Hazard · Leave early
Wildfire and smoke
Embers travel farther than the front you can see. Smoke is its own emergency, even downtown.
Federal steps in this chapter do not change by state. Local orders for Arizona come from Arizona Department of Emergency Management.
7 min read · Updated October 2026
Go before the road fills
Ready.gov’s wildfire page and the Firewise program (NFPA) share one timing rule: leave early if you are told to, or if the fire is close enough that waiting is a bet. Houses burn from embers landing in gutters, vents, and wood piles, not only from a wall of flame. A defensible space — cleared gutters, no wood piled on the deck, vegetation managed to the distances your local fire district publishes — is homework for a calm weekend. It is not a last-minute project in smoke.
Pack the go-bag before fire season if you live on the wildland edge: papers, medicines, chargers, water, masks, pet kit. Park the car facing out. Tell the household the route and the meeting place when the sky is clear.
Smoke without flames
You can have a dangerous air day with the fire two counties away. CDC and AirNow advise staying indoors, keeping windows shut, and running air conditioning on recirculate if the system allows and you still have power. A properly worn N95 or P100 reduces the particles you breathe if you must go out. Cloth masks do not do this job. People with asthma, heart disease, children, and older adults should follow their clinician’s plan and not “tough out” a smoke day.
Do not add indoor smoke. Skip candles, incense, frying, and the fireplace while the outdoor air is already bad.
Checklist
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Sources
Public pages this chapter leans on. They win if anything here is out of date.
- Ready.gov — Wildfires
Evacuation and home steps
- NFPA — Firewise USA
Home ignition zone
- AirNow
Official air-quality index
- CDC — Wildfire smoke
Health steps during smoke