Wildfire evacuation: What a 15 minute notice taught us about preparation

A 15-minute wildfire evacuation doesn’t come with clarity—it comes with adrenaline, bad decisions, and the sudden realization that “essentials” is a moving target.

Fifteen minutes to evacuate. That’s the part no wildfire checklist really prepares you for. Your body is moving faster than your brain. Your brain is jumping ahead to worst-case scenarios. You grab things you didn’t plan to grab. You forget things you absolutely planned to grab. Every drawer feels like a trap. Every room feels louder than it should be.

We second-guessed everything. Do we need this? Why are we grabbing that? How is it possible that time feels both frozen and gone at the same time? And we tried not to think about the message: Leave now. Do not grab any belongings. Do not stall. You have 15 minutes to evacuate.

And underneath the chaos there was one quiet, stabilizing thought: we had already done what we could to prepare.

We had limbed up trees since the moment we moved in. We'd cut and thinned trees within 100' of our home as recommended by local fire officials. We'd maintained defensible space and reduced fuel loads around the house. None of that made leaving easy. None of it made the fear disappear. But it removed something far worse than fear: regret.

Because while nothing prepares you emotionally for driving away from your home with smoke in the air, long-term preparation changes how that moment lands.

Why wildfire preparation is a long game

Wildfire mitigation is often talked about like a checklist you knock out in a weekend. In reality, the most effective preparation happens gradually, deliberately, and years in advance.

Trees need time to be limbed properly. Thinning needs to be done thoughtfully so it reduces fire intensity without creating erosion or wind issues. Landscaping choices compound over time—good and bad. Access improvements, structure hardening, and evacuation planning are rarely urgent until suddenly they are.

Long-term preparation does three critical things:

1. Reduces fire intensity near your home

2. Improves the odds firefighters can safely defend it

3. Gives you psychological stability during evacuation

That third one matters more than people admit.

Common Fire Mitigation Recommendations That Actually Matter

While you should always follow guidance specific to your region, these recommendations consistently show up because they work.

Defensible Space (Done in Layers)

Most fire agencies divide defensible space into zones:

Immediate Zone (0–5 feet from structures)

• Remove all combustible materials

• No wood piles, leaves, mulch, or debris

• Use gravel, stone, or non-flammable ground cover

Intermediate Zone (5–30 feet)

• Space shrubs and small trees

• Keep grass trimmed low

• Trim branches well away from structures

Extended Zone (30–100+ feet, terrain dependent)

• Thin trees to prevent crown-to-crown spread

• Remove dead or dying vegetation

• Reduce ladder fuels that allow fire to climb

Limbing up trees

This is one of the most overlooked and most effective actions. Removing lower branches about 10' or 1/3 of the way up the tree. This prevents ground fires from climbing into the canopy. And fire, given the opportunity, will absolutely climb it like an uninvited raccoon. Once flames hit the canopy, the situation goes from “manageable” to “absolutely not” in a hurry.

Removing ladder fuel

Fire takes the easiest path upward. Ladder fuels—low branches, shrubs, brush, and anything that provides and easy pathway from the ground into the trees—give flames a straight shot into the canopy. Remove that path and you force fire to stay low, slower, and far more manageable. Clearing ladder fuel isn’t glamorous work, but it’s one of the simplest ways to keep a bad situation from turning into a full-blown crown fire.

Tree thinning (not clear-cutting)

Fire mitigation isn’t about stripping land bare. It’s about spacing:

• Break up continuous fuel

• Favor healthy, resilient trees

• Follow slope-based recommendations (fire moves faster uphill)

Structure hardening

Many homes are lost to embers, not flame fronts.

• Clean roofs and gutters regularly

• Install ember-resistant vents

• Screen openings

• Store firewood well away from buildings

Access and addressing

Firefighters can’t defend what they can’t safely reach.

• Trim overhanging branches along driveways

• Ensure adequate width and turnarounds

• Clearly mark addresses

How can I prepare my home for a wildfire evacuation?

Preparing your home for a wildfire evacuation requires two parallel efforts: physical mitigation and decision readiness.

Defensible space, tree thinning, structure hardening, and access improvements all reduce the chances your home ignites—but they don’t guarantee a firefighter will be standing there protecting it. We were red-flagged, which is a polite way of saying, “You’re on your own.” It wasn't personal. It was policy. It was a smart policy. We weren't comfortable sticking around either with flames approaching. Our location and access meant crews wouldn’t stay, and that’s a reality anyone considering a remote or high-elevation home needs to understand before they fall in love with the view.

And then, there's preparing for the moment the emergency warning dings your phone. No, I can't adequately describe the pit that forms in the stomach or the grief around knowing that you may never see your home again.

Mentally and logistically, evacuation readiness means removing decisions before stress hits. That includes:

• Pre-packed go-bags

• Digital backups of critical documents

• A prioritized list of what to grab if time is extremely limited

• Pre-planned evacuation routes and alternates

• Keeping vehicles fueled during fire season

• A communication plan for family or neighbors

Under extreme stress, the brain defaults to instinct, not logic. Preparation works because it shifts critical decisions out of the moment and into calmer times.

What we’re grateful we did before the fire

In hindsight, these mattered most:

• Tree limbing and thinning done long in advance

• Clear defensible space near the house

• Knowing what we wouldn’t try to save

• Accepting that things are replaceable—people aren’t

Leaving was still brutal. Driving away was still surreal. Preparation didn’t make it painless.

It made it bearable.

If you live in a wildfire-prone area, don’t wait for smoke on the horizon to start planning. Do the slow, unglamorous work now. Because if that moment ever comes for you, the greatest gift you can give yourself is knowing you already did everything you reasonably could.