Wildfire preparedness starts before the smoke

A Colorado woman got an evacuation order one summer. She had 15 minutes. Grabbed the dog, her laptop, and drove. Left behind photo albums, medications, and the emergency kit she'd never actually packed. She was fine. But she said the worst part wasn't leaving. It was realizing she hadn't prepared for the one thing most likely to happen in her area.

Wildfire Preparedness: What to Do Before the Smoke

Wildfire risk isn't limited to California anymore. In the last decade, destructive wildfires have hit Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas, Hawaii, and parts of the Southeast. If you live near any wildland interface, where development meets undeveloped land, you have wildfire risk.

Preparation starts with your property. Clear dead vegetation within 30 feet of your home. Clean gutters. Move firewood stacks away from the house. These steps, collectively called "defensible space," give firefighters a reason to defend your home and give embers less to ignite. Many fire departments offer free inspections to help you identify vulnerabilities.

Your evacuation plan is the core of wildfire prep. Unlike hurricanes, which give days of warning, wildfires can force evacuations in minutes. Have a go-bag packed and by the door during fire season. Know two routes out of your neighborhood. Don't wait for the official order if you see smoke and feel uncertain. Early voluntary evacuation is always safer than a last-minute mandatory one.

Air quality is the wildfire hazard most people underestimate. Smoke from fires dozens or hundreds of miles away can make outdoor air dangerous for days. N95 masks filter particulate matter from wildfire smoke. Keep a box at home. If you have respiratory conditions, talk to your doctor about your plan during smoke events.

Document your property before fire season. Walk through your home with your phone and video everything, room by room, including inside closets and drawers. Upload it to the cloud or email it to yourself. This footage dramatically speeds up insurance claims if the worst happens. Without it, you're relying on memory to list what you lost.

Finally, sign up for local alerts. WatchDuty is excellent for real-time fire tracking. Your county likely has a reverse 911 or emergency notification system. Register for it. The evacuation order doesn't help if you don't receive it.

Do a 5-minute video walkthrough of your home.

Three Tennessee men were arrested this month after allegedly posing as food delivery drivers to rob Bitcoin holders — including a San Francisco home invasion that netted $13 million in crypto. Their method: identify targets who publicly signal crypto wealth, hack into their UberEats or DoorDash accounts to see pending orders, then show up impersonating the real driver. Physical crypto attacks — known as "wrench attacks" — jumped 75% in 2026. The threat isn't just digital anymore. If you hold significant crypto, your offline OPSEC matters as much as your passwords: don't publicly discuss what you own, and verify unexpected visitors before opening the door.

(SFist, AmericaNow)

Jessie Krebs spent years as a USAF SERE instructor, one of the few women to hold that role. On Hacking the Wild, she demonstrated a principle that applies directly to wildfire preparedness: the priority in any survival situation is to remove yourself from the immediate danger before doing anything else. Skills, gear, and plans only matter if you're alive to use them.

For wildfires, Krebs' lesson is clear. The decision to leave should be made early, not late. People die in wildfires not because they lack gear, but because they delay. They stay to pack one more bag, water the roof, or wait for official word. The right decision is almost always to leave sooner than you think you need to.

Tanker explosion at Carolina Beverage Group — Mooresville, NC (April 7): A sodium hydroxide tanker truck exploded at a beverage manufacturing facility in Mooresville, NC, killing the driver and injuring a plant employee. Hazmat teams responded with road closures and nearby shelter-in-place advisories. OSHA, NTSB, and USDOT are investigating. Preparedness takeaway: Industrial facilities near neighborhoods are a real hazard. Know what chemical plants or distribution hubs are near you, and make sure you're signed up for local emergency alerts.

(WBTV, WSOC TV, WFAE)

3M Aura N95 Respirators (9205+)

Wildfire smoke is one of the most underrated threats during fire season. Standard dust masks and surgical masks don't filter fine particulate matter (PM2.5). You need a NIOSH-approved N95. The 3M Aura 9205+ has a tri-panel cup design that sits away from your face — easier to breathe, easier to talk, and it seals better across different face shapes than flat-fold versions.

I keep a box of 20 at home and a few in each vehicle. About $1.50 per mask, or roughly $25 for a box of 20.

Budget alternative: Any NIOSH-approved N95 from a hardware store ($1 each). They work. They just don't fit as comfortably.

Overrated: Garden hoses for defending your home during a wildfire. If firefighters with thousands of gallons can't always save structures, your garden hose won't either. Use that time to evacuate safely instead.

Underrated: WatchDuty app. Free, real-time wildfire tracking with user-reported updates. It's often faster than official channels and shows fire perimeters on a map. If you're in fire country, this belongs on your phone.

WatchDuty.org — Real-time wildfire tracking. Best civilian fire monitoring tool available.

InciWeb — Federal incident information for active wildfires across the US.

CAL FIRE: Defensible Space — Detailed guide on creating fire-resistant zones around your home.

AirNow.gov — Real-time air quality data. Check this during smoke events.

Ready.gov: Wildfires — Federal evacuation planning guide for fire-prone areas.

Insurance Institute: Home Inventory — Guide to documenting your property for claims.

Offline maps and digital navigation. We covered paper maps last issue, but there are powerful digital tools that work without cell service too.

PS: If you live in fire country, the best day to create defensible space was last spring. The second best day is this weekend.