Wildfire season is approaching, disaster planning for what to escape with as well as the priorities in our lives, People.

 Wildfire season is beginning to take shape, the high winds and the end of the rainy season turn the landscape into a tinderbox. That is the subject of this article, a reminder to turn our thinking caps on and direct them towards preparing for the fires to occur. Put a plan together, prioritize our escapes, and improving our self-reliance, self-awareness, and personal responsibility skills. What is important? You most likely have different opinions on what is than I, and that is great, just the exercise of thinking it out may save some lives. 

 The wind is up, it's blowing at 17 miles per hour, it puts a damper on outside activities, it bothers Skunkpuppy as well. She's an irritable dog anyway, persnickety is the term I've heard to describe it, she's just ornery. The tall grass is still green although I can see across the slough in the pasture it is starting to turn Golden, per the state motto. The rain is most likely over until around Thanksgiving, we may get some in July it would not be uncommon for that. The wind is the primer for wildfires, it accelerates the drying process everything will be brown in two weeks, then heaven forbid they will start.

A view from the Strawberry mine to Iron Mountain this is all the further
one can go by vehicle. 

  I remember years ago a friend and I were in the mountains on a hiking, or camping trip, I don't recall which. We were heading towards Iron Mountain, one of the furthest points accessible by vehicle it's a bald mountain just at the tree line. There are a lot of lightning strikes up there leaving many of the trees with no tops, they get blasted off by lightning. This is the same mountain I saw a wolf, yes I know they are supposed to be extinct in Calfornia, I don't think that is accurate, we saw one, in fact, there is a lot of room for many unknown species up there.  This article is about wildfires, I'm sure I will write more before the season ends. On our way up the mountain, we stopped at the top of a canyon with the official name of "Jose Basin", I do not know the history behind the name. The canyon is about 700 feet deep and maybe a mile long, filled with bone-dry manzanita, trees, and weeds, it is filled to the top. We talked about what it would be like if that canyon were to catch on fire, there is no way to extinguish it, I did not see how in the world a human would be able to access the area. There is nothing within many miles of the canyon, there are no houses up there because there is no water I surmise, a well would have to be a mile deep. There is no water there, that means firefighters would have to cart in all of their supplies, there is no way to get enough water up there to make a difference in a blaze I imagine which would take place up there. I wonder if it is one of those situations that would be left to burn itself out, there are those places in mostly remote areas. That was the last time I was up there, one day I may go again with a grandson, there are a lot of places in California just like that. I am sure in some of the more remote states there are many as well, not just in mountainous regions but isolated flat land as well. Most of the places such as Jose Basin are not subjects for a "controlled burn", it would turn into a massive wildfire very rapidly. Backcountry wildfires are actually fairly common in California, as letting them burn is also.

A photograph of a "backcountry" fire burning itself out.

  I was talking to a county building inspector who was sitting in his truck outside of the burned-out house just down from my house, he was writing a report. We had a short conversation about home fires with his remark being that if one house were to start on fire it would be possible to lose eight or more homes, in the wind. Our fire protection is not all that good anyway, it takes a minimum of 15 minutes for the first engine to show up. Upon arrival, the firefighting equipment has to be set up, by that time typically two houses are now on fire. It is rare to have a fire on our island and keep the loss to one home, most of the time two go down. We don't have the easiest location for access, the fire trucks must go on the top of the levee, with a water truck, if the water truck is not available water is taken from the river. We don't have fire hydrants, the suctions of the hoses drawing from the river pull water weeds into and through the pumping systems on the trucks. I don't think there are strainers in the hose line due to the possibility of clogging and stopping water flow. We do have water, and we have the wind which is able to drive the fires with a vengeance. As most places, I am imagining to be the case is neighbors call each other at the onset of the fire, it doesn't' matter what time of day or night a lot of people are on the levee, ready to help, leave, or supply shelter and comfort. What would happen if it were to go out of control in the face of a 50-80 mile per hour wind, (which we have experienced)? 
  Following is my plan after receiving the phone call:
  1)  Prior to climbing into bed each night, I make sure to have laid out next to my bed, blue jeans, shoes, a long sleeve shirt, a hat, and a warm jacket, I will get dressed.
  2)  My wife will go downstairs and alert our daughter and grandson, I will wake my 95-year-old mother in law and help her to get dressed. (only if our house is not on fire).
  3)  My wife will leave the house from downstairs with Skunkpuppy (who will be going bananas for sure), she will put everyone in a car and drive to our muster station which is about 200 yards away.
                                    OK, so far so good, as far as planning goes.
  4)  I would save my wheelchair, only if the house is not on fire, I will definitely take my scooter and its trailer, it is parked next to the top floor exit. I will park it in a safe place and go back in for my wheelchair.
                                    Now the human factor plays it's poker hand out
 5)  I will save my guitars, banjo, and ukelele's, oh there are some downstairs, my mandoline, keyboard, and 3/4 size guitar. To heck with it, grab them all.
 6)  My laptop, chargers, phone, chargers for my wheelchair and scooter, and the tower computer!
 7)  The car keys, water, my wife's' computer, my medication, holy mackerel!

