Late-Summer Wildfire Checklist for Boulder Creek

The short version

• Clear defensible space, closest zones first. Move firewood, mulch, and anything flammable off the house and out from under decks, and clear needles from the roof and gutters. Keep it lean within 30 feet.
• Harden against embers. Cover vents with fine metal mesh, screen under decks and eaves, and keep the roof and gutters clear. Do the roof, gutters, and vents first.
• Pack a go-bag now and know two ways out. Highway 9 and Highway 236 carry most of the traffic out, and either can jam or close; Bear Creek Road is another way out.
• Look up your evacuation zone and sign up for alerts before you need them. Check your address on Genasys Protect, and register for the county's emergency notifications and PG&E outage alerts.
• When conditions turn dangerous, leave early. The plan in these mountains is to go, not to stay and fight.

The work that actually protects a mountain home from wildfire, clearing defensible space, hardening against embers, packing a go-bag, and knowing your evacuation zone, is the kind you want finished before a red-flag day, not scrambled together during one. Peak fire season in the Santa Cruz Mountains runs through late summer and fall, so the quiet weekends now are the ones to spend on it.

Here's a checklist you can work through over a few weekends. None of it guarantees your home survives a fire. What it does is stack the odds in your favor and buy you time to leave safely. When conditions turn dangerous, the plan is always to go early, not to stay and fight.

Clear your defensible space

CAL FIRE breaks the area around your home into zones, and the closest ones matter most:

• Zone 0, the first 5 feet (ember-resistant): keep it as non-combustible as you can. Move firewood, wood mulch, dead plants, and anything flammable away from the house and out from under decks. Clear leaves and needles from the roof, gutters, and deck.
• Zone 1, 5 to 30 feet (lean, clean, and green): remove dead plants and debris, keep grass low, prune tree limbs up off the ground, and don't let branches overhang the roof or touch the house.
• Zone 2, 30 to 100 feet (reduce fuels): thin vegetation, break up continuous brush, and keep it from forming a fuel ladder from the ground into the trees.

In a redwood canyon that's easier said than done, but even partial work helps. Details and diagrams are at CAL FIRE's Ready for Wildfire.

Harden the house against embers

Most homes that burn in a wildfire are ignited by wind-blown embers, not a wall of flame. The fixes are unglamorous but effective over time: cover vents with fine metal mesh so embers can't get in, keep the roof and gutters free of needles, clear anything flammable off decks, and screen the space under decks and eaves.

You don't have to do it all at once. Do the roof, gutters, and vents first.

Pack a go-bag and plan your exit

Assume you may get very little notice. Keep a go-bag ready with medications, important documents, phone chargers, water, and essentials for everyone in the household, including pets.

Think through CAL FIRE's "6 P's" when you pack:

• People and pets
• Papers, phone numbers, and important documents
• Prescriptions, vitamins, and eyeglasses
• Pictures and irreplaceable memorabilia
• Personal computer, hard drive, and disks
• "Plastic," meaning credit and ATM cards and cash

Because Highway 9 and Highway 236 carry most of the traffic out and either can jam or close, know more than one route (Highway 9 runs both north and south, and Bear Creek Road leads out too), follow the directions officials give for that particular fire, and don't wait for a mandatory order to leave if you feel unsafe.

Know your zone and sign up for alerts, now

• Know your evacuation zone. Look up your address on Genasys Protect (the system formerly called Zonehaven) so that when officials call an evacuation warning or order for a zone, you know instantly whether it's yours.
• Sign up for alerts before you need them. Register for the county's emergency notifications and for PG&E outage alerts, which also warn of Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) during high fire risk.
• Watch for red-flag warnings. On hot, dry, windy days the National Weather Service issues red-flag warnings. Those are the days to be packed, alert, and ready to go.

Don't forget power

Fire-season power shutoffs are a fact of mountain life, and a de-energized grid during a heat wave brings its own problems. Get ahead of it with our power-outage preparation guide, and when it's time to leave, our wildfire evacuation guide covers zones, warnings, and orders.

Frequently asked questions

What's the most important wildfire prep for a Boulder Creek home?

Defensible space in the first 5 to 30 feet and hardening the house against embers (roof, gutters, vents) do the most to help a home survive. Just as important: a packed go-bag and a plan to leave early.

How do I find my evacuation zone?

Look up your address on Genasys Protect, formerly Zonehaven. Officials issue evacuation warnings and orders by zone, so knowing yours means you'll know right away when it applies to you.

Should I stay and defend my home?

No. The safe plan in the Santa Cruz Mountains is to leave early. Roads here are narrow and can close fast, and staying puts you and first responders at risk.

Where do I sign up for emergency alerts?

Register for the county's emergency notification system and PG&E alerts now, before fire season peaks. Also watch for National Weather Service red-flag warnings.

This is a checklist, not a guarantee of safety. For official guidance, see CAL FIRE's Ready for Wildfire; for live conditions, see Mountain Status. In a fire emergency, call 911. Last reviewed July 20, 2026.

Ready your home before the season peaks, then keep the rest of your fire-season plan in one place with our power-outage preparation guide and the Residents guide for county contacts, alerts, and local resources.