With the recent Saddleridge and Tick fires, preparing yourself and your family for emergencies should be a top priority.

With thousands of Santa Clarita residents being forced to evacuate within a moment’s notice during the Tick fire, it was an unfortunate reminder that in Southern California, natural disasters don’t have a season.

The upcoming winter and spring seasons bring Santa Clarita rain, and with it, an increased chance of mudslides in the burn scar areas left behind.

I encourage you to discuss and implement emergency plans with your family. Make it a point to review your evacuation route and discuss what items each family member is responsible for grabbing in the event of an emergency.

Important documents, photos and mementos should be located in an easy to grab spot. Also, prepare yourself for an event that could leave you without water or power. Many of our residents were recently left in the dark for a prolonged time due to high winds and risk of fire.

Check your current emergency supply kit, and remove out of date or expired items. Make sure you have several working flashlights and extra batteries.

An adequate supply of water, non-perishable food and supplies for your family and your pets is key to successful emergency preparedness.

The city also offers opportunities through our Seasons magazine to prepare for emergencies. CERT (Community Emergency Response Training; class pictured above) is a seven-week course that educates you about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact our community and trains you in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, triage and disaster medical operations.

For more information on the CERT program and to register for an upcoming course through Seasons magazine, visit santa-clarita.com/CERT.

The city’s emergency website is an excellent resource to get up-to-date information on evacuations, shelters and resources available to our residents during a natural disaster or emergency. The website is activated during emergencies and is located at SantaClaritaEmergency.com.

For a complete checklist of emergency supplies you should have on hand, and more helpful tips on being prepared for an emergency, please visit santa-clarita.com and enter emergency preparedness information in the search bar.

I urge you to take advantage of all the resources available to you to prepare for a natural disaster or emergency.