                                              This is why a written plan is so essential.
 Now back to reality, if I attempt to take all of that stuff, I would need more than my scooter and the wagon I use as a trailer, a moving truck would be more in order. Of that entire confusing mess, everything is replaceable with exceptions. Our actual plan is to get everyone out, mother in law, kids, wife, dog, me and on the way out grab only what is set up to take. We do have an emergency 3-day kit by the door that is large enough to take care of basic needs for 72 hours. The revised escape plan:
*  Get up and get dressed, my wife has the dog, she will get the car keys and the kids out.
*  Go get my mother in law and help her get dressed and moving.
*  Go upstairs grab my laptop, and cell phone, (they are on a charger every night), get grandma out, grab the 72-hour bag and toss it in my wagon which is attached to my scooter.
*  Meet my wife at the muster station. (Follow this Link to FEMA's disaster planning templates for families).
  If the house is on fire by my estimation we will have about 1 minute to get out of the house, we will have to rush, this short list is most likely all I could do in that time frame. All the "stuff", guitars, ukes, computers, my wheelchair, as well as my scooter may all be lost. This is a good time to remind ourselves all of our material possessions are mostly replaceable, there are a million guitars made every year, and many thousands of wheelchairs also.
  An emergency plan is worth its weight in gold when faced with a situation such as a rapidly moving wildfire, they burn so fast and so hot leaving little time for anything except escape. The plan will prioritize and make sense of the situation, writing it, practicing it, and including all of the family members in the planning will pay dividends if it is every needed. All of the possible types of disasters that may occur should be included in the plan, the tragic fire when 3 of my neighbors' houses burned down has made me a believer. It may be two or more plans need to be written, for instance, I live in a flood zone, (75 miles south of Oroville Dam) and it's no secret we are in an earthquake zone. To prepare for all of them is prudent, a different emergency kit is not needed for each event, either put one together yourself or purchase on available commercially and add your medications and other critical items in it. I always recommend a 7-day kit versus a 3 day for each person, with the addition of a few bottles of water and several meals a 72-hour kit can be made into a 7-day grab and go bag. (Link to a commercially prepared wildfire 72-hour kit)
  So it all returns to Grandma, Wife, Kids, Dog, and me, hopefully, I can grab our kit if so more power to me. I just don't think guitars, computers, x-boxes, or any of our other "stuff" is a hill I want to sacrifice my life for, the list of items to grab on the way out will grow by the second. Without a plan, confusion could certainly turn into panic, when a plan is in writing, and it is talked about and explained in the event it ever has to be used will be more natural than if none is written with no knowledge of how long we have to get out or if nothing is set up to go quickly. Wildfires are "natural", they are fine as long as they remain in the "wild", it's where civilization meets wild where it gets terrible. No matter where the wildfires are I always find my self-saying out loud, "Man, what can I do to help"? (This Link leads to Ready.gov's page on preparations and wildfire prevention).

  Thanks for reading and sharing this article, it's not just California under the threat of wildfires, right now in Oklahoma the residents are facing a huge fire, the season is starting. What would you make a priority to grab and get out with? Why not set up a kit next to the door, set up a plan, and rehearse it a few times, you may never need it, but then again you may. If you live in an area that is free of wildfires, that is a good place to be, but maybe you need to plan for Tornadoes. Thanks again for reading and sharing.
jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com