Blackouts are caused by natural events, the weather is acting up I'm thinking about getting ready for winter, already.

Take it from the closet and place it next to the door.

I was on the Levee by a neighbors house and saw what I thought were raccoons turning the sod and weeds over looking for grubs, it was the squirrels digging holes 6-8 inches in diameter 2-3 inches deep. I have seen Skunks and Possums make holes like that, this was the first time I saw squirrels digging them. I began to tell my neighbor about it, he cut me off and related an incident that happened to him earlier in the day. He was on the Levee when suddenly he heard a bunch of chattering from a gang of red squirrels, loud and near to him. Suddenly about six squirrels ran to the ground and faced him chattering, wagging their tails and jumping around, then they attacked! He said that they approached so close he was almost ready to start kicking them away, he didn't, the little beast backed off, he left them to their weirdness. The only thing I can think of is they are preparing for a long cold wet winter, but that's not what the ducks, geese, and mud hens are telling me. I'm thinking now maybe a mild winter up North and brutal in the Southwest, I'm not sure what's going on with the birds either. It has started my thinking motor up, I wonder how much preparation I should be doing for this winter which appears to be upon us so soon.

Conspirators, planning their next move. They are most likely
making final preparations for stripping my apple tree.

A new wildfire started on the far side of the mountains impacting Clayton a small town in the western Diablo Range foothills. It started at 3:30 pm yesterday afternoon, the summer is halfway through and unfortunately, there will be more. Being one of the threats in our area along with a possible Levee breach, Earthquakes, and droughts inspiring many of us to be vigil. It's none of those events that has captured my thoughts today however, I'm thinking more of the possibility of an enormous amount of rainfall.

Rainfall was heavy during the winter of 2016-2017, another so close to it would be a rather rare occurrence, but with the way the weather has been behaving I am expecting something. Something in the way of frigid weather, extremely high wind storms, or a heavier than usual snow buildup in the Sierras. Each of those has the potential of being a serious natural event, and each may bring the electrical service to a halt. Most of the time living without power is a short-lived experience, sometimes as Puerto Rico has experienced, it is out for a much longer period of time. It seems unlikely we could experience a 6-month blackout, but it is entirely possible, although I am unable to think of an incident that could cause one. Realistically a one week to a one-month event is more likely, with one week being entirely possible. FEMA and most other Government agencies that focus on natural and man-made disasters recommend having supplies for a 3 day period. My recommendation is a bit different, but this is also if we are able to stay in our homes.

Having enough food, water, and clothing for 3 days is a reasonable amount to have on hand, in fact, a lot of homes normally have one week of groceries in the pantry, freezer, and refrigerator. One-half gallon per day per person is the normal amount of water recommended to keep on hand. The food in the freezer will survive for three days, most of it will remain frozen just make sure the door is kept closed. Refrigerated food is different depending upon how long it has been in the fridge before the outage started. One of