Be ready for the desert's worst days.
Free, practical guides for Phoenix-area residents: surviving extreme heat, getting through a summer blackout, handling shortages and unrest, and knowing your way out of the Valley if you ever need to leave.
Summer emergency
AC broken? Do this now
In 2025, the AC wasn't working in 72% of Maricopa County indoor heat deaths where a unit was present (MCDPH).
- Check people now. Confused, passed out, or very hot skin? Call 911 and cool them.
- 90°F+ inside, or someone high-risk? Leave now for a cooling center, library, mall, or a friend's home. Dial 211 or see the Heat Relief map.
- Cool down: wet cloths, cool shower, water. Fans only below 90°F (CDC).
- Quick checks: thermostat, breaker, filter, drain-pan switch, outdoor fan.
- Renters: tell your landlord in writing today. Phoenix rentals must cool to 82°F (City Code 39-5).
Our mission
Calm, practical preparedness for the Valley of the Sun
Phoenix Survival Guide helps neighbors across the metro learn what to do before an emergency, so fewer people are hurt when one happens. Our biggest focus is extreme heat, which kills hundreds of people in Maricopa County every year. We also cover blackouts, supply disruptions, civil unrest, and evacuation, always with a calm, legal, community-first approach.
Why heat comes first
Heat is Phoenix's deadliest weather hazard
Deaths have fallen two years in a row, and that shows prevention works. See the data and sources →
Guides
Start here
Find Your Situation
Car or no car, your part of the Valley, budget, and medical needs: advice tailored to you, including your nearest routes out.
Start here →Extreme Heat
Recognize heat exhaustion vs. heat stroke, stay cool without power, protect vulnerable people, and find cooling centers.
Read guide →Blackout & Grid Failure
What to do when the power goes out in July: keeping cool, keeping food and medicine safe, and staying connected.
Read guide →Economic Disruption
Supply shortages, job loss, or price spikes: build a buffer, stretch resources, and know where to get help.
Read guide →Civil Unrest & Conflict
Staying safe and lawful during protests, unrest, or security emergencies: shelter in place or leave, and how to decide.
Read guide →Evacuation Routes
The main highways out of the Valley, what to plan for on each, and where to check official closures.
See routes →Shade & Grow
Get free shade trees, grow food in the low desert, and see what a garden really costs in water vs. what it saves at the store.
Start growing →Home Upgrades
28 ways to cool your home and ride out outages, from free renter fixes to solar and batteries, with costs, ratings, and current rebates.
Cool your home →After You Arrive
First steps in Payson and Flagstaff, and where to go next in a blackout, unrest, economic crisis, or pandemic/disease outbreak.
Plan ahead →Resource Map
Cooling sites, water, food, public lands, open shelters, and routes: detailed for Phoenix, live nationwide.
Open the map →Articles
Sourced deep dives. New: To Cover Up, Or Not to Cover Up When Trekking Through the Desert, with a bed-sheet sun-wrap tutorial and desert footwear. Have an idea for one? Suggest a topic on the contact page.
Read articles →Bushcraft & Desert Survival
Shade, water, signaling, navigation, knots, and first aid for snakebites and scorpions, with simple diagrams.
Learn skills →Generator Skills
Size it, run it safely, and fix common problems, without carbon monoxide or backfeeding.
Power up safely →Wildlife: Edible & Dangerous
Rattlesnakes, scorpions, toxic look-alikes, and the plants and game you can legally eat, from Phoenix to Flagstaff.
Know what you see →Radio Communication
NOAA weather radio, CB, walkie-talkies, and ham radio, plus how to call for help when phones fail.
Stay in touch →Bug-Out Bag
Ready-made bags compared by price, plus a printable, Phoenix-specific packing list built around water and heat.
Pack your bag →Community & Conflict
De-escalation, checking on neighbors, mutual aid, and caring for your mental health when everyone is stressed.
Read guide →Three things you can do today
Small steps that save lives
- Check your AC before summer and know where your nearest cooling center is.
- Pick two neighbors (especially older adults or anyone living alone) to check on during heat waves.
- Start a basic kit: water, a way to cool down without power, a first aid kit, and copies of key documents.
Stay informed
- Heat forecasts & warnings: NWS Phoenix heat page
- Cooling & hydration sites: Heat Relief Network or dial 211
- Emergency alerts: Maricopa County Emergency Management
- Road closures: AZ511 or dial 511
✎ Got a Phoenix topic we should cover? Tell us what you feel needs addressing here. Suggest an article topic →