WUI Fire Evacuation and Sheltering Considerations — Assessment Planning and Execution
THE EVACUATION TRIANGLE
Effective evacuation planning balances three critical elements: fire behavior, available time, and decision making. When one changes, the others must respond—making the triangle a vital tool for assessing evolving risks and guiding immediate action.
The concept of the triangle is intended to be continuously used during a WUI fire event, indicated by the arrows. All three aspects of the triangle are dynamic; changing conditions in fire progression and available versus required evacuation time (i.e., fire-evacuation decision zones) will influence evacuation decisions. Unless the fire is contained or slows down, the available time typically only decreases as fire approaches a community.
