How to Prepare Your Household for Wildfires

Wildfires — also called bushfires — are one of the fastest-moving natural hazards a household can face. Unlike many disasters that build over days, a wildfire driven by strong wind and dry vegetation can travel many kilometres in a single hour, changing direction with almost no warning. Climate change is lengthening fire seasons and drying out the landscapes that fuel them, so places that rarely saw serious fire risk are increasingly exposed.

Risk isn't limited to people who live deep in a forest. Wind-blown embers can be carried kilometres ahead of the main fire, so homes on the edge of towns, near grassland, or simply downwind of a fire can be at risk long before any flames are visible. Smoke travels even further, and can affect the health of people who never see the fire at all — particularly anyone with a heart or lung condition, older adults, pregnant people, and young children.

The good news is that most of what makes wildfires so dangerous is preventable with preparation. A defensible, ember-resistant property, a household that has already decided when it will leave, and a go bag that's ready to grab together make the difference between a stressful but safe evacuation and a tragedy. This guide walks through what to do before, during, and after a wildfire.

Understand Your Wildfire Risk

A wildfire needs three things to start and spread: fuel, oxygen, and a source of ignition — and a hot, dry, windy spell can turn any small fire into a fast-moving, unpredictable one.

• Living near bush, forest, or long dry grass raises your risk sharply, especially after a drought or a long dry spell that leaves vegetation ready to burn.
• Wind is the biggest driver of fire behaviour. A strong, dry wind can push a fire many kilometres in an hour and change its direction with almost no warning.
• Wind-blown embers travel far ahead of the fire front — often several kilometres — so a home doesn't need to be near visible flames to be at risk.
• Know your local fire danger rating and season. Ratings usually run from low through to extreme (or catastrophic), based on temperature, wind, humidity, and dryness — check yours regularly once the weather turns hot and dry.
• Keep official alerts on. Sign up for local warnings, and keep ReadyEssentials notifications on — the app sends a wildfire alert with safety guidance when fire danger is high or a fire is detected near your area.

Prepare Before Wildfire Season

• Agree your evacuation routes and a meeting point. Know at least two ways out of your area in case one is blocked by fire or smoke, and agree where you'll meet if you're separated — see How to Prepare a Family Emergency Communication & Reunion Plan.
• Pack your go bag now, before you need it. See What to Pack in a Go Bag: The Complete 72-Hour Evacuation Kit Checklist, and store it somewhere you can grab it in minutes.
• Plan for power cuts. Wildfires damage power lines, and utilities sometimes cut power deliberately in high-risk conditions to reduce the chance of a fire starting — see How to Prepare Your Home for a Power Outage.
• Photograph your home and belongings for insurance before fire season starts, and keep the photos somewhere other than your home, such as a cloud backup.
• Check in on relatives and neighbours who are older, live alone, or have a disability or health condition — help them make a plan too, and agree who will check on whom during a fire warning.
• Think ahead about shelter from smoke, not just from flames — see the air-quality section below for what to have on hand.

Create Defensible Space and Reduce Ember Risk

Most homes that burn in a wildfire are ignited by wind-blown embers landing on or near the house, not by direct contact with the fire front — so reducing what can catch an ember matters as much as reducing what feeds a wall of flame.

• Clear the zone right against your home (roughly the first 1.5 metres). Remove dry leaves, mulch, firewood stacks, doormats, and anything flammable stored against walls, under decks, or on verandas.
• Manage a wider zone out to at least 10 metres (more on slopes or next to bush). Mow grass short, space out shrubs, remove dead branches and "ladder fuels" that let fire climb from ground level into tree canopies, and keep trees pruned clear of the roofline and power lines.
• Clean gutters and roof valleys regularly through fire season — dry leaves and needles collecting there are a common place for embers to ignite a roof.
• Screen vents, eaves, and gaps with fine metal mesh; embers only need a small opening to get into a roof or subfloor space.
• Keep a hose long enough to reach right around the house, and favour gravel or rock over bark mulch in garden beds closest to the walls.

Know When to Leave: Your Wildfire Evacuation Trigger

The safest choice for most households is to leave early — well before you can see flames or smell smoke, while roads are still clear. Staying to actively defend a home is only viable for someone who is physically fit, has the right equipment, and has a genuinely fire-ready property; it isn't a fallback plan for a household that hasn't prepared.

• Decide your trigger in advance, and write it down. Choose the specific conditions that will make you leave immediately — for example, an extreme fire danger rating for your area, visible smoke or haze on the horizon, or a fire reported nearby — so the decision is already made before the pressure of the moment arrives.
• Don't wait for an official evacuation order if your trigger conditions are met. Warnings can lag a fast-moving fire, and roads can close quickly once everyone leaves at once.
• Make sure everyone in the household knows the trigger and the plan — including what to bring, where to go, and how to reach each other if you're separated.

During a Wildfire: Evacuating Safely

• Act as soon as you decide to leave — don't wait to see how bad it gets. Take your go bag, medications, and pets, and tell someone outside the area where you're headed.
• Close doors and windows behind you as you leave (it slows embers getting inside), and turn off gas at the mains if you have time.
• Drive with headlights on and windows and vents closed, and expect smoke to cut visibility sharply and other households to be on the road at the same time.
• If fire overtakes your vehicle and you can't keep driving, pull off the road, turn off the engine, stay inside with the windows up and vents closed, get down below window level, and cover up until the fire front passes. It's a last resort, not a plan.
• If you're caught outside with no shelter, move to already-burnt ground, a cleared area, or water if there's any nearby, and put as much distance and barrier as you can between yourself and the radiant heat.
• Burns and smoke inhalation are the most common wildfire injuries. For immediate treatment steps while help is on the way, see the in-app first-aid card Burns.

Wildfire Smoke and Air Quality

Smoke can travel far beyond the fire itself and affect people who never see a flame.

• Close up your home — windows, doors, and any outside air intake — and run air conditioning on recirculate rather than drawing in outside air.
• Treat smoky or smoky-smelling air as unhealthy, even without an official reading, and check your local air quality index when one is available.
• Wear a properly fitted P2, N95, or FFP2 respirator mask if you must go outside in smoke. Cloth and surgical masks don't filter the fine particles that make wildfire smoke harmful.
• Limit outdoor activity and exertion. People with asthma, heart or lung conditions, older adults, pregnant people, and young children are most at risk and should stay in clean, indoor air as much as possible.
• A portable HEPA air purifier for one room is worth considering if smoke events are common where you live.

After a Wildfire: Returning Home Safely

• Don't return until officials say it's safe. Roads may still be closed and hazards can remain active for days after the fire front has passed.
• Watch for hot spots and unstable trees or structures. Smouldering material and ash pits can flare up or collapse without warning — keep children and pets close.
• Have gas, electricity, and structural damage checked before use if you smell gas, see damaged lines, or aren't sure the building is safe.
• Keep a mask on while ash is disturbed, and wash it off skin promptly.
• Photograph damage before you start cleaning up, for insurance.
• Rest, rehydrate, and watch for delayed symptoms from smoke exposure or heat.
• Restock your go bag and note what worked, so your household is readier for the next fire season.

Keeping Vulnerable People and Pets Safe

Older adults, young children, people with a disability or a chronic health condition, and anyone living alone need more time to evacuate — build that extra time into your leave-early trigger, and check in with at-risk relatives and neighbours as soon as conditions turn.

Pets and livestock need their own plan. Microchip and collar pets with current details, keep carriers accessible, and take them with you — many emergency shelters won't accept animals, so know a pet-friendly option in advance. Moving livestock or large animals takes time, so arrange a safe paddock or transport well before fire season rather than on the day.