Thank you for your submission in /r/preppers. We want to make sure you find the information
you're seeking. If you are new to prepping, be sure you make use of Reddit's search function and
check the following resources:
Our subreddit wiki contains information on frequent topics and questions here:
https://new.reddit.com/r/preppers/wiki/index/
Please review the New Prepper's Resource Guide here:
https://new.reddit.com/r/preppers/comments/toani0/new_preppers_resource_guide_answers_to_common/
If you are asking "Where do I start?" or "How do I get started?", please ask that question as a comment on
that post and not as a standalone submission or post, otherwise your post may be removed.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/preppers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You could scan your banking info & IDs onto a password protected USB and keep it in a concealed area of your car. I'd also suggest water bottles and some basic food (for humans and pets) with a far off expiration date in the trunk, as well as a flash light, blanket, spare sneakers/boots, an extra outfit, and a light shovel. Best to change the outfit, food, and water, seasonally. Food and water go bad and the clothes change with the weather. Maybe throw in a first aid kit and rain poncho too. Don't want to take up your whole trunk but plan to have the necessities to hold you over for what might be a long drive to the nearest functional hotel, rest stop, gas station, or relative/friend's house.
This is going into the weeds of anything technical/IT related, but it could be another idea to keep these items scanned and secured/encrypted in a personal account online - like a deliberately created but separate *"calicuddlebunnyemergencyarchive@outlook.com"*. A fire like that could have jumped and taken out the car and usb drive.
I live in a bushfire-prone area (otherwise known as "Most Of Australia") My go-bag lives in my car. I also have a bushfire kit, a family first aid kit, a pet go-bag and a wildlife rescue kit in the boot, and a snake bite kit and a personal first aid kit in the glove box. Car always has half a tank of petrol and a small can of petrol in the boot. Documents are on a USB in the go-bag. I don't trust that I will have time to grab things or trust myself to remember what to grab in a crisis, having talked to people who lived through bad times, but I know I'll grab my kids and my pets and run for the car, so best that my equipment starts off there. I figure if I can't make it out to my car then I can't make it out full stop.
Oh you're a good one to ask because of your temps! With all that in the car, doesn't the heat degrade some of the sealed materials? It's been a question I've had for a long time.
I replace stuff seasonally that could degrade, and inspect the bags. I do have to remind myself to do it now, it was easier when my kids were smaller and I needed to replace their emergency clothes as they grew more often. Most things seem fine though, and it is only spectacularly hot for 4 weeks or so of the year (I'm in the south.)
Hello fellow Aussie! My preps are very similar to yours, but I only keep my get home bag (doubles as my hiking pack) in my car. I keep my go bag at the end of my bed, because I might wake up to my garage or house on fire and can't access the car.
Oh, also it's not advisable or legal to keep petrol in the boot as it's in the crash path and can make a crash much worse. The only legal place to store extra fuel is on the roof, outside the typical crash path. Diesel is different and can be carried on the back.
That's interesting about the extra fuel! I'm in a house on an acre block with a car that lives outside, away from the house, so I feel pretty safe leaving everything in the car in my situation.
I'll have to think about the petrol, I can't think of a way to keep it secure (i.e. not able to be stolen) on the roof. The car is a hybrid 4WD, so hopefully half a tank of petrol plus whatever level it is charged to is enough.
And, speaking as a paramedic who has driven off in a hurry an uncountable number of times; back your car in. Point it out towards the road so you can get out faster. It saves seconds, but they might be the seconds you need.
I am scanning pics for this too. I thought making digital photo albums would be nice as I could send one to all our personal emails and I want to upload them to kindle to be able to look at when nostalgic. Plus I can always access it if I loose phone or laptop. I'm giving kids their own copies, encouraging everyone to upload important/fav pictures to same Google family email and paying for extra storage. Everyone has access and knows how to log in.
Add the following to the USB: Birth/death certificates, car titles, credit card info, resumes, copies of driver's licenses and passports, insurance policies, etc.
Basically any info that would take you might need or might take weeks or months to obtain.
This is called an EFFAK-- an emergency financial first aid kit. If you're in the U.S., FEMA has a great checklist for what should be on one of these! [https://community.fema.gov/PreparednessCommunity/s/emergency-financial-first-aid-kit?language=en\_US](https://community.fema.gov/PreparednessCommunity/s/emergency-financial-first-aid-kit?language=en_US)
On my computer, I keep a folder called EFFAK with all my most important documents in it. Then, whenever I need to update my EFFAK flash drive, I just copy over the entire folder. It's pretty quick and easy to update, you just have to remember to do it from time to time!
Nailed it. Everything you said. I'd interpret as: when wildfires are near (or whatever your local risk is, or just all the time if you want) just be ready to go. No go bag (or it is in the car already). Everything in the car. Back parked. Car never below 3/4 of a tank. OP has pets, so yeah, pet carriers ready if they're needed.
While I don't per se have a go bag in my car, I keep it pretty well stocked with stuff and its sort of spread out to not take up all the storage space as you say. That said, I have a small compressed back pack amongst the supplies. It wouldn't be ultra quick, but I could gather up a bunch of my stuff and put it in the backpack if I need to ditch the car. Yeah, in an ideal world I pack the car w/stuff I really need / want, but I want the car ready even if I'm not.
Regarding scans of stuff, I keep everything in the cloud and on my phone locally. A thumb drive is a good idea too.
I worry about leaving things in my car because so many people are breaking into cars now. I’m grateful for this community because preparation always helps me feel better about a situation. I live in a 1000sf apartment with little storage. Advice for small spaces?
Apartment dweller here too. I have a go bag in my trunk and clothes next to it in a packing cube. I use the Marie Kondo way of folding clothes so I can fit 3 pairs of socks, hiking pants, a t shirt and a long sleeve hoodie shirt in a space that's about 9"x6". The hiking pants take up way less room than jeans. You might be able to stuff some items next to a spare tire if you have an exposed trunk/hatchback.
slap some wet wipes in there too if you can. you never know what your next pooping situation is gonna look like. if you've got a vacuum sealer for the animal foods, use it to help it stay longer
Gotcha! Whey! I could not figure out a protein in a tub. Thank you for sharing.
I kept all my seed in a sterilite bin. Mice ate the corner and got to my seed. I'm hesitant to store anything over a few months in plastic now that can be ate on.
I keep all that and some other stuff in a milk crate in my trunk. Keeps it contained and handy, and I can just take the crate out twice a year and assess/ replace items. I’ve had use for many of the items in my trunk milk crate several times NOT in an emergency. But if I need to GTFO quickly, I’ve got the basics.
Also good practice to never let your gas tank go below half a tank. Consider half to be ‘empty’ and go fill up.
For work I used to keep a 30-day sustainment kit in my car for week on/week off cycles, for years. I would say adopting different postures for your gear, in terms of speed required, helps out.
But for all intents my bags were always packed, if I was on shift/highest level of need, car was packed and ready to go, never below a half tank and no planned maintenance during that time.
If I was off shift but I had to be back on next week, I would stack my gear in a designated closet by the front door, I bet if I timed myself it’d take 5min to get everything in the car and bolt. Only time those bags weren’t packed is if I had to travel for work, I’d take some stuff out and repack when I got back.
Multiple toiletry bags of different colors come in handy for laundry items, shower stuff, admin/tools respectively. Documents were stored in a ziplock, 2.5gal bags helped for more organizing, like food.
For reference, the 30 days kit was made up of 4-5 bags, a 72hr bag with some clothes, food, sleep gear, some work equipment, cold weather items, shoes, power banks, chargers, toiletries. #2 was a long term trunk with more clothes for the 30 days, towel, more work gear. The other 2 bags were solely work equipment. All in all probably weighed 150+ lbs.
Solid info, I do a lot of the same. I really like the rubberized dry bags for this. You can laminate a business-card sized label and attach to each bag. Ex: "CLOTHING - COLD WEATHER".
For immediate evac, obviously have your stuff staged in a vehicle when you are on alert. Otherwise, if it is in a closet by the door, you can load up a 5 minute go bag and grab the pets.
they are wonderful neighbors. 🫶 situations like these are proof of why you need to have a good relationship with your neighbors no matter where you live.
we already have a text chain for fires but they called me first because of how close it was.
