Evacuating With Pets, Horses and Livestock During a Wildfire

Animals add time to an evacuation — sometimes a lot of it. A cat that hides under the bed or a horse that won't load can turn a ten-minute departure into an hour. The answer is the same for a single dog or a herd of cattle: plan ahead, practise, and leave at the first warning, not the order.

For dogs, cats and small pets

Pack a pet go kit

• Food and water for at least a few days, plus bowls.
• Leash, harness and a sturdy carrier for each animal, labelled with your name and phone number.
• Medications and a copy of prescriptions and vaccination records — many shelters and boarding facilities ask for proof of vaccination.
• Recent photos of each pet, ideally with you in the picture, in case you're separated and need to prove ownership.
• Litter and a disposable tray for cats, poop bags for dogs.
• A familiar blanket or toy to reduce stress.

Keep it next to your own go bag. Check that pets are microchipped and that the chip registration has your current phone number — an out-of-date chip is one of the most common reasons lost animals aren't reunited.

Practise the hard part

The bottleneck is almost always catching and crating. Leave carriers out so cats don't associate them only with the vet, and practise getting everyone into the car. When a fire is nearby, keep pets indoors so you're not searching for them when it's time to go. Smoke and sirens make animals hide.

Know where you'll go

Many evacuation shelters accept pets or have an animal shelter alongside them — in the US, federal law requires that emergency plans account for household pets. But capacity is limited, so line up a backup: friends or family outside the area, pet-friendly hotels along your route, or a boarding kennel.

For horses and livestock

Large animals need the most lead time. Trailers are slow on crowded roads, and some routes close to trailers once traffic builds. If you'll need more than one trip, you'll need to start well before an order is issued.

Before fire season

• Train animals to load and practise it regularly, including in the dark.
• Keep trailers ready: hitched or easy to hitch, tyres inflated, fuel in the truck.
• Arrange destinations: fairgrounds, other ranches or equestrian centres outside the area. Many counties publish large-animal evacuation sites and have volunteer groups that help with transport — register with them before you need them.
• Make a list of animals, where they are kept and how many trips it takes, so a neighbour could follow it.
• Mark every animal: a halter tag or a tag braided into the mane with your phone number, or livestock-safe paint or crayon with a number on the body.

Bring

• Halters and lead ropes for every animal.
• Feed, hay and buckets for several days.
• Ownership papers, brand inspections and health records.
• A basic first aid kit, including eye wash for smoke and ash.

If you can't take them

Sometimes there isn't time. If you have to leave animals behind, give them the best chance:

• Pets: leave them indoors in a room without windows, such as a bathroom, with plenty of water. Put a sign on the front door saying what animals are inside and how many, so responders know.
• Large animals: move them to the largest open area with the least vegetation — a grazed or bare pasture, an arena or a paddock with good clearance — with water that doesn't depend on electricity. Don't shut them in a barn, which can burn.
• Turning animals loose is a last resort, but it's better than leaving them confined in a fire's path. Make sure every animal is marked with your phone number first, and tell responders you've done it.
• Tell your county's animal services or the incident's information line what you left and where. They often run rescue and feeding teams once it's safe.

Get earlier warning

With animals, the time you get before an evacuation order matters more than anything you pack. Learn what evacuation warnings and orders mean in your area and treat a warning as your signal to go. FireRadar can alert you when a fire starts or grows within a distance you choose of your home or barn, which can buy you the extra hour a trailer load needs.