Situational awareness simply means knowing what is going on around us at any given time. It is a critical part of our preparation for wildfire. Situational awareness can address both the physical activities on your preparation checklist as well as mental tasks such as knowing where family members are and the locations of any fire activity. Situational awareness can be divided into three equally important components: awareness, understanding, and anticipation:

Awareness comes from gathering relevant information from various authoritative sources and constantly observing and evaluating what is going on around us. Critical information can come from weather observations as well as the current fire weather conditions. Our senses of sight, hearing and smell can also provide valuable clues.  Can you see or smell smoke? Do you hear sirens or helicopters? Any or all are cues to pay attention.

Understanding combines the awareness information that has been gathered into a mental picture of what is occurring at the moment to determine whether any immediate action is necessary according to your plan. Which direction is the wind blowing? Is visible smoke blowing toward us or away from us? Is it time to make sure the car is packed?

Anticipation builds from awareness and understanding to think about possible conditions or events during the next few hours or days. This prediction becomes the basis for any modifications to your plan of action to deal with changing conditions is the most difficult aspect of situational awareness for most people.

You must have a plan to take care of yourself and your family without outside help especially during the first few hours of a major incident. First responders are likely to be overwhelmed and short-handed. They will not be able to reach everyone who may need assistance or provide traffic control everywhere they are needed. When your situational awareness tells you it is time to leave, do so. Do not hesitate. Don't wait for an official order. Leave early enough to avoid being caught in fire, smoke, or traffic congestion.