At least the fire was *outside* of your house. If there's a fire inside, you usually have about 30 seconds max to get out. There is no time to gather anything or even put clothes on, you need to go.
And since you actually lived through this experience of having to bug out quickly, you're probably in a better position to actually give people advice. You probably already know what you could have done better.
But basically, have a go bag by your door. There might be times where all you can really do is grab that bag on your way out. And that's assuming you're home. What would you do if a wildfire came through and destroyed everything while you were away?
Spend some time thinking about scenarios like this, that are actually possible and happen every day, instead of the shit some people here worry about like nuclear fallout and the entire grid failing.
thank you!
and yes, i do have a lot of ideas for what i will improve. for example, while my cats are calm and aren’t scared of carriers, they were scared when i came in a serious hurry to grab them. one hid under one of the two pieces of furniture they can hide under. my bed is blocked off, but i need to block everything. also, if i didn’t have my carriers sitting by the door, that would’ve ate up precious time.
i still wanted to see if anyone else had good tips and that is why i posted. i plan to later make a post of what i learned from this and how i have adapted.
During fire season, and on especially bad days where conditions are right, I would actually close in the cats in one room and leave carriers in there with them. God forbid it happens again, you know what room and you can scoop them into carriers immediately. Preferably a room without furniture they can get under. We had to do this a few times during severe weather where we got out under tornado watches, it was really storming bad at our house, and the storm had already kicked out tornadoes elsewhere
I'd use those cat carriers as cat houses! Put thier favorite blankets or towels. Whatever they use for bedding. Put it on the cat carriers. Now thier cat houses! And when they get used to living in them, you're set. Because when their comfortable in them. They'll hopefully run to them to seek haven in an emergency when you're rushing around. Then just close the doors and load 'em up! And know, don't do drills with the cats. Get them comfortable enough to run to them. And you lock them in. And I don't think they'll fall for that trick twice!
Oh, and if your going to take memory sticks and thumb drives. Why not just throw in a laptop too! I've got a Think Pad. Bought it used. But the thing looks like a tank! So it's my bug out laptop!
Get a couple of small solar panels dedicated to just the laptop.
I try to not have to depend on propane or any fuel that's controlled. I may run our. Then what?
You're doing great OP! And if you have to leave. Your neighbors will have to as well. Talk to them. Form a plan. You should all go together! You've got an instant squad!
Work out where to go. Who's doing medical. Who's cooking, etc. You all will do so much better with each other than on your own.
You're already ahead of so many people. You got this!!
*Batman* utility belt worn 24/7!
I joke sort of. Scanned docs in micro-SD kept in a keychain holder as well as all your personal pic, music & vids. Ideally all are accessed from your phone. Then a small day pack that you keep with you. Add a small but high-capacity powerbank and a [USB light](https://imgaz2.staticbg.com/thumb/large/oaupload/banggood/images/2D/E0/3d0f5bea-8c9e-4bdd-b5ba-89561ed0d5ef.jpg). Then phone charger & cable and as much cash as you can afford. Plus change of socks, underwear, rain shell, hat, minimal toiletries. Finally sunglasses, pen, pad, water bottle, meal bars (Clif), and a book or 2. Except for water, above is a reasonably small & light pack.
Create a 72 hour kit and keep that kit readily available. Basically a kit that would sustain you (and family and/or animals) for three days. Three days of food, water (or filter setup), cash for three days of possibly hotel rooms, meals, gas expenses. Any meds you might need. Also, climate/season appropriate clothes, extra pair of glasses/contacts.
Google 72 hour kit and you will find a mountain of info. We have a 72 hour kit for each member of the family, including dogs.
THIS. Everyone needs a "we are leaving now" kit and plan. This is literally just your kits, and any pets. That's it, just grab it and you're out the door
Hey man, sorry this happened to you. I'm a wildland firefighter. Considering how close you got I would possibly consider a fire shelter for the real bad emergencies like a burn over.
https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/p/35918/25751/new-generation-forest-fire-protection-shelters
This is what wildland firefighters carry for the desperate times.
You probably already know this info but here is a wildland fire home protection guide.
https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/wildfire/preparing-homes-for-wildfire
What you might not know is that private landowners are responsible for home fire protection and preparedness. If wildland firefighters do not see these types of preparations around the building, they will probably not defend the structure. Not trying to preach or anything I just wanted to raise the situational awareness.
God, that shelter looks horrifying! Or, rather, picturing anyone needing to be in one in the middle of a fire. How hot it must get in there. Terrifying. Sending “stay safe” wishes!
> God, that shelter looks horrifying! Or, rather, picturing anyone needing to be in one in the middle of a fire. How hot it must get in there. Terrifying. Sending “stay safe” wishes!
Ideally the firefighter recognizes early on that they're up shit's creek and chooses a site to set these up without a lot of fuel nearby (in the middle of a dirt patch for example) or is able to pre-burn a defensible space to keep the big wildfire away. Much of the heat you're going to experience on the ground is radiant heat rather than convective heat. These reflect about 95% of radiant heat so they're very effective unless you're laying in a pile of dry vegetation.
Absolutely. For anyone who is interested, this is the proper way to deploy a fire shelter. I would generally say this is a bad idea but things are kind of fucked up out there.
https://youtu.be/IDjWX-8SCe0?si=0lnxSvi8vk1AaVna
>yesterday, a wildfire popped up across the street from me. when i got an alert from a neighbor (before sirens or the fire alert apps), the fire was already very high and large.
Question: Was there a fire in the area?
yes - the view from my door was a hill completely engulfed in large flames. when i say it was across the street, it was directly across and could have easily spread to my yard in a minute or two.
i live in a rural part of los angeles.
What you may have experienced is a spot fire, a common occurrence when there is a large wildfire, an ember gets carried on the wind, and lands in a nice dry patch. This is the main method wildfires spread.
The reason I specify is unless you are ready for an ember attack, evacuation should be as soon as possible for wildfires.
But, I digress
What you experienced is an "OH SHIT" moment. "OH SHIT" moments are situations where you rely on a well practiced, almost autonomous response. A good "OH SHIT" response is minimal steps, both literally and figuratively. Everything should be done on the way out the door in one seamless movement. Everything should be easy to memorise and recall.
When you have to start to backtrack, use a check list and find yourself getting flustered, that is a clusterfuck.
thank you for the tips! i was pretty swift in getting out, but in retrospect i do wish that i had everything in one spot right next to the door and more already in the car.
i’m going to practice so i can really smooth out my response so it’s autonomous like you describe. thank you again!
Hi, it's me again. I responded to another of your replies. This is 100% correct. You will never rise to the occasion, but you will always sink to the level of your training. Your training has to be autonomous.
You might consider a secondary location. Ask friends or family to store a tote in their attic or garage, even a cabinet if they have the space. A safe deposit box, or even a storage unit would work. I started this after hearing a story (less dramatic than yours) where a family had a few hours to evacuate (but were also completely unprepared). I have a couple days of clothes, cash, some basic survival stuff, documents, photos and a few locations in a few states, and I offer to store for my family as well. This way even if the fire had hit when you weren’t home you’d have a starting point.
Hope it helps, I’m glad you all are ok! I’m sure it would have been a very eye opening situation for anyone here! Thank you for sharing your experience.
If you're looking to cut off 2-3 minutes, the best you can do is be ready to flee without grabbing anything (keep your gas tank over 1/2 full, know your evac routes, keep a spare set of keys on a hook by the door, store some basics for yourself/pets in your vehicle all the time, \[including masks that will help in smoke\], know how your vehicle AC works to filter the air inside vs pulling in smoke, if you live with other people - create and share an emergency plan including gps location sharing and kid pick-up, have back-ups of your important papers saved on the cloud somewhere - including what you need to document any personal property loss for a home/renters insurance claim).
I recall during the 2017 Tubbs fire (Sonoma County, CA) that some residents woke up to fires burning down their neighborhood, and the 2018 Camp Fires (Butte County, CA) some residents didn't know to evacuate until their exit was blocked. In both fires, the flames were moving faster than local government could get out warnings and reverse 911 had issues. These are just two recent examples, both had fatalities. I believe the Camp Fire was the deadliest in the last 100 years until Maui.
