KEEP IT EQUESTRIAN
Emergency Contacts and Evacuation
Local Links
For up to date information on road closures, fire maps and evacuation areas, check the following sites:
Evacuation Resources
The equestrian community is known for coming together in an emergency, and the organizations below will help to link you to resources that can assist in identifying staging areas, evacuation points and transportation options.
Emergency Planning
The most critical aspect of a successful evacuation is emergency planning.
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Do you have everything you need?
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Do you know where you are going to go and how you will get there?
Be sure to have plans in advance, and familiarize yourself with staging and evacuation options and contingencies if those options are inaccessible due to evacuations or road closures.
> UC Davis Equine Disaster Preparedness web page
Follow Local Weather Conditions
Know which way the wind is blowing... Southern Californians understand that the instigator of virtually all dangerous wildfires in our region are the Santa Ana winds, the hot easterly winds that blow to the west from the desert.
Santa Ana conditions are predictable, and are often at their most dangerous during the fall after long dry spells when vegetation is in its most flammable state. We also know that the most common fire generators are automobiles, cigarette butts, power transformers and heavy equipment. Many of our fires originate on the sides of highways when one of these sources ignites dry grasses. Coupled with Santa Ana winds, these fires can propagate at alarming speeds to become deadly wildfires. While we can never know where these fires might occur, we do know we need to be most prepared during Santa Ana conditions.
What you can do:
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Pay attention to your local weather conditions at the National Weather Service.
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Sign up for email or twitter alerts through San Diego Emergency or CalFire and pay attention to fire events.
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If you are to the WEST of a fire event during a Santa Ana, start making your plans to evacuate. Fires spread in a cone shape with the direction of the winds - Santa Ana winds blow from the east to the west. Plan your evacuation accordingly.
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Keep monitoring your news outlets. Just because you are not in the path of an existing fire, it is not uncommon during severe Santa Ana's for multiple fires to erupt at one time.
