From the Firecojo of the areas that surround your home to placing a pet warning decal in your window, experts say there are things that you can do in advance to prepare for an emergency evacuation due to forest fires.
More than 26,400 people in Saskatchewan have been evacuated due to forest fires so far in 2025, according to the numbers provided by the Red Cross and the Public Security Agency of Saskatchewan. The two agencies have managed most of the evacuations in the province.
Some evacuated have been forced to leave with Only the clothes they wore.
CBC News spoke with experts from the Canadian Red Cross, the Canadian car association and the Saskatchewan First Nation Emergency Management Office about how to prepare better to get to safety in case of an evacuation of forest fires and what to do when you return home.
Here are your advice.
Make an emergency plan before an alert
Long before there is a close risk, you can make an emergency plan, said Jason Small, a Canadian Red Cross spokesman.
“When there is a risk of an evacuation order, you may not have time to make a complete plan,” said Small.
Consider the individual needs of each of your family members, he said. A priority is to understand exactly how much time your family will take physically from the house, taking into account extra time if someone requires help to enter a vehicle.
“Have multiple plans to get out of your neighborhood. Not only have a route, because something could happen to that,” said Small. His whole family should know where he should go and what to do if he is separated, he said.
The Red Cross has Resources to make emergency plans In several different languages.
That plan should also include who will bring together any pet, said Michael Poulin of the Canadian car association. The CAA often deals with insurance claims after a forest fire, and pet insurance is a growing category, Poulin said.
“The last thing you want to do is meet at your family meeting point and realize that nobody thought about that,” he said.
He also suggested to place a pet alert decal in his home, in case he should leave them behind, so that emergency workers know to look for them if they enter their home.
FIREPROOF YOUR HOUSE
“If you live in the boreal forest, ‘Firesmart’ its property,” said Michelle Vandevord, director of Saskatchewan First Nation Management, which helps prepare the communities of the first nations for emergencies as fires.
That means seeing his home through a different lens and considering what would happen if an Ember lands in his patio, said Vandevord.
Look | Is your property prepared for a forest fire?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5gf71vsfti
The area surrounding your home can be divided into three zones, he said.
Both the immediate area, up to 1.5 meters away, as well as the intermediate zone, which is 1.5 meters 10 meters away, must be “totally clear” of all flammable waste and anything fuel such as propane tanks.
The extended area, 10 to 30 meters from your home, must have “fire insurance” trees, which are cut from dead limbs and have a limited number of branches that touch the ground, Vandevord said.
“I think there is a great perception that Firesmart is reducing all the trees around his property, and that really is not the case,” Vandevord said.
People who observe a line of fire may think that they have time to leave, but a fire in their property “can happen much faster than most people expect,” said the Poulin of the CAA.
“Ninety percent of the homes that are damaged by the forest fire are not actually damaged by the fire itself, but by embers that take up to five kilometers away,” he said.
Prepare your car
Your car must be generally worthy of road, updated on maintenance, such as changes in oil and wheel alignments, and having good tires, Poulin said.
“The last thing you want to have is a derived tire due to inappropriate maintenance when you are in a life or death situation,” he said.
Small said his car should point to the road and have a complete gasoline tank, adding that the Red Cross has often seen that the service stations run out of fuel when many people leave an area.
Poulin said that while he is taught to leave everything behind in an emergency to leave quickly, there is nothing that prevents him from pre -catches his car with precious memories when preparing for a possible evacuation.
Emerge
The three experts say that an emergency kit, full in advance, that can last at at least 72 hours is vital. You must customize your family and include things like:
- Water.
- Non -perishable food.
- Medications
- Essential articles for babies and pets.
- A flashlight and crank or battery radius.
- Clothes.
- Additional keys.
- Important documents.
- First aid kits.
“He should be close to his door, ready to work,” said the little one in the Red Cross.
Self -sufficiency is important, he said, since when you reach another safe community, there is no guarantee that other evacuees would not have exhausted water and fuel.
What to do when you have to evacuate
When an evacuation order is issued, listen to local authorities and leave immediately, regardless of how much you want to stay and try to save your home, Vandevord said of Saskatchewan First Nation Management.
“It is really risking lives during a fire event, and possibly also risk the lives of firefighters who can have to go to help home owners who want to be left behind,” he said.
When it drives, observe the falling lines fallen and keep at least 10 meters from them, Poulin said.
What to do when you return home
According to Vandevord, one of the first steps to return home is being mentally preparing for what he will see, including the damage to the earth.
“You’re going home to a totally different landscape from what you left,” Vandevord said. “Be sure to have a good solid base around you for your mental health, before, during and after an emergency event.”
Once authorized to re -enter your home, Small said you must ensure that your food and water are safe.
“If something has been exposed to heat, smoke, soot, get rid of that,” said Small.
If your energy came out, any food that has become badly that you should throw, said Small.
