When it comes to emergency evacuations, Scotty McLean, public information officer with CAL Fire, says prepping a kit in advance could save your life.
"Make sure you have those items that you need if you have to evacuate. Don't think about going throughout your house trying to gather them up at the last minute," he says. "Why not be prepared so you can just pick up that tub, put it in the back of your car and off you go?"
If you're given an emergency order to evacuate, Captain Chris Vestal with Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department says it's best to be prepared.
"When those evacuation orders come in, there's not a whole lot of time left. We need people to be ready and to have prepared for that," Vestal says.
Along with clothing and water, Captain Vestal says don't forget to pack important paperwork. "Those are things like birth certificates, passports, other things that help might identify yourself or your financial documents," he says.
And the one thing Vestal says everyone forgets to bring? "Sanitation supplies or toiletries, things for your personal hygiene and medications."
McLean says the easy way to remember is "Ready, Set, Go:" Be READY by creating a defensible space around your home, get SET by preparing your family with a plan, and GO when the evacuation order comes.
"It's not if you're ever going to have to evacuate, it's when," he says.
For more information and a checklist of what to pack, visit www.readyforwildfire.org