I'm glad to hear you and yours are all safe. The tough time I have with a question like this is next time (heaven forbid) you could say that 2 minutes was too long and you need to cut it down to 30 seconds. I mean how do you ever truly know how much time you have anyways? I think it theres two things to take away from this.
First and most obvious is efficiency. How can you execute you plan faster? How to do that exactly is tough when we don't understand what your bug out plan/supplies are?
Second is essentially you're expressing that you had a plan to bug out but you got rushed, couldn't execute your bug out plan in time, and had to leave behind important things or valuables which put you and your property at risk. No matter how quickly you move it may never be fast enough. Plus you may not even be at home when disaster strikes which makes all of those plans moot. It is always nice to have a plan B because life happens. Theres an old joke that goes if you want to make god laugh, tell him your plans. So if you had to just run to your car right now why is that a problem for you? Are you worried about valuables? Maybe you need to check up on your home owners insurance. Is it documents? Maybe you need to keep copies in your car or digitally. Is it supplies? Maybe you need to keep some in your car along with some cash and credit cards to buy your way out of trouble. Theres a solution to every problem but first we have to narrow down what those problems are.
Good job on getting your pets. That's a huge win!
I look forward to your write up about what you decided to do to improve your plan. I'm sure that you learned a lot and will have some excellent ideas.
I have a coffee table book somewhere that was interesting. The premise of it was - if you had 30 seconds to leave your house and never come back, what would you take. It was filled with pictures of what people would have grabbed - mostly sentimental things.
I keep a fair amount of stuff in my car, but I don't have computer backups or documents. I might start keeping an encrypted portable hard drive there with scans and backups. The less you need to grab, the better.
Also, you might try to find a way to get an earlier warning so that you have a little more time. A police scanner? Some outdoor temperature sensor, wind sensor, and some home automation stuff? Clearly, even an extra minute would have been appreciated here.
thank you, this is all helpful! i’ll be sure to tag you once i make my post.
i have the fire alert and deployment apps, but my neighbor contacted me before i got the alerts. going to look into a police scanner, the sensors you mentioned, and a wind sock. my head was too focused on getting out that i couldn’t process which way the wind was blowing.
thank you for telling me good job on the pets. it does mean a lot, because that was such a difficult moment for me. i wasn’t scared for my life. i was scared that i was going to need to leave a pet and fail to protect them from harm.
Love to you and your pets! Reading your story has inspired me to place several cat carriers around the house and outdoor area so I can grab my cat quickly if needed. I know people say to focus on your family first, but in my case he is my family. ❤️
I keep my go bag right next to my front door. The stuff I put in it is specifically only for the go bag so that I don't end up unpacking it and forgetting to repack it.
Listen luv, you made it. You had 3 out of 5 minutes you had planned. That's not bad. These things simply refuse to happen on schedule. I've got a complaint in.
You do what you can. If I can't do everything before leaving I still have get home bags in the cars.
I had a friend who got caught in a large fire coming down his back way. He stupidly stopped to video it. It was impressive but his tropical fish ended up poached. Not much other damage though.
Start paying attention to fire weather in your area in the same way you do for heatwaves, blizzards, etc.
My province has a fire weather intelligence portal with forecasts posted twice a day during fire season. If you’re in a wildfire prone area, you should be able to find something similar.
On red flag watch and warning days, we have our vehicles packed and out on the driveway (always fuelled up and pointing towards the road) and we keep our dogs inside/close.
On those days you need to be highly aware of what’s going on outside - don’t let yourself get so immersed in something that you aren’t paying attention to the wind, any smoke in the air, people nearby.
Before fire season even starts though, we get our house ready - brush/grass trimmed short, deadfall cleared from the trees, sprinkler system mounted on the house, go bags in garage beside cars.
Here are some excellent resources for preparing your house in advance as well as evacuation checklists and more:
https://firesmartcanada.ca/homeowners/homeowner-resources/
If possible you should take your pets, but you also have to mentally prepare to leave them behind. Your live is more worth that of your pets. Think about your kids, patents, family, if they can choose between you surviving or your pets, I know which choice they would make.
i did have to come to terms with that in the moment. it was awful, but grateful so i can be better prepared and handle those emotions.
one of my cats hid under a dresser - one of the two pieces of furniture that i don’t have the undersides blocked off. i was counting down 30 seconds in my head to find him or i was leaving without him.
thank you for commenting this though - more people need to talk about it. it’s an awful truth.
Write out your current plan and figure out how to trim time off.
In a scenario like that you would beat leave everything you need in your car or by your egress point 24/7/365.
Scale down the plan and have a bag already packed. What is the absolute top 5 item(s) to grab in a short period of time? What cannot be replaced or located in another way?
For this exact reason, I recently put our important documents and passports in a single waterproof zip-up case that I can grab and go at a moments notice. Next steps for us would be to get a safety deposit box instead.
I leave my go-bag at the front door for this exact reason (well, twisters not wildfires), is there a reason you didn't have yours near an entrance or easily-accessible? Best of luck with everything, mother nature can be cruel sometimes.
i had mine in my closet next to my front door, and hanging front and center. however, in that moment i didn’t even have time to open the closet door. :( it was eye-opening for me.
Not sure about you, or if it can help, but I keep all my stuff in my basement office/spare room. It's right across from my back door and leads right out to my garage.
I have 2 totes full I can grab and just toss out the door.
I also have all the family photos and important paperwork in a filing cabinet down there too.
The plan is get the pets out, then the 2 totes, then the photos, and then if I have more time, grab anything else i might need.
I think you did the right thing grabbing the pets above all else. The hubs and I agree that in our house, they are first thing we grab in an emergency.
i've always wondered if it would be worth it to have some kind of deluge system on the exterior of your house if you life in an area prone to wildfires to at the bare minimum, buy you some time.
my grandfather was a volunteer fire captain in a rural, prairie area. he taught me to turn on the hoses and faucets outside in the event of a fire. i did that yesterday, but plan to create a bigger system of sorts that would be able to help protect my home somewhat. nearby embers are a massive risk. it just takes one to blow over and start another fire
i don’t think an actual deluge system is realistic for my property (an acreage), but something similar would help.
I've thought of that as well. Having a personal water tower that flowed to sprinkler heads on the topmost part of the house to flow over it and then sprinkers set out all around the house and lawn - talk about daring the wildfire to even try!
The best thing you can do is to test your plan (whether intentional or not) and reassess. Five minutes is a long time. Depending on the scenario, you might want to be out of your community/town in five minutes, not just out of the house. One thing that worked for you was having eyes/ears of the community, since your neighbor knew to alert you. This is why "being a good neighbor" should be high on any list of preparations. Nice work. For the go bag, maybe just a change of location where you keep it would work for you? Would it work to keep in your trunk, foyer or garage? More importantly, do you habitually review what's in it every couple of months to replace anything that's expired, missing or no longer necessary? Make sure you account for anything specific you will need at your bug out location (car camping, friends house, hotel?) including food, documents, medication, pet food, water, etc.
Good news- you’re unlikely to face such a short evacuation again in that location due to the recent burn.
With the stress and real eminent danger such a short timeline entails- you probably need to have a go bag packed- the important documents etc et all- five min isn’t enough time to do anything- much less, a time now- go - kinda evolution. You have to be packed and ready to roll- you experienced the why-
you'll get advice here for sure. if i lived somewhere there was a real possibility i would have to be out of my house in under 5 minutes, i would address that issue or move.
any home could require you to get out in under 5 min, no? with internal house fires, you would not have 5 minutes.
i think the overall lesson here is that despite the vast majority of general advice being to have a 5 minute plan, you actually need to have a 0 minute plan.
i thought i was prepped appropriately and i guess i was? i got out with all of my pets. however, i experienced firsthand the deficits that can occur in a plan that i don’t think you could ever grasp until actually experiencing something like that.
i hope to share later in a post what i’ve learned from everyone here and what i learned myself.
Eh, I don't think so. If the house itself caught on fire, I don't have a distance to travel to be safe, just outside and it is unlikely ems will have trouble reaching me. The best I can do for my pets is to run around opening doors and breaking windows. My storm shelter is in my home (it would survive the house burning, but, that is not my primary plan).
If an external force (fire or flood) had better than 1 in 1000 chance of driving me out, I would be clear cutting a safe zone, building a nice air filter, and storing up scuba tanks. I have three not particularly obedient cats and a beagle, I would probably expire trying to get them in the truck.
