Get Ready

The actions you take before a fire occurs can make all the difference. Three things matter most: know how you'll evacuate, clear defensible space around your home, and harden the home itself.

1. Know your evacuation plan

The Olympic Valley Fire Department maintains an evacuation strategy for the Valley. Read it before you need it — and register for emergency notifications so you hear about a pending wildfire as early as possible.

Read the OV Evacuation Plan Register for Emergency Notifications

2. Create defensible space

Wildfire defensible space is the area around a home that's been cleared of combustible materials to slow or stop the spread of fire.

Important update: it is critical that you learn about the new California 0–5 feet zone, which requires that there be no combustible materials within 5 feet of your home.

Top-down diagram of a home showing defensible space zones: Zone 0 (0-5 feet from the structure), Zone 1 (5-30 feet), and Zone 2 (30-100 feet). — Defensible space zones: Zone 0 (0–5 ft), Zone 1 (5–30 ft), Zone 2 (30–100 ft).

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3. Harden your home

Preparing homes for wildfire: houses silhouetted against an approaching fire front.

By taking a proactive approach to wildfire prevention, you can significantly increase your safety and your home's likelihood of survival during a catastrophic wildfire event.

Hardening a home means reducing its risk to wildfire by using non-combustible building materials, keeping the area around your home free of debris, and taking steps to prevent embers from entering the home.

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