What an evacuation is really like
Evacuations in Canada are common enough to plan for. About 230,000 people were evacuated during the 2023 wildfire season alone. Some had days of warning under an evacuation alert. Others had the time it takes a police officer to walk up the driveway.
Once you leave you may be away for days or weeks, sleeping in a reception centre, a hotel or a relative's spare room. Shops near you may be closed or stripped of basics. What you carry out is what you have until things settle.
Before: a bag you can carry and a plan everyone knows
A go-bag only works if the person it belongs to can lift it and walk with it. Water is the limit: a litre weighs a kilogram, so three days at the full 4 litres per person per day is 12 kg before anything else goes in. A realistic bag carries a litre or two and a way to treat more, and the rest of your water stays in the home kit.
Our 72-hour go-bags are packed on that basis. Whatever bag you use, add the things no kit can supply:
- Prescription medications, spare glasses and a written list of what each person takes.
- Copies of ID, insurance policies and health cards, on paper and on your phone.
- Cash in small bills.
- A phone charger and a charged power bank.
- Supplies for children and pets. Not every shelter or hotel accepts animals, so find one that does ahead of time.
During: leave early and leave once
An evacuation alert means get ready. Load the car, fuel up, and move anyone who needs extra time, such as older relatives, small children and animals. An evacuation order means go.
Take the route officials give you, even if your usual one looks clear, because they know which roads are closed ahead. Lock up, tell your out-of-town contact where you are heading, and register at the reception centre when you arrive so family and insurers can find you. Do not go back for things you forgot.
Common mistakes
Most evacuation problems are decided weeks earlier.
- Waiting to see how bad it gets. Traffic, smoke and stress all get worse with every hour.
- Packing a bag nobody can carry. Test it by walking around the block with it on.
- One bag that only one person can carry. Split the load so that if you are separated, each person still has light, warmth and water. Family kits come as two or three bags for that reason. Children can carry a small Kid Pack.
- Relying on the phone for everything. Networks get congested and batteries run down. Keep key numbers and a meeting place written on paper.
- Leaving the tank near empty. Fuel stations close or run dry quickly once an order is issued.