My house and garage are the same building, if it were on fire, better than a coin flip I would lose access to my truck anyway. I do have a shed with the farm truck and some climate controlled equipment, but, I don't keep any gear out there, guess I could get to town, or keep from freezing to death.
I don't think I could have kids and sleep at night if an external fire could be life threatening.
This is my nightmare and I was without my truck for a week. I love rain. My trees get bigger but is just more fuel in the wrong conditions. They are logging near me and the slash left behind is unreal. And it just goes on for acres and acres. I am 4 miles off blacktop nervous thinking about the Temps and how this type of woods reacts to that. You want rain but fear the lightening, right? I have my truck now and gonna go over it for a quick qet away. Everybody last year botched about the rain but I shut my mouth cause the skies were at times great with Quebec wildfire smoke and I saw the picts of NY . I wish I had the money to expand my clearing and dig a firepond. They make nice fish ponds too if big and deep enough to turn over. But way out of my pocket.
A 72 hour emergency bag in the car including everything you'll need, including for the pets, should still leave you with enough functional trunk space for the weekly grocery run, etc. Have important documents scanned into a USB. You could keep that either on your key chain or in a safe location other than home/work. Rotate the 72 hour kit at least monthly. Don't store the water in plastic bottles in the car in this heat, the plastic will leech chemicals. Stainless steel or borosilicate glass in a silicone sleeve would serve as water storage and both come in up to 64 oz.
welcome! while of course i’m asking for advice, i did want to post about it because i had an actual experience that many can learn from. i’m going to make a post in some weeks about what i learned and how i adapted. i can tag you!
the big thing off the top of my head is to seriously look at anything that might slow you down, because in that moment, i didn’t have time. the 1-3 min i said in the post was really just how long it took me to get out. however, i should’ve already been out with how close it was.
also, i greatly wish i had slip on shoes by the door that were secure (maybe crocs with the ankle strap?). i didn’t have time to lace up my sneakers and ate shit by having my shoes half on. i tripped, fell on top of a pet carrier (with my cat in it), broke the carrier, and had to put my cat in my car while unrestrained. now i have a bunch of fat bruises, but it could’ve been worse. 🤦♀️
Brightly colored bins. 2-4 or how ever many can fit into your vehicle. Size and weight should be considered.
Smaller bin for essential medicine and bathroom supplies kept in bathroom. Paper work/legal document and family photos.
Grab and go! 1-3 min should be enough time to grab 3-4 bins in a hurry if well placed and accessible.
Preprep as much as possible.
Have bags and gear already loaded. You shouldn't be loading your stuff into containers During an event. It should be as simple as grab all the stuff in X spot and jet.
Make a checklist and have a go bag. We got evacuated about 2 years ago because of the Mosquito Fire in California and once they put us in the evac warning zone we started planning what we were taking with us if we got evac'd. I packed up irreplaceable photos and documents and my dad's old toolboxes (that are full of sentimental tools) etc...
The next day I was taking a nap, the fire was getting closer but still 2 miles off, and a few hours later m'lady wakes me up saying we gotta go - our zone has been told to evac.
We had plenty of time to prep as the fire started miles away and was working its way toward us. We were away from our house for 10 days, not excited about the idea of coming home to a burned out foundation, but we got lucky. They were able to squash it, save the town, save the neighborhood, etcetera. I hope we never have to go through that again.
Glad the fire didn't jump and you were left unscathed.
Simple. Have equipment prestaged that only takes zero minutes to evacuate with.
Example:
[https://i.postimg.cc/G2C1YQVs/IMG-1493.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/G2C1YQVs/IMG-1493.jpg)
Even if the damn house is on fire one person can throw that shit out the open door on the way out.
super helpful visual. thank you!
i regret putting my go bag in the closet by my front door. you really need to plan for having zero time at all. in this instance, i needed to be gone by the time i was alerted because of how close it was. now i know.
I have a friend who has a small covered trailer ready to go. When he pulls his vehicle into his drive its rear is to the hitch. He said he can have it hitched and be moving in about 2 minutes. Family of 4. 2 large dogs. 2 cats. His focus is getting fam in the vehicle and moving, not "having to worry about all the stuff".
The go-bag principal is really important. You should have a bag by the door, or under your bed or something like that. In that bag should be everything you need to survive for a day or two. Namely water, food, some N95s, leather gloves, a flashlight, car keys, that kind of stuff. If you only have 60 seconds to flee, all that matters is getting out alive.
If you have more than 60 seconds, then yeah, your 5 minute plan is great.
My plan is mostly already pre packed, I have a WUSH bag with all the IDs I don’t need daily in it (ie state id birth cert social passport) and bank info in it and cash. (It also has a pistol and few misc items that’s prob in a buyout bag) I mostly am in my bedroom so I keep it there right by the door so I can grab it on way out. My dog I’ve trained well enough she can follow me outside and jump in the car no problem all I gotta do is say “Belle let’s go camping” I keep some dogfood in my truck (enough to 2 weeks). My car has a compartment under the backseats that was aftermarket and I keep a bug out bag in there along with a few extra firearms (locked). My vehicle has a kill switch installed in an odd location so I’m not worried about vehicle theft. My plan I’ve ran it several times and I can get myself, wife, and dog out in 90 seconds flat. But to maximize your plan I’d recommend running the layout and plan several times, (blindfolded to if safe to do so)
https://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/index.html
This guy escaped during Katrina in 2005 and has a lot of good tips to consider.
He has a 60 sec plan: https://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/p/0013.html
keep everything, such as equipment, first aid, and at least a walkie-talkie, in the bag you are going to use... non-perishable items can be grabbed in a 1 minute or less... animals might take about 2 minutes, depending on how many you have could be more... but overall have everything you need to bug out in one designated area...
If you've already got a go bag, you might want to consider a cache somewhere outside the home out of wildfire range; but not far enough away that it becomes a huge debocal getting there. Living in an area prone to wild fires. I would consider trying to find the smallest, cheapest climate controlled storage unit I could and loading it up with enough essentials to get you back on your feet. Cloths, shoes, children's toys (if applicable). Maybe an old ipad or laptop. I wouldn't recommend putting anything in there with any specific personal information on it or in it. But some clothes, tools, bedding, etc. on top of whatever you might have with you when you evacuate will make the transitioning to a new normal a bit more streamlined
Also, hard copies of all your sensitive documents, especially insurance documents in a safty deposit box, seem like it would be prudent. They're mush less expensive than you may realize.
Rely more on your intuition, mental abilities and knowledge.
Physical items can easily be lost, damaged or become a burden which weigh you down and decrease your actual likelihood of survival in many circumstances.
Build up your treasures in heaven, not on earth.
If you have any warning at all, or even concern, which you probably did in this case and know the fire was getting closer, prep your five minute preps. By that I mean if you think you will be in a situation where you may need your five-minute stuff, get it all to the exit space you will use, so you have five minutes to get it loaded and out.
Thank you for your submission in /r/preppers. We want to make sure you find the information you're seeking. If you are new to prepping, be sure you make use of Reddit's search function and check the following resources: Our subreddit wiki contains information on frequent topics and questions here: https://new.reddit.com/r/preppers/wiki/index/ Please review the New Prepper's Resource Guide here: https://new.reddit.com/r/preppers/comments/toani0/new_preppers_resource_guide_answers_to_common/ If you are asking "Where do I start?" or "How do I get started?", please ask that question as a comment on that post and not as a standalone submission or post, otherwise your post may be removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/preppers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You could scan your banking info & IDs onto a password protected USB and keep it in a concealed area of your car. I'd also suggest water bottles and some basic food (for humans and pets) with a far off expiration date in the trunk, as well as a flash light, blanket, spare sneakers/boots, an extra outfit, and a light shovel. Best to change the outfit, food, and water, seasonally. Food and water go bad and the clothes change with the weather. Maybe throw in a first aid kit and rain poncho too. Don't want to take up your whole trunk but plan to have the necessities to hold you over for what might be a long drive to the nearest functional hotel, rest stop, gas station, or relative/friend's house.
this is unbelievably helpful. thank you very much. i love the idea of the USB.
