risk of escape.    

Your Community

Talk to your local animal shelter, humane society, farm bureau, or horse council. Find out who is responsible for the animal evacuation plan in your area.

How will you receive alerts? Do you know where the animal shelters are located, and what services they provide?     

Volunteer with a local Community Animal Response Team (CART). You’ll learn valuable assessment and first aid skills for your animals, and enhance your ability to help your animals and those around you.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you will be in a much stronger position to keep your animals safe — whether you're home when a fire breaks out or not. Think of Red Flag planning the way we once thought of fire drills in elementary school. If a Red Flag warning is issued, stop what you're doing, stand up, and practice your Red Flag Day routine. Day or night, windy or calm — this practice will make all the difference when every moment counts.