The 2012 hurricane season began on June 1, and emergency response officials are encouraging people to be prepared by taking the necessary precautions.

     Gov. Phil Bryant has declared June 4-8 as Hurricane Preparedness Week in the state.

     “Personal preparedness is a critical factor in determining how well your family will cope if a natural disaster strikes this hurricane season” Bryant said in a press release. “Now is the time to talk about your family evacuation plan and stock your emergency supply kit. Don’t wait until a storm enters the Gulf.”

     Brookhaven Police Chief Pap Henderson said every season is a learning experience.

     “We always learn from things in the past,” he said. “Hurricane season is the same every year. We just have to play it by ear. We’ve been through a lot over the years, and we’re on standby at all times.”

     Henderson said it would be great if every family had a hurricane evacuation plan in place for the upcoming season.

     “If officials tell us to move, we need to move to a safer place,” he said. “We just need to follow directions on whatever they tell us.”

     State evacuation plans tend to change from time to time, but this year no changes have been made, according to Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing.

     “No evacuation plans have changed as far as I know,” he said. “But if there is an evacuation elsewhere, we normally catch the traffic going north and coming through here. I recommend every family have an evacuation plan in case they need to leave.”

     Rushing said stocking up on the necessary items to ride out the storm is important to avoid the rush as a storm approaches.

     “I recommend people check their generators and make sure they’re working,” Rushing said. “People should stock up on things like water and canned goods before a storm. I recommend people be cautious and prepared just in case, because you never know what may happen.”

     Fire Chief Tony Weeks with the Brookhaven Fire Department recommends a generator.

     “I’d be prepared for hurricane season,” he said. “Have plenty of provisions. You have a good bit of advanced notice with storms so you have time to get things together if you need to. It would be a good idea to invest in a generator if you can. Make sure you are careful with it and don’t overload it.”

     Weeks strongly recommended people store gasoline for generators or other devices in the proper containers to help prevent fires. He also recommended caution be used for outdoor fires, as people tend to cook outdoors after storms.

     “Never use gasoline as an accelerant for outdoor burning,” he said. “Use diesel or charcoal starter. Gasoline is much too volatile. Make sure to properly dispose of hot embers or charcoal after a fire, because throwing them in dry grass can easily spark a fire.”

     Weeks also wanted to remind the public about smoke detectors, as they have been proven to save lives. He recommended people install them if they don’t already have them and check them monthly.

     “Remember to change your batteries once a year,” he said. “A good time to change the batteries is when the time changes for daylight saving time.”

     Lincoln County Civil Defense Director Clifford Galey said most people living in this area have been through storms before, but it doesn’t hurt to be refreshed.

     “If you have a generator you need to make sure it’s not feeding back into the main service line so the power company workers are not endangered,” he said.

     Galey said one of the most important things in the event of a hurricane is being patient.

     “If we were to have a storm, be patient,” Galey said. “Emergency services will get everything going and have things taken care of. Sometime it just takes some time.”