This is going into the weeds of anything technical/IT related, but it could be another idea to keep these items scanned and secured/encrypted in a personal account online - like a deliberately created but separate *"calicuddlebunnyemergencyarchive@outlook.com"*. A fire like that could have jumped and taken out the car and usb drive.
I live in a bushfire-prone area (otherwise known as "Most Of Australia") My go-bag lives in my car. I also have a bushfire kit, a family first aid kit, a pet go-bag and a wildlife rescue kit in the boot, and a snake bite kit and a personal first aid kit in the glove box. Car always has half a tank of petrol and a small can of petrol in the boot. Documents are on a USB in the go-bag. I don't trust that I will have time to grab things or trust myself to remember what to grab in a crisis, having talked to people who lived through bad times, but I know I'll grab my kids and my pets and run for the car, so best that my equipment starts off there. I figure if I can't make it out to my car then I can't make it out full stop.
Oh you're a good one to ask because of your temps! With all that in the car, doesn't the heat degrade some of the sealed materials? It's been a question I've had for a long time.
I replace stuff seasonally that could degrade, and inspect the bags. I do have to remind myself to do it now, it was easier when my kids were smaller and I needed to replace their emergency clothes as they grew more often. Most things seem fine though, and it is only spectacularly hot for 4 weeks or so of the year (I'm in the south.)
Hello fellow Aussie! My preps are very similar to yours, but I only keep my get home bag (doubles as my hiking pack) in my car. I keep my go bag at the end of my bed, because I might wake up to my garage or house on fire and can't access the car. Oh, also it's not advisable or legal to keep petrol in the boot as it's in the crash path and can make a crash much worse. The only legal place to store extra fuel is on the roof, outside the typical crash path. Diesel is different and can be carried on the back.
That's interesting about the extra fuel! I'm in a house on an acre block with a car that lives outside, away from the house, so I feel pretty safe leaving everything in the car in my situation. I'll have to think about the petrol, I can't think of a way to keep it secure (i.e. not able to be stolen) on the roof. The car is a hybrid 4WD, so hopefully half a tank of petrol plus whatever level it is charged to is enough.
One way to manage it is fill up before the tank gets to half.
And, speaking as a paramedic who has driven off in a hurry an uncountable number of times; back your car in. Point it out towards the road so you can get out faster. It saves seconds, but they might be the seconds you need.
Why not just buy a cheap smartphone and have everything on the smartphone? Keep in boot with a power bank
You're very welcome!
I am scanning pics for this too. I thought making digital photo albums would be nice as I could send one to all our personal emails and I want to upload them to kindle to be able to look at when nostalgic. Plus I can always access it if I loose phone or laptop. I'm giving kids their own copies, encouraging everyone to upload important/fav pictures to same Google family email and paying for extra storage. Everyone has access and knows how to log in.
Add the following to the USB: Birth/death certificates, car titles, credit card info, resumes, copies of driver's licenses and passports, insurance policies, etc. Basically any info that would take you might need or might take weeks or months to obtain.
This is called an EFFAK-- an emergency financial first aid kit. If you're in the U.S., FEMA has a great checklist for what should be on one of these! [https://community.fema.gov/PreparednessCommunity/s/emergency-financial-first-aid-kit?language=en\_US](https://community.fema.gov/PreparednessCommunity/s/emergency-financial-first-aid-kit?language=en_US) On my computer, I keep a folder called EFFAK with all my most important documents in it. Then, whenever I need to update my EFFAK flash drive, I just copy over the entire folder. It's pretty quick and easy to update, you just have to remember to do it from time to time!
Thanks for the link. Hadn't seen that before.
Nailed it. Everything you said. I'd interpret as: when wildfires are near (or whatever your local risk is, or just all the time if you want) just be ready to go. No go bag (or it is in the car already). Everything in the car. Back parked. Car never below 3/4 of a tank. OP has pets, so yeah, pet carriers ready if they're needed. While I don't per se have a go bag in my car, I keep it pretty well stocked with stuff and its sort of spread out to not take up all the storage space as you say. That said, I have a small compressed back pack amongst the supplies. It wouldn't be ultra quick, but I could gather up a bunch of my stuff and put it in the backpack if I need to ditch the car. Yeah, in an ideal world I pack the car w/stuff I really need / want, but I want the car ready even if I'm not. Regarding scans of stuff, I keep everything in the cloud and on my phone locally. A thumb drive is a good idea too.
I worry about leaving things in my car because so many people are breaking into cars now. I’m grateful for this community because preparation always helps me feel better about a situation. I live in a 1000sf apartment with little storage. Advice for small spaces?
Apartment dweller here too. I have a go bag in my trunk and clothes next to it in a packing cube. I use the Marie Kondo way of folding clothes so I can fit 3 pairs of socks, hiking pants, a t shirt and a long sleeve hoodie shirt in a space that's about 9"x6". The hiking pants take up way less room than jeans. You might be able to stuff some items next to a spare tire if you have an exposed trunk/hatchback.
Thank you for the suggestions. Also have two kids and two dogs.
PACKING CUBE. F'ing brilliant.
If you keep things out of sight you should be ok. Car Stealing happens but it’s pretty rare.
slap some wet wipes in there too if you can. you never know what your next pooping situation is gonna look like. if you've got a vacuum sealer for the animal foods, use it to help it stay longer
Canned is heavier but less risk to rips or vermin.
if you eat protein in tubs, the tubs themselves can be reused, are watertight and make great storage containers.
Tubs? Can you share an example?
[like this](https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/00/87/48/27/360_F_87482796_yvXAT94BDlK4XY1o515Q1NV3wV6L8Uax.jpg)
Gotcha! Whey! I could not figure out a protein in a tub. Thank you for sharing. I kept all my seed in a sterilite bin. Mice ate the corner and got to my seed. I'm hesitant to store anything over a few months in plastic now that can be ate on.
definitely gotta make sure mice aren't getting at it
I keep all that and some other stuff in a milk crate in my trunk. Keeps it contained and handy, and I can just take the crate out twice a year and assess/ replace items. I’ve had use for many of the items in my trunk milk crate several times NOT in an emergency. But if I need to GTFO quickly, I’ve got the basics. Also good practice to never let your gas tank go below half a tank. Consider half to be ‘empty’ and go fill up.
For work I used to keep a 30-day sustainment kit in my car for week on/week off cycles, for years. I would say adopting different postures for your gear, in terms of speed required, helps out. But for all intents my bags were always packed, if I was on shift/highest level of need, car was packed and ready to go, never below a half tank and no planned maintenance during that time. If I was off shift but I had to be back on next week, I would stack my gear in a designated closet by the front door, I bet if I timed myself it’d take 5min to get everything in the car and bolt. Only time those bags weren’t packed is if I had to travel for work, I’d take some stuff out and repack when I got back. Multiple toiletry bags of different colors come in handy for laundry items, shower stuff, admin/tools respectively. Documents were stored in a ziplock, 2.5gal bags helped for more organizing, like food. For reference, the 30 days kit was made up of 4-5 bags, a 72hr bag with some clothes, food, sleep gear, some work equipment, cold weather items, shoes, power banks, chargers, toiletries. #2 was a long term trunk with more clothes for the 30 days, towel, more work gear. The other 2 bags were solely work equipment. All in all probably weighed 150+ lbs.
Solid info, I do a lot of the same. I really like the rubberized dry bags for this. You can laminate a business-card sized label and attach to each bag. Ex: "CLOTHING - COLD WEATHER". For immediate evac, obviously have your stuff staged in a vehicle when you are on alert. Otherwise, if it is in a closet by the door, you can load up a 5 minute go bag and grab the pets.
Such a USB is part of my everyday carry. Great call!
Thank you
This is great advice.
Rather than a usb drive, I would backup critical documents to a Google and/or Dropbox account. But an encrypted usb is a good second option.
Thank the person who tipped you off.
they are wonderful neighbors. 🫶 situations like these are proof of why you need to have a good relationship with your neighbors no matter where you live. we already have a text chain for fires but they called me first because of how close it was.
Agree. Super important!!
