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Tahoe Truckee, Prepare for Wildfire Risk Today

Communications
Published on July 30, 2026

Tags: ,

Being prepared for wildfire season starts with knowledge, planning, and looking out for one another.

This May, Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation (TTCF) partnered with the Tahoe Truckee Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) and United Policyholders to host our annual wildfire preparedness virtual Lunch + Learn. The session covered the basics every household in our area needs: signing up for emergency alerts, building an evacuation plan and go-bag, understanding the difference between an evacuation warning and an evacuation order, checking in on neighbors who may need extra help, and tapping into home-hardening and defensible-space resources.

Watch the full recording here on TTCF’s YouTube Channel.

Three Things to Do This Week

  1. Sign up for emergency alerts in every county where you have an address on file (home, work, school, family). Most systems let you register more than one address.
  2. Make a plan with your household before a fire starts —map your evacuation routes, pack a go-bag, think through what each family member needs, and practice your plan!
  3. Get to know your neighbors, especially anyone who might need extra time or help evacuating.

Step One: Sign Up for Alerts and Favorite Your Wildfire Resources

Prepare

If you’re a Liberty Utilities or Truckee Donner PUD customer, make sure your contact information is current so you receive Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) or Pre-emptive Power Shutoff (PPS) notifications. 

  • Liberty Utilities — Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) updates — Liberty Utilities — Update your contact info at california.libertyutilities.com
  • Truckee Donner PUD — Pre-emptive Power Shutoff (PPS) updates — TDPUD — tdpud.org / (530) 587-3896

Sign up for Alerts

  • PlacerAlert (Placer County emergency alerts) — Placer County — placeralert.org
  • Nevada County Alerts (emergency alerts sign-up) — Nevada County — readynevadacounty.org/EmergencyAlerts
  • TahoeAlerts (regional alert-system locator covering Placer, El Dorado, Nevada, Douglas, Alpine & Washoe counties) — Placer County & regional partners — tahoealerts.com
  • Genasys Protect / Know Your Zone (evacuation zone lookup, Nevada County) — Nevada County Sheriff’s Office & Office of Emergency Services — protect.genasys.com
Tahoe Alerts logo

 

Receive and Report Real Time Wildfire Information

101.5 logo on top of turntable and graphic of lake tahoe

Step Two: Build Your Evacuation Plan

Plan Your Routes

Know at least two ways out of your neighborhood in case your primary route is blocked. Don’t rely on GPS alone during a fire — cell service and traffic patterns can change quickly, and apps may route you toward danger. Walk or drive your routes ahead of time so they’re familiar.

Pack a Go-Bag

dog sitting on a rock near lake tahoe

Pack a bag for every member of the household (and pets) before fire season starts, so you’re not assembling one under pressure. A basic go-bag typically includes:

  • Copies of ID, insurance documents, and other important papers (or digital copies saved to the cloud)
  • Medications and a basic first-aid kit
  • Phone charger and a portable power bank
  • Cash, since ATMs and card readers may be down
  • A few days of water and non-perishable food
  • Sturdy shoes, a change of clothes, and layers
  • Flashlight and batteries
  • Pet food, leash/carrier, and vaccination records for animals

Think Through Family Needs

Consider what you and your household specifically need: medical equipment, formula or specific foods, mobility devices, extra time to evacuate, or transportation for anyone who doesn’t drive.

Practice Your Plan

A plan only works if everyone knows it. Walk through it with your household at least once, and treat it like a fire drill — where you meet, what you bring, and who calls whom.

 

Evacuation Warning vs. Evacuation Order

It’s worth knowing the difference before you’re under pressure to react:

Evacuation Warning — There’s a potential threat to life or property. This gives you time to prepare if conditions worsen. What to do: start gathering important documents for your go-bag, keep a phone charger or power bank on hand, make plans for a possible evacuation (including helping neighbors who may need assistance), and if you need extra time to evacuate or have large animals, consider leaving now rather than waiting for an order.

Evacuation Order — There is an immediate threat to your life, and you need to leave now. Delaying could result in harm. What to do: follow instructions from first responders, grab your go-bag and pet-preparedness kit, and evacuate immediately using recommended routes.

For more detailed evacuation guidance, see Listos California.

Step 3: Checking on Neighbors Who May Need Extra Help

Some neighbors may need more time or assistance to evacuate safely — older adults living alone, people with mobility limitations or medical equipment, those without a vehicle, and non-English speakers who may not receive alerts in a language they understand. Make sure you get to know them now, and give them a quick check-in when a warning is issued, and an offer to help if needed, can make a real difference.

Elderly man with walker getting out of car parked at home

A Few More Ways To Be Prepared:

Preparing Your Home – Home Hardening & Defensible Space

Reducing fuel around your home is one of the most effective things a homeowner can do before fire season. Check your local fire district’s website for home-hardening and defensible-space assistance programs, and see CAL FIRE’s guidance at readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/defensible-space, which breaks defensible space into zones:

  • Zone 0 (0–5 feet from structures): the ember-resistant zone — keep this area clear of anything combustible.
  • Zone 1 (5–30 feet): “lean, clean, and green” — reduce flammable vegetation and maintain spacing between plants.
  • Zone 2 (30–100 feet): the reduced-fuel zone — thin vegetation and remove dead plant material.

Insurance Pointers

Wildfire risk has made home insurance a moving target in California, and it’s worth getting ahead of it rather than sorting it out after a loss:

  • Take a home inventory now. Walk through your home on video, room by room, noting big-ticket items and approximate purchase dates and prices. Store the video and any receipts somewhere other than your house — a cloud drive, email-to-self, or a safe-deposit box. The California Department of Insurance offers a free home inventory guide, available online or by calling their Consumer Hotline at 800-927-4357.
  • Review your policy’s dwelling coverage against what it would actually cost to rebuild today, not what you paid for the house — rebuilding costs have risen sharply in high-fire-risk areas.
  • Ask about extended replacement cost and loss-of-use coverage, which can matter a great deal if a full rebuild takes longer than expected or you need temporary housing.
  • If you’ve been dropped or non-renewed, or can’t find coverage on the open market, you may be eligible for the California FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort for wildfire-prone properties. Contact the FAIR Plan directly at 800-339-4099, or ask a licensed agent or broker about applying.
  • Document mitigation work. If you’ve done defensible-space clearing or home-hardening (fire-resistant roofing, ember-resistant vents, etc.), keep receipts and photos — some insurers factor this into pricing or eligibility.

Join Us

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