You should determine well ahead of a fire your personal trigger for deciding to leave. This will depend on your risk tolerance and your local situation, such as limited evacuation routes, health issues, and the need to transport large animals. At a minimum, you should evacuate when you are told by fire service, law enforcement, or other emergency officials. Early is always better, but early is usually relative. Leaving early will dramatically improve the ability for you and your family to get to a safe place, and avoid injury and even death. In particular, you avoid problems that often arise when many people are trying to leave at the same time, dangers that can occur from rapid movement of a fire and smoke that can limit vision when driving. Waiting too late to evacuate is one of the main causes of death during a fire. Remember, fire crews will be using the same roads you are using to evacuate to respond to your area. Leaving well ahead of the fire front will permit quicker access for the fire crews.

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