On Saturday, Angelenos walked under an orange sky while the fields of Santa Clarita burned. By Monday, over 33,000 acres had gone up in flame, destroying 18 structures.
The raging fire in the north acts as a reminder to the citizens of Malibu to stay prepared in case a fire ignites closer to home.
Los Angeles County officially endorses a program called “Ready, Set, Go” –— a simplified program that asks citizens to plan ahead in case of fire, so when the time of emergency comes, it’s just a matter of execution.
“People are very interested and concerned immediately after a fire,” Assistant Fire Chief Anthony Williams said in an interview with The Malibu Times. “The further removed from the incident, the concern lapses. It’s human nature.”
Ready, Set, Go acknowledges that citizens only need to create a plan once. From there, it’s just a matter of remembering to practice it.
The first part of the program, “Ready,” focuses on having a plan to escape your household safely. Citizens are asked to draw a map of their house, including all doors and windows, and find two primary exits out.
Each family should pick a meeting point a safe distance away from their house so everyone knows where to meet when they are safe. The plan should accommodate for pets and family members who have special needs, such as young children or the elderly.
The next part of the program, “Set,” focuses on situational awareness. After everyone is away from the house, each plan should include two separate evacuation routes out of the local neighborhood in case of road closures.
Malibu residents may feel the urge to pick an alternate route out of the city, rather than taking the often-congested Pacific Coast Highway, but the Ready, Set, Go website warns of winding canyon roads that can be easily overtaken by spreading fires. PCH is often the fastest and safest route, although Decker Canyon, Kanan Dume Road, Malibu Canyon and Topanga Canyon are all considered fire escape routes.
The program recommends having a bag of important items ready to go in your car. Vital items include water, medication, cash, phone chargers and a small supply of food.
Finally, “Go.” Residents are urged not to wait for official orders to evacuate. “The latest information suggests you should not wait to be told to leave,” the LA County Fire website suggests. “Go early!”
Fire preparedness is likely to increase in the wake of the continuing blaze up north, but local firefighters have expressed concern that it will decline afterward.
The county fire department released a video series including testimonials from firefighters about how lethal blazes can be.
“Fire [is] one of the most destructive elements on the planet,” Steven Owens, then-Captain of the Los Angeles Fire Department, said.
LA County’s official web page says fires cause nearly $7.3 billion dollars in damage worldwide every year, and over 2,700 people are killed in fires. Death can occur when people become disorientated by the rapid onset of a fire.
“[Being in a fire is] going to be something similar to being thrown into a war zone,” Owens said. “You’re going to have smoke blowing through, making it difficult to breathe. You’re going to have embers blowing into your eyes, giving you vision problems. There will be a lot of emotion attached with it. There will be a lot of panic. You’ll hear people that won’t make rational statements.”
The personal experience of being caught in a fire can be terrifying, but the large-scale drain of city resources can be daunting as well.
“In a brush fire, you can have two-thirds of the city’s resources consumed in a matter of minutes,” Los Angeles Fire Department Cert Bill Whitney said in the video. “Meanwhile, people can be on the telephone dialing 911, they may not even be able to get through.”
These facts likely contribute to LA County’s insistence that citizens develop their own evacuation plan through Ready, Set Go, and not wait for city instruction to get to safety.
More information on Ready, Set, Go can be found at lafd.org/safety/education/ready-set-go