What to Do When Fire Comes

In light of the Clearwater Fire, now is a good time to think about what to do when fire comes knocking at your door.

During 2002, I was evacuated for the Hayman Fire in Colorado for two weeks. That was the largest fire in Colorado for 18 years, and it came within a mile of our home. We set up in our motorhome across from the fire camp and learned much about fires in those two weeks.

One of the reasons Cody is such a fabulous community is that when there’s a need, we come together like nowhere else. So, how can this community do the best job of helping?

Find Information on the Fire

Much miscoordination between agencies happened during the Hayman Fire. The local volunteer fire department was first on the scene and told to stand down by the Forest Service – literally arguing on the radio while the fire was already described as “running.” They stood down while the Forest Service still needed an hour until they could arrive. That allowed the fire to grow significantly in the high winds and heat on the first day. All in all, though, a good thing came of it.

InciWeb: InciWeb began from the logistic problems at the Hayman Fire. It developed a more organized way to gather and disseminate accurate information. Agencies learned to work together better. Inciweb now provides some of the best and most accurate information. When a fire is very active, it’s updated at least once a day.

Sheriff’s Office: Here in Park County, the Sheriff’s Office does a fabulous job of getting the word out on Facebook.

Road Alerts: Sign up for road alert text messages in Yellowstone by sending 82190 to 888-777. This will let you know if the east entrance is open or closed – and how the fire affects traffic.

Understanding A Few Basics

A fire is assigned an incident team from the start. There are five levels. Moving to a higher level (lower number) means the fire is increasing and needs more resources. The Clearwater Fire currently has a Type 3 team in charge.

Fire Weather: This link allows you to better understand what the day will bring. Add the forecast layer if you want. Then click on the location of the fire. If you see a warning, click on the link for more information. Red Flag Warnings often mean the fire has a strong potential to increase throughout the day.

Basic fire behavior means wildfires generally lay down at night and increase when the temperatures and winds start up, usually in the afternoons. For this fire, that means the road might be closed in the afternoons – and anyone heading into the park needs to be aware that while you might head in through the east entrance, your trip might need to return via the northeast entrance. You can help the visitors to the area plan as well instead of leaving early or canceling their reservations by knowing where things stand.

Evacuation

What can you grab in 5 minutes? 10? An hour? Half a day?

Evacuating is hard – emotionally and physically. Having a prioritized list to refer to helps. The list I found then all started with P’s that made it easy to remember the priorities:

• People
• Pets/Livestock
• Prescriptions
• Papers
• Photos
• Proper Clothes
• Planner (if not on your phone)
• Phones (and chargers)
• Pampering Yourself Items – comfort items (I can’t stress the importance of comfort items – our neighbors all agreed these were the most essential items.)

The Incident Command will set “triggers” well out in front of the fire. If the fire reaches the point on the map, evacuation orders will be issued. While those triggers are not shared as they depend on the current fire behavior, you can make some good guesses. This, in turn, can help you prepare.

One couple returned from vacation just as the Hayman Fire reached their home. The Sheriff and firefighters escorted them and found the fire on their doorstep. They only had minutes to grab the very basics (insurance and other important papers) before they had to leave as their home burned.

Thinking and organizing ahead before a fire or other disaster threatens your home gives you an advantage.

Support

In this community, many people are willing to open room for livestock and friends. The rodeo grounds and fairgrounds have previously opened up temporary space when needed. Offers of room are often shared on social media. I’m sure officials will advise if more formal support is needed.

This town will be generous if people need to evacuate. We all know this. It’s part of the best of Cody.

For the Hayman Fire, truckloads of items were delivered (another logistic nightmare that the Red Cross sorted through). I recall walking into the old schoolhouse to gather a few items and finding a woman playing with her infant. We chatted, and she only had time to grab her baby and go. She was new to the area, and her husband was out of town.

But she was calm and happy. She said, “Everything I need is provided. I have diapers, baby food, clothing and food for myself, and a place to sleep until my husband arrives. Yes, we lost our home. But what’s important is right here.” And she looked at her daughter. Deep faith – deep trust – and deep wisdom from a 22-year-old.

So, while this current situation feels urgent, we can trust in the systems in place already and know we have a strong community ready to jump in and make whatever needs to happen a reality. Cody at its best.

What’s important is right here.

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