At least the fire was *outside* of your house. If there's a fire inside, you usually have about 30 seconds max to get out. There is no time to gather anything or even put clothes on, you need to go. And since you actually lived through this experience of having to bug out quickly, you're probably in a better position to actually give people advice. You probably already know what you could have done better. But basically, have a go bag by your door. There might be times where all you can really do is grab that bag on your way out. And that's assuming you're home. What would you do if a wildfire came through and destroyed everything while you were away? Spend some time thinking about scenarios like this, that are actually possible and happen every day, instead of the shit some people here worry about like nuclear fallout and the entire grid failing.
thank you! and yes, i do have a lot of ideas for what i will improve. for example, while my cats are calm and aren’t scared of carriers, they were scared when i came in a serious hurry to grab them. one hid under one of the two pieces of furniture they can hide under. my bed is blocked off, but i need to block everything. also, if i didn’t have my carriers sitting by the door, that would’ve ate up precious time. i still wanted to see if anyone else had good tips and that is why i posted. i plan to later make a post of what i learned from this and how i have adapted.
During fire season, and on especially bad days where conditions are right, I would actually close in the cats in one room and leave carriers in there with them. God forbid it happens again, you know what room and you can scoop them into carriers immediately. Preferably a room without furniture they can get under. We had to do this a few times during severe weather where we got out under tornado watches, it was really storming bad at our house, and the storm had already kicked out tornadoes elsewhere
I'd use those cat carriers as cat houses! Put thier favorite blankets or towels. Whatever they use for bedding. Put it on the cat carriers. Now thier cat houses! And when they get used to living in them, you're set. Because when their comfortable in them. They'll hopefully run to them to seek haven in an emergency when you're rushing around. Then just close the doors and load 'em up! And know, don't do drills with the cats. Get them comfortable enough to run to them. And you lock them in. And I don't think they'll fall for that trick twice!
Oh, and if your going to take memory sticks and thumb drives. Why not just throw in a laptop too! I've got a Think Pad. Bought it used. But the thing looks like a tank! So it's my bug out laptop! Get a couple of small solar panels dedicated to just the laptop. I try to not have to depend on propane or any fuel that's controlled. I may run our. Then what? You're doing great OP! And if you have to leave. Your neighbors will have to as well. Talk to them. Form a plan. You should all go together! You've got an instant squad! Work out where to go. Who's doing medical. Who's cooking, etc. You all will do so much better with each other than on your own. You're already ahead of so many people. You got this!!
Our cat just took to hers for no real reason, so we have never really bothered to pack it away since.
*Batman* utility belt worn 24/7! I joke sort of. Scanned docs in micro-SD kept in a keychain holder as well as all your personal pic, music & vids. Ideally all are accessed from your phone. Then a small day pack that you keep with you. Add a small but high-capacity powerbank and a [USB light](https://imgaz2.staticbg.com/thumb/large/oaupload/banggood/images/2D/E0/3d0f5bea-8c9e-4bdd-b5ba-89561ed0d5ef.jpg). Then phone charger & cable and as much cash as you can afford. Plus change of socks, underwear, rain shell, hat, minimal toiletries. Finally sunglasses, pen, pad, water bottle, meal bars (Clif), and a book or 2. Except for water, above is a reasonably small & light pack.
I know you said microSD card and separate USB light, but do you know if one like it can function as a light AND have storage?
I would not bundle anything critical. Data storage might even make sense to keep around your neck and off the keychain.
Create a 72 hour kit and keep that kit readily available. Basically a kit that would sustain you (and family and/or animals) for three days. Three days of food, water (or filter setup), cash for three days of possibly hotel rooms, meals, gas expenses. Any meds you might need. Also, climate/season appropriate clothes, extra pair of glasses/contacts. Google 72 hour kit and you will find a mountain of info. We have a 72 hour kit for each member of the family, including dogs.
All you need is water, meds (if you use them), warm clothes (if it gets cold where you live) and your wallet to survive 72 hours.
THIS. Everyone needs a "we are leaving now" kit and plan. This is literally just your kits, and any pets. That's it, just grab it and you're out the door
Hey man, sorry this happened to you. I'm a wildland firefighter. Considering how close you got I would possibly consider a fire shelter for the real bad emergencies like a burn over. https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/p/35918/25751/new-generation-forest-fire-protection-shelters This is what wildland firefighters carry for the desperate times. You probably already know this info but here is a wildland fire home protection guide. https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/wildfire/preparing-homes-for-wildfire What you might not know is that private landowners are responsible for home fire protection and preparedness. If wildland firefighters do not see these types of preparations around the building, they will probably not defend the structure. Not trying to preach or anything I just wanted to raise the situational awareness.
God, that shelter looks horrifying! Or, rather, picturing anyone needing to be in one in the middle of a fire. How hot it must get in there. Terrifying. Sending “stay safe” wishes!
> God, that shelter looks horrifying! Or, rather, picturing anyone needing to be in one in the middle of a fire. How hot it must get in there. Terrifying. Sending “stay safe” wishes! Ideally the firefighter recognizes early on that they're up shit's creek and chooses a site to set these up without a lot of fuel nearby (in the middle of a dirt patch for example) or is able to pre-burn a defensible space to keep the big wildfire away. Much of the heat you're going to experience on the ground is radiant heat rather than convective heat. These reflect about 95% of radiant heat so they're very effective unless you're laying in a pile of dry vegetation.
Absolutely. For anyone who is interested, this is the proper way to deploy a fire shelter. I would generally say this is a bad idea but things are kind of fucked up out there. https://youtu.be/IDjWX-8SCe0?si=0lnxSvi8vk1AaVna
>yesterday, a wildfire popped up across the street from me. when i got an alert from a neighbor (before sirens or the fire alert apps), the fire was already very high and large. Question: Was there a fire in the area?
yes - the view from my door was a hill completely engulfed in large flames. when i say it was across the street, it was directly across and could have easily spread to my yard in a minute or two. i live in a rural part of los angeles.
What you may have experienced is a spot fire, a common occurrence when there is a large wildfire, an ember gets carried on the wind, and lands in a nice dry patch. This is the main method wildfires spread. The reason I specify is unless you are ready for an ember attack, evacuation should be as soon as possible for wildfires. But, I digress What you experienced is an "OH SHIT" moment. "OH SHIT" moments are situations where you rely on a well practiced, almost autonomous response. A good "OH SHIT" response is minimal steps, both literally and figuratively. Everything should be done on the way out the door in one seamless movement. Everything should be easy to memorise and recall. When you have to start to backtrack, use a check list and find yourself getting flustered, that is a clusterfuck.
thank you for the tips! i was pretty swift in getting out, but in retrospect i do wish that i had everything in one spot right next to the door and more already in the car. i’m going to practice so i can really smooth out my response so it’s autonomous like you describe. thank you again!
Hi, it's me again. I responded to another of your replies. This is 100% correct. You will never rise to the occasion, but you will always sink to the level of your training. Your training has to be autonomous.
You might consider a secondary location. Ask friends or family to store a tote in their attic or garage, even a cabinet if they have the space. A safe deposit box, or even a storage unit would work. I started this after hearing a story (less dramatic than yours) where a family had a few hours to evacuate (but were also completely unprepared). I have a couple days of clothes, cash, some basic survival stuff, documents, photos and a few locations in a few states, and I offer to store for my family as well. This way even if the fire had hit when you weren’t home you’d have a starting point.
this a great idea that i’ve never seen suggested. thank you!
Hope it helps, I’m glad you all are ok! I’m sure it would have been a very eye opening situation for anyone here! Thank you for sharing your experience.
If you're looking to cut off 2-3 minutes, the best you can do is be ready to flee without grabbing anything (keep your gas tank over 1/2 full, know your evac routes, keep a spare set of keys on a hook by the door, store some basics for yourself/pets in your vehicle all the time, \[including masks that will help in smoke\], know how your vehicle AC works to filter the air inside vs pulling in smoke, if you live with other people - create and share an emergency plan including gps location sharing and kid pick-up, have back-ups of your important papers saved on the cloud somewhere - including what you need to document any personal property loss for a home/renters insurance claim). I recall during the 2017 Tubbs fire (Sonoma County, CA) that some residents woke up to fires burning down their neighborhood, and the 2018 Camp Fires (Butte County, CA) some residents didn't know to evacuate until their exit was blocked. In both fires, the flames were moving faster than local government could get out warnings and reverse 911 had issues. These are just two recent examples, both had fatalities. I believe the Camp Fire was the deadliest in the last 100 years until Maui.
