Here's what you need to do before you leave your house in a forest fire-prompted evacuation
Thousands of Canadians have had to leave their homes in several provinces over the last few weeks due to forest fires. But when an evacuation order comes, there’s more to consider than just your personal safety: what about the home you’re leaving behind?
Luckily, there are steps you can take to protect your property both prior to an evacuation and during.
The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) notes that it’s important to be aware of instructions from officials when there is the risk of needing to evacuate a community.
There’s a difference between an Evacuation Order and an Evacuation Alert, the agency says — an evacuation order means you need to leave the area immediately, following routes specified by officials, while an evacuation alert means you should be ready to leave if officials decide to elevate the situation to an evacuation order.
An evacuation alert is a good time to double check that you have your emergency plan and the essentials in order, such as grab-and-go bags that are filled with supplies to last three days.
HOW TO PREPARE BEFORE AN EVACUATION
So an evacuation hasn’t been ordered yet, but you’ve been monitoring the situation in your area, and it’s possible you may need to leave your home soon. You may be under an evacuation alert already, or merely aware that a forest fire is spreading in your direction.
Before leaving, what can you do to prepare your home?
You’ll want to make sure that you have an emergency plan for what you and your family are going to do in the event of an evacuation, including multiple escape routes and meeting places and the phone numbers of emergency contacts. You can find a template on the federal government’s website to create an emergency plan.
If under an evacuation alert, position your vehicle so the front is pointing down the driveway, with car windows closed, to make any exit as smooth and quick as possible. If you have any sort of gate on your driveway, secure it in an open position. Ensure your car has enough fuel to get to a safe location.
If the threat is a forest fire, according to CRC, you should move anything that could catch fire — or even explode — away from your home, such as firewood, lawn furniture or propane barbecues. These should be moved into the open, away from structures. If you store anything combustible under a deck, these should be moved also.
You should also ensure your address is clearly visible — such as numbers on the side of the house or signposts at the end of the driveway — so that fire crews will be able to locate your home easily in the event of an emergency.
If you live on a farm or ranch and need to leave livestock behind due to an unexpected emergency evacuation, the CRC advises leaving livestock unsheltered, to lessen the risk of them being trapped in a burning barn or structure.
Along with an emergency plan for your family, it helps to have a neighbourhood safety plan as well, so that you can co-ordinate with your neighbours to take care of one another, such as trading numbers and assigning “block buddies” who will be able to inform authorities of your home’s location if you are in trouble.
A release from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police this May added that if you have security devices such as cameras, you should ensure they have fresh batteries.
Prior to evacuating, you may also want to take pictures of valuables in your home if you’re concerned about robberies. You can also back up important files onto a USB that you can take with you.
You should have up to date photos of family members on you in case someone goes missing.
WHAT TO DO DURING AN EVACUATION
It’s time to leave your home for a safer area. What are the final things you need to do before evacuating?
First, ensure you have your emergency plan and your grab-and-go bag filled with emergency supplies. You can read up on how to make a grab-and-go bag here.
You should wear long-sleeved clothing and closed-toe shoes to protect yourself from potential flying embers. If you have lawn sprinklers, it’s a good idea to turn those on to wet the lawn in the hopes of warding away flames.
Before leaving your home, you should turn off your air conditioning, turn off your electricity and gas and close all doors, garage doors and windows, according to FireSmart Canada.
The RCMP advises that you leave some outdoor lights on to ensure your home is visible.
Make sure that you’ve let someone — family members or friends both in the area and outside of it — know that you’ve left your home and where you’re going, so that they can inform authorities if you don’t make it to your safe destination.
If you have pets, bring them with you, and lock your property behind you. Make sure that you are following routes specified by local authorities in order to stay on roads or pathways that are safe.
PROACTIVE PROTECTION
If you live in an area prone to forest fires, there are things you can do to protect your home long before an evacuation is imminent.
First, you should have smoke detectors installed on every floor of your home, as well as sprinklers if possible, and ensure that these are working.
Experts suggest you review your home insurance policy to see if you have appropriate wildfire coverage, especially since extreme weather is predicted to continue increasing due to the impacts of climate change.
“Unfortunately, many people do not realize what is covered under their policy until after a loss occurs. An insurance company is a commercial enterprise and in the business of making money, and accordingly, may dispute a claim if they perceive any ambiguity or potential exclusions,” Nainesh Kotak, founder of Kotak Personal Injury Law, said in a press release on Wednesday. “In some cases, they may delay payments and in others deny the claim altogether.”
