Medlin Software, Dennis Posted October 17, 2017 Report Share Posted October 17, 2017 All at Medlin, and our families, were unharmed during the recent fires. How prepared are you to bug out? How prepared are you to start over with nothing but what you carried on your person? --- One of our friends had literally no time to escape, beyond getting self and pets in a vehicle and driving through smoke and embers. Find out how to sign up for your local emergency notification system. Do not depend on getting a phone call, or an wide cast alert on your cell or landline. Be proactive and sign up for something which your authorities will be able to use. Be prepared for no notice at all... If you have a locked gate (such as in a rural area, at the end of your driveway) make sure the authorities know the access code (do not use a key lock!). Just as authorities cannot make you leave, it appears they do not have authority to cut locks to warn you to leave. Check your insurance. Your agent will be (should be) glad to go over scenarios with you. Don't forget to consider your temporary housing needs, and such housing may be some distance from your usual residence. In the case of our fires, so much housing was lost, and so little empty housing exists, many will be forced hours away from their residence area, and likely their place/area of work. --- Personally, we left the area under advisory evacuation, and due to the air quality. A few tweaks are still needed to our personal process, but we were close to being fully functional while leaving in minutes. Our main risk is earthquake, which is not so much a bug out, as a how can we get by for a few days on our own for all needs. Evacuating is not something we planned for. We had supplies ready, and were able to pack easily, but a few things were not as easy to get as they should and could be. If we simply had to escape, we would have been fine, though not because of planning. Lesson noticed and learned... 3 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret CPA in OH Posted October 17, 2017 Report Share Posted October 17, 2017 Thanks for this information and reminder to us all. Every part of the country has the possibility of some disaster, natural or human induced. We here are all grateful for your safety and wish you well in the difficult return to 'normalcy.' 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrod Posted October 17, 2017 Report Share Posted October 17, 2017 I wish you great success in restoring your lives in California. It is so sad to hear of such destruction and loss of life. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medlin Software, Dennis Posted October 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2017 At least 10 years. The experts say it will take about 10 years to rebuild the lost homes (10% per year is the rate for this large of a disaster). Those who do not have an inside track to a builder may be without their home for a long long time, and their insurance may only cover the first 12 to 24 months of additional living expenses. Something to ponder. 3 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 Where my husband grew up, in Los Alamos New Mexico, there was a huge fire about 15-ish years ago. Lots of houses were lost (not his family's house) but plenty of folks he knew either lost homes or had major damage. It's all rebuilt now - but the photos he has from years ago show well-forested mountains, and I've only ever seen mountains that look like they have toothpicks sticking up all over the place. New growth is coming in slowly - but the higher the elevation, the slower it goes. We have never had to "bug out" here in eastern (& central) Massachusetts - although with one storm or another, we have been without power for >1 week several times and without water treatment (plant failure) once that was also a week or more. A number of those times were in central Mass with a well for water. However, it's not impossible that we'd need to bug out from here, and that is not something I've really ever planned for (I have the hunkering down to last out the week-plus down; oil lamps, water sources, burner that hooks up to a propane tank, bleach for water treatment, filtration, ways to stay cool or warm). I'll have to add the bug-out scenario to the list. Thanks. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FDNY Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 So heartbreaking for those who lost so much, we wish the best for recovery and rebuilding of lives.. I have a friend in Santa Rosa who was caregiver to her Mom who passed away a week before the fires. My friend had do an immediate evacuation and was only able to leave with her dog, it was that urgent. Everything was lost. Imagine trying to evacuate her Mom who would have been immobile. Her passing was a blessing. When a firestorm is heading your way, immediacy is the most important realization to respect. As a former firefighter I cannot stress enough the importance of preparation. After 9/11 people were preparing for another attack possibly chemical or biological. Many people were putting together "GO Bags," packed with your own personal list of items, ready to grab at a moments notice. You can Google "Go bag" and get a comprehensive list of items. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gail in Virginia Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 My husband was a firefighter at one time also, and he gave me a good talking to shortly after we were marred about the importance of leaving at once when a fire alarm sounds. I used to work for a largish bank, and often when the fire alarm would go off in our builing people would continue to work right through until the fire department arrived. The only time I remained after he scolded me was when I was headed out the door and saw the fire in a trash can, so I stayed to put out the fire. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abby Normal Posted October 18, 2017 Report Share Posted October 18, 2017 53 minutes ago, Gail in Virginia said: shortly after we were marred I think my marriage marred me, too. 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberts Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 15 years ago if our office went up in flames - we were basically out of business forever. We had EVERYTHING in physical form and we had about 30 filing cabinets worth of stuff. Today it all fits on a zip drive and I have 2 real time copies and a bi-weekly backup. A ton of our stuff is scanned into and operated off of a remote office environment via another firm. Amazing how things have changed. When it snows here and I stay home from work - I literally can do 100% of what needs to be done and no client would know I'm not in the office. If I need to switch laptops in an emergency - it would take me <30 minutes to up and running. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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