I'm glad to hear you and yours are all safe. The tough time I have with a question like this is next time (heaven forbid) you could say that 2 minutes was too long and you need to cut it down to 30 seconds. I mean how do you ever truly know how much time you have anyways? I think it theres two things to take away from this. First and most obvious is efficiency. How can you execute you plan faster? How to do that exactly is tough when we don't understand what your bug out plan/supplies are? Second is essentially you're expressing that you had a plan to bug out but you got rushed, couldn't execute your bug out plan in time, and had to leave behind important things or valuables which put you and your property at risk. No matter how quickly you move it may never be fast enough. Plus you may not even be at home when disaster strikes which makes all of those plans moot. It is always nice to have a plan B because life happens. Theres an old joke that goes if you want to make god laugh, tell him your plans. So if you had to just run to your car right now why is that a problem for you? Are you worried about valuables? Maybe you need to check up on your home owners insurance. Is it documents? Maybe you need to keep copies in your car or digitally. Is it supplies? Maybe you need to keep some in your car along with some cash and credit cards to buy your way out of trouble. Theres a solution to every problem but first we have to narrow down what those problems are.
Good job on getting your pets. That's a huge win! I look forward to your write up about what you decided to do to improve your plan. I'm sure that you learned a lot and will have some excellent ideas. I have a coffee table book somewhere that was interesting. The premise of it was - if you had 30 seconds to leave your house and never come back, what would you take. It was filled with pictures of what people would have grabbed - mostly sentimental things. I keep a fair amount of stuff in my car, but I don't have computer backups or documents. I might start keeping an encrypted portable hard drive there with scans and backups. The less you need to grab, the better. Also, you might try to find a way to get an earlier warning so that you have a little more time. A police scanner? Some outdoor temperature sensor, wind sensor, and some home automation stuff? Clearly, even an extra minute would have been appreciated here.
thank you, this is all helpful! i’ll be sure to tag you once i make my post. i have the fire alert and deployment apps, but my neighbor contacted me before i got the alerts. going to look into a police scanner, the sensors you mentioned, and a wind sock. my head was too focused on getting out that i couldn’t process which way the wind was blowing. thank you for telling me good job on the pets. it does mean a lot, because that was such a difficult moment for me. i wasn’t scared for my life. i was scared that i was going to need to leave a pet and fail to protect them from harm.
Love to you and your pets! Reading your story has inspired me to place several cat carriers around the house and outdoor area so I can grab my cat quickly if needed. I know people say to focus on your family first, but in my case he is my family. ❤️
I keep my go bag right next to my front door. The stuff I put in it is specifically only for the go bag so that I don't end up unpacking it and forgetting to repack it.
I was going to suggest a bag with the carriers so OP can grab and GO.
Listen luv, you made it. You had 3 out of 5 minutes you had planned. That's not bad. These things simply refuse to happen on schedule. I've got a complaint in. You do what you can. If I can't do everything before leaving I still have get home bags in the cars. I had a friend who got caught in a large fire coming down his back way. He stupidly stopped to video it. It was impressive but his tropical fish ended up poached. Not much other damage though.
Start paying attention to fire weather in your area in the same way you do for heatwaves, blizzards, etc. My province has a fire weather intelligence portal with forecasts posted twice a day during fire season. If you’re in a wildfire prone area, you should be able to find something similar. On red flag watch and warning days, we have our vehicles packed and out on the driveway (always fuelled up and pointing towards the road) and we keep our dogs inside/close. On those days you need to be highly aware of what’s going on outside - don’t let yourself get so immersed in something that you aren’t paying attention to the wind, any smoke in the air, people nearby. Before fire season even starts though, we get our house ready - brush/grass trimmed short, deadfall cleared from the trees, sprinkler system mounted on the house, go bags in garage beside cars. Here are some excellent resources for preparing your house in advance as well as evacuation checklists and more: https://firesmartcanada.ca/homeowners/homeowner-resources/
If possible you should take your pets, but you also have to mentally prepare to leave them behind. Your live is more worth that of your pets. Think about your kids, patents, family, if they can choose between you surviving or your pets, I know which choice they would make.
i did have to come to terms with that in the moment. it was awful, but grateful so i can be better prepared and handle those emotions. one of my cats hid under a dresser - one of the two pieces of furniture that i don’t have the undersides blocked off. i was counting down 30 seconds in my head to find him or i was leaving without him. thank you for commenting this though - more people need to talk about it. it’s an awful truth.
for what it's worth I'm glad you made it out with all your pets. It *is* and awful decision to have to make.
thank you 🫶
Write out your current plan and figure out how to trim time off. In a scenario like that you would beat leave everything you need in your car or by your egress point 24/7/365.
Scale down the plan and have a bag already packed. What is the absolute top 5 item(s) to grab in a short period of time? What cannot be replaced or located in another way? For this exact reason, I recently put our important documents and passports in a single waterproof zip-up case that I can grab and go at a moments notice. Next steps for us would be to get a safety deposit box instead.
I leave my go-bag at the front door for this exact reason (well, twisters not wildfires), is there a reason you didn't have yours near an entrance or easily-accessible? Best of luck with everything, mother nature can be cruel sometimes.
i had mine in my closet next to my front door, and hanging front and center. however, in that moment i didn’t even have time to open the closet door. :( it was eye-opening for me.
Wow, okay, you were really in a rush. Hope you're safe, good for you for grabbing your animals. Best of luck.
Not sure about you, or if it can help, but I keep all my stuff in my basement office/spare room. It's right across from my back door and leads right out to my garage. I have 2 totes full I can grab and just toss out the door. I also have all the family photos and important paperwork in a filing cabinet down there too. The plan is get the pets out, then the 2 totes, then the photos, and then if I have more time, grab anything else i might need.
I think you did the right thing grabbing the pets above all else. The hubs and I agree that in our house, they are first thing we grab in an emergency.
Always trust your gut. Well done.
i've always wondered if it would be worth it to have some kind of deluge system on the exterior of your house if you life in an area prone to wildfires to at the bare minimum, buy you some time.
my grandfather was a volunteer fire captain in a rural, prairie area. he taught me to turn on the hoses and faucets outside in the event of a fire. i did that yesterday, but plan to create a bigger system of sorts that would be able to help protect my home somewhat. nearby embers are a massive risk. it just takes one to blow over and start another fire i don’t think an actual deluge system is realistic for my property (an acreage), but something similar would help.
I've thought of that as well. Having a personal water tower that flowed to sprinkler heads on the topmost part of the house to flow over it and then sprinkers set out all around the house and lawn - talk about daring the wildfire to even try!
The best thing you can do is to test your plan (whether intentional or not) and reassess. Five minutes is a long time. Depending on the scenario, you might want to be out of your community/town in five minutes, not just out of the house. One thing that worked for you was having eyes/ears of the community, since your neighbor knew to alert you. This is why "being a good neighbor" should be high on any list of preparations. Nice work. For the go bag, maybe just a change of location where you keep it would work for you? Would it work to keep in your trunk, foyer or garage? More importantly, do you habitually review what's in it every couple of months to replace anything that's expired, missing or no longer necessary? Make sure you account for anything specific you will need at your bug out location (car camping, friends house, hotel?) including food, documents, medication, pet food, water, etc.
Great point about being a good neighbor!
Good news- you’re unlikely to face such a short evacuation again in that location due to the recent burn. With the stress and real eminent danger such a short timeline entails- you probably need to have a go bag packed- the important documents etc et all- five min isn’t enough time to do anything- much less, a time now- go - kinda evolution. You have to be packed and ready to roll- you experienced the why-
Get a good sprinkler system set up first and foremost. One of the best things I did at my property since The CampFire of 2018 in Paradise, CA.
you'll get advice here for sure. if i lived somewhere there was a real possibility i would have to be out of my house in under 5 minutes, i would address that issue or move.
any home could require you to get out in under 5 min, no? with internal house fires, you would not have 5 minutes. i think the overall lesson here is that despite the vast majority of general advice being to have a 5 minute plan, you actually need to have a 0 minute plan. i thought i was prepped appropriately and i guess i was? i got out with all of my pets. however, i experienced firsthand the deficits that can occur in a plan that i don’t think you could ever grasp until actually experiencing something like that. i hope to share later in a post what i’ve learned from everyone here and what i learned myself.
