First, plan ahead. Plan several ways to get out of your neighborhood should a wildfire block the primary road.

Be ready to leave at a moment's notice. Park your car facing the direction of escape.

Pre-pack a suitcase or two with enough provisions for several nights away from home.

Work out a place for family members to meet if a fire occurs, and work out a reliable way to communicate.

Arrange ahead of time for a place to stay.

The Black Hills chapter of the Red Cross says it is making response preparations too.

Richard Smith says, "We've been preparing by getting our volunteers trained. We also have been putting in additional supplies like water, GatorAide; those types of things. If an event happens, we can respond to those. We've also been tightening up our agreements that we have with places we would do sheltering with."

The list of recommendations we listed is only a small sampling of wildfire preparations suggested by the Red Cross. A complete list of ways to prepare for possible fires this coming fire season can be found at www.blackhillsredcross.dot.org.

-Al Van Zee