On Wildfire Watch, it's an active week of wildfires in
Colorado,
forcing a lot of people to leave their homes at
the drop of a hat.
So Denver 7's Juania Reese joins us live from Jefferson
County.
Juania, we keep talking about evacuations.
So you're looking at the best ways to actually do
that during a wildfire.
Good evening to you, Jacqueline.
I have a really good friend who told me something
one day that I will never forget.
He said stay ready so you don't have to get
ready.
And when it comes down to these pre evacuations and
evacuations,
that's some really good advice that you can apply to
that.
I spent the day talking to South Metro Fire and
Rescue and I also spoke with the American Red Cross
to get you some tips on what you need to
do to be prepared. When evacuation orders started in Jeff
Cove,
the American Red Cross of Colorado and Wyoming mobilized immediately.
We're here at the Dakota Ridge High School.
The American Red Cross, along with the Jefferson County Sheriff
are hosting our
evacuation center. The American Red Cross says since they opened
their shelter,
people have not only come to lay their head down,
but for other resources as well.
Maybe you need your C pap machine that's at home.
Let's get that type of thing figured out with you.
And maybe you just need someone to talk to,
right? It's a stressful time.
While the Red Cross can help you out with some
resources,
being prepared for a wildfire evacuation can help make sure
you are ready as soon as you need to leave.
And most important thing is to sign up
for an emergency notification in your county or city.
That way you're notified when there is an evacuation or
you're in a pre evacuation so you're ready to go
South.
Metro Fire and Rescue says to pack and remember the
five PS which is people,
pets, prescriptions, papers like important
and photos. Preparing is key because when a fire is
burning,
minutes and even seconds can make a difference.
You you never know how fast these fires are going
to come upon
upon you and upon the house.
So any type of delay is is just not good.
It's not safe. If you get that call of a
of a pre evac,
get ready, get those five PS ready to go while
people wait for the all clear to return home.
It's never a bad idea to make a plan or
set a family meeting to create one.
So make these plans ahead of time so that when
the the unfortunate occurs,
you already kind of know what you're going to do,
right?
I have a couple more tips for you.
You always want to make sure that you have at
least half a tank of gasoline in your car just
in case you get evacuated in the middle of the
night. You don't want to have to worry about going
to a gas station.
Also, I know a lot of you watching have pets.
So make sure that you have your pets,
medicine, food, all the resources that you might need for
them.
Jacqueline, obviously, everything is moving in the right direction when
it comes down to this fire in Jefferson County.
But they are still leaving that window open that you
may have to evacuate again.
So you definitely want to be on guard.
But once again, we are happy that things are continuing
to move here in the right direction.
Live in Jefferson County, very relieved about.