Kotak advises homeowners to familiarize themselves with the conditions of their insurance and consider getting more insurance if their coverage is insufficient for the area they live in.
FireSmart Canada recommends that homeowners consider fire safety when planning and taking care of their yard, such as:
-keeping grass and weeds cut below 10 centimetres to make it harder for fire to spread;
-ensuring no evergreen trees are within 10 metres of your home due to their high flammability;
-using non-combustible materials within a 1.5-metre perimeter directly around the home and any decks in order to mitigate the risk of burning embers blowing onto the home;
-using stone gravel instead of pine needles or bark mulch within 10 metres of your home; and
-moving any wood piles far away from the home.
They also provide tips on their website for how to further fireproof your home, including purchasing non-combustible mesh to install behind vents.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Trump charged over classified documents in 1st federal indictment of an ex-president
Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former U.S. president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
Freeland's budget bill passes House after Poilievre pledges to block it
The federal budget implementation bill passed the House of Commons on Thursday, after days of Conservative attempts to block it.
Supreme Court of Canada won't hear unvaccinated woman's case for organ donation
The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of an Alberta woman who was unwilling to be vaccinated in order to get a life-saving organ transplant.
Special rapporteur David Johnston cuts ties with crisis management firm Navigator
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference has ended ties with crisis communications firm Navigator, his office confirmed on Thursday.
How the lack of gravity in space impacts astronauts’ brain
What happens to the brain when you take gravity away? According to a new study looking at astronauts both before and after space travel, that experience causes physical changes that researchers believe requires at least three years between longer missions to recover from.
Are more interest rate hikes on the way? Here's what experts say
In the wake of the Bank of Canada’s unexpected rate hike, economists are pointing to further tightening in the near term.
'Tremendous amount we could be doing': Expert shares tips for preventing, adapting to wildfires
As wildfires rage across Canada in what’s being called an unprecedented season, one expert says there’s more that individuals and communities can do to adapt and prevent forest fires from causing widespread devastation.
10-year-old girl survives more than 24 hours alone in the rugged Cascade mountains after getting lost while out with her family
Rescuers in Washington state are praising the resourcefulness of a 10-year-old girl who survived on her own for more than 24 hours in the rugged terrain of the Cascade mountains after getting lost while out with her family.
Wildfire battles continue as heat, air quality alerts affect most of Canada
Air pollution from wildfires remained well above healthy levels across much of southern and northern Ontario and several communities in British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday.
W5 HIGHLIGHTS
W5 Investigates | What's driving limb-lengthening surgery -- a radical procedure making men taller
A growing number of men are undergoing a radical surgery to become taller. CTV W5 goes inside the lucrative world of limb-lengthening surgery.
Shrinking coastlines: Will more Canadians have to move because of climate change?
Post tropical storm Fiona showed how quickly Canadians can be displaced by climate change. W5 looks into whether more people living in vulnerable areas will have to consider moving in the years to come.
W5 EXCLUSIVE | Interviewing a narco hitman: my journey into Mexico's cartel heartland
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels.
W5 Investigates | Daniel Jolivet insists he's not a murderer and says he has proof
Convicted murderer Daniel Jolivet, in prison for the past 30 years, has maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested. W5 reviews the evidence he painstakingly assembled while behind bars.
I met the 'World's Tallest Teenager' and his basketball career is just taking off
W5 Producer Shelley Ayres explains how she was in awe to meet what the Guinness Book of World Record's has named the World's Tallest Teenager, a 17-year-old from Quebec who plays for Team Canada.
W5 Investigates | Pivot Airlines crew seeking justice after 'cocaine cargo' detainment
CTV W5 investigates what authorities knew about plans to smuggle cocaine out of the Dominican Republic on a Toronto-bound Pivot Airlines flight. The airline's crew is demanding justice following their eight-month detention.
W5 profile | This Canadian helped write some of Carrie Underwood's biggest hits – here's how he does it
Gordie Sampson has written hit songs for some of the biggest names in country music, including Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan. CTV W5 speaks with the Grammy winner from small-town Nova Scotia about his creative process.
W5 EXCLUSIVE | W5 exposes the drug connections and money trail in the Pivot Airlines story
On CTVNews.ca, W5 exposes the suspicious company chartering a Pivot Airlines flight that ended up with 210 kilograms of cocaine onboard.