Palo Alto published new emergency preparedness guidance for pet owners on Tuesday, Aug. 18, urging residents to build evacuation plans and pack seven-day supply kits for their animals as the region heads into fall fire season.

The city's guidance, posted on its PaloAltoConnect channel, lays out a checklist: food, water, medications, vaccination records, a carrier or crate, an extra leash and collar, waste bags, bedding, a familiar toy and a current photo of the owner with the pet. All of it should fit in a labeled, grab-and-go container for each animal.

The guidance follows a stretch of extreme weather across the region. A National Weather Service heat advisory pushed temperatures into the mid-90s to low 100s across the Santa Clara Valley on Aug. 9–10, with Palo Alto libraries opening as cooling centers. Wildfire smoke from the Woodside Fire triggered a Spare the Air Alert on July 31–Aug. 1, and a second air quality advisory hit Aug. 4–5 as smoke drifted in from the Pacific Northwest.

The city warned that Palo Alto and Santa Clara County plan for animal rescue and sheltering during emergencies under the federal PETS Act of 2006, but pet accommodations will depend on available facilities and animals may be housed separately from their owners. That means residents need their own backup: a list of pet-friendly hotels, boarding facilities, veterinary clinics or friends outside the immediate area.

The city also advises practicing evacuations with pets before an emergency strikes, noting that anxious, fast-moving humans can frighten animals into hiding or resisting handling. Getting a cat comfortable in a carrier on a calm afternoon is a different exercise than doing it with smoke in the air.

Dog owners should keep a current city license on their pet's collar. A visible tag lets someone contact the owner immediately without needing a microchip scanner.

To stay informed, the city directs residents to register for AlertSCC, Santa Clara County's emergency notification system, and to text their ZIP code to 888777 for Palo Alto Police Department Nixle alerts. The Genasys Protect platform lets residents enter their address to identify their evacuation zone before an emergency hits.

Residents looking to go further can sign up for Community Emergency Response Team training at the Public Safety Building, 250 Sherman Ave., with a multi-date course starting Sept. 1 and a session on Sept. 16.