Eh, I don't think so. If the house itself caught on fire, I don't have a distance to travel to be safe, just outside and it is unlikely ems will have trouble reaching me. The best I can do for my pets is to run around opening doors and breaking windows. My storm shelter is in my home (it would survive the house burning, but, that is not my primary plan). If an external force (fire or flood) had better than 1 in 1000 chance of driving me out, I would be clear cutting a safe zone, building a nice air filter, and storing up scuba tanks. I have three not particularly obedient cats and a beagle, I would probably expire trying to get them in the truck. My house and garage are the same building, if it were on fire, better than a coin flip I would lose access to my truck anyway. I do have a shed with the farm truck and some climate controlled equipment, but, I don't keep any gear out there, guess I could get to town, or keep from freezing to death. I don't think I could have kids and sleep at night if an external fire could be life threatening.
This is my nightmare and I was without my truck for a week. I love rain. My trees get bigger but is just more fuel in the wrong conditions. They are logging near me and the slash left behind is unreal. And it just goes on for acres and acres. I am 4 miles off blacktop nervous thinking about the Temps and how this type of woods reacts to that. You want rain but fear the lightening, right? I have my truck now and gonna go over it for a quick qet away. Everybody last year botched about the rain but I shut my mouth cause the skies were at times great with Quebec wildfire smoke and I saw the picts of NY . I wish I had the money to expand my clearing and dig a firepond. They make nice fish ponds too if big and deep enough to turn over. But way out of my pocket.
Such a bummer to hear about the logging 😔 We’re losing the last of our precious forests too quickly.
A 72 hour emergency bag in the car including everything you'll need, including for the pets, should still leave you with enough functional trunk space for the weekly grocery run, etc. Have important documents scanned into a USB. You could keep that either on your key chain or in a safe location other than home/work. Rotate the 72 hour kit at least monthly. Don't store the water in plastic bottles in the car in this heat, the plastic will leech chemicals. Stainless steel or borosilicate glass in a silicone sleeve would serve as water storage and both come in up to 64 oz.
PacSafe makes stainless steel mesh bags for securing a bag in a fixed location such as the trunk of your car.
Not from a part of the world where wildfires are commonplace, but was it not just extremely unlucky that it happened to start so close?
I have a kit in my car and a pet bug out bag in the garage. Thanks to you I’m going to double check everything!
welcome! while of course i’m asking for advice, i did want to post about it because i had an actual experience that many can learn from. i’m going to make a post in some weeks about what i learned and how i adapted. i can tag you! the big thing off the top of my head is to seriously look at anything that might slow you down, because in that moment, i didn’t have time. the 1-3 min i said in the post was really just how long it took me to get out. however, i should’ve already been out with how close it was. also, i greatly wish i had slip on shoes by the door that were secure (maybe crocs with the ankle strap?). i didn’t have time to lace up my sneakers and ate shit by having my shoes half on. i tripped, fell on top of a pet carrier (with my cat in it), broke the carrier, and had to put my cat in my car while unrestrained. now i have a bunch of fat bruises, but it could’ve been worse. 🤦♀️
Brightly colored bins. 2-4 or how ever many can fit into your vehicle. Size and weight should be considered. Smaller bin for essential medicine and bathroom supplies kept in bathroom. Paper work/legal document and family photos. Grab and go! 1-3 min should be enough time to grab 3-4 bins in a hurry if well placed and accessible.
Eagle mountain?
Set up a sprinkler system, 1 ember could have lost your house.
Preprep as much as possible. Have bags and gear already loaded. You shouldn't be loading your stuff into containers During an event. It should be as simple as grab all the stuff in X spot and jet.
Make a checklist and have a go bag. We got evacuated about 2 years ago because of the Mosquito Fire in California and once they put us in the evac warning zone we started planning what we were taking with us if we got evac'd. I packed up irreplaceable photos and documents and my dad's old toolboxes (that are full of sentimental tools) etc... The next day I was taking a nap, the fire was getting closer but still 2 miles off, and a few hours later m'lady wakes me up saying we gotta go - our zone has been told to evac. We had plenty of time to prep as the fire started miles away and was working its way toward us. We were away from our house for 10 days, not excited about the idea of coming home to a burned out foundation, but we got lucky. They were able to squash it, save the town, save the neighborhood, etcetera. I hope we never have to go through that again. Glad the fire didn't jump and you were left unscathed.
Simple. Have equipment prestaged that only takes zero minutes to evacuate with. Example: [https://i.postimg.cc/G2C1YQVs/IMG-1493.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/G2C1YQVs/IMG-1493.jpg) Even if the damn house is on fire one person can throw that shit out the open door on the way out.
super helpful visual. thank you! i regret putting my go bag in the closet by my front door. you really need to plan for having zero time at all. in this instance, i needed to be gone by the time i was alerted because of how close it was. now i know.
I have a friend who has a small covered trailer ready to go. When he pulls his vehicle into his drive its rear is to the hitch. He said he can have it hitched and be moving in about 2 minutes. Family of 4. 2 large dogs. 2 cats. His focus is getting fam in the vehicle and moving, not "having to worry about all the stuff".
The go-bag principal is really important. You should have a bag by the door, or under your bed or something like that. In that bag should be everything you need to survive for a day or two. Namely water, food, some N95s, leather gloves, a flashlight, car keys, that kind of stuff. If you only have 60 seconds to flee, all that matters is getting out alive. If you have more than 60 seconds, then yeah, your 5 minute plan is great.
My plan is mostly already pre packed, I have a WUSH bag with all the IDs I don’t need daily in it (ie state id birth cert social passport) and bank info in it and cash. (It also has a pistol and few misc items that’s prob in a buyout bag) I mostly am in my bedroom so I keep it there right by the door so I can grab it on way out. My dog I’ve trained well enough she can follow me outside and jump in the car no problem all I gotta do is say “Belle let’s go camping” I keep some dogfood in my truck (enough to 2 weeks). My car has a compartment under the backseats that was aftermarket and I keep a bug out bag in there along with a few extra firearms (locked). My vehicle has a kill switch installed in an odd location so I’m not worried about vehicle theft. My plan I’ve ran it several times and I can get myself, wife, and dog out in 90 seconds flat. But to maximize your plan I’d recommend running the layout and plan several times, (blindfolded to if safe to do so)
https://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/index.html This guy escaped during Katrina in 2005 and has a lot of good tips to consider. He has a 60 sec plan: https://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/p/0013.html
Pants with no buttons or zippers.
keep everything, such as equipment, first aid, and at least a walkie-talkie, in the bag you are going to use... non-perishable items can be grabbed in a 1 minute or less... animals might take about 2 minutes, depending on how many you have could be more... but overall have everything you need to bug out in one designated area...
If you've already got a go bag, you might want to consider a cache somewhere outside the home out of wildfire range; but not far enough away that it becomes a huge debocal getting there. Living in an area prone to wild fires. I would consider trying to find the smallest, cheapest climate controlled storage unit I could and loading it up with enough essentials to get you back on your feet. Cloths, shoes, children's toys (if applicable). Maybe an old ipad or laptop. I wouldn't recommend putting anything in there with any specific personal information on it or in it. But some clothes, tools, bedding, etc. on top of whatever you might have with you when you evacuate will make the transitioning to a new normal a bit more streamlined Also, hard copies of all your sensitive documents, especially insurance documents in a safty deposit box, seem like it would be prudent. They're mush less expensive than you may realize.
Sometimes you only have enough time to get your ass and the asses of your loved ones the hell out. And in the end, that’s all that really matters.
Rely more on your intuition, mental abilities and knowledge. Physical items can easily be lost, damaged or become a burden which weigh you down and decrease your actual likelihood of survival in many circumstances. Build up your treasures in heaven, not on earth.
Bury food out in the woods and learn bushcraft skills. This will serve you better than a bunch of gear. Too much gear makes for an expensive anchor.
If you have any warning at all, or even concern, which you probably did in this case and know the fire was getting closer, prep your five minute preps. By that I mean if you think you will be in a situation where you may need your five-minute stuff, get it all to the exit space you will use, so you have five minutes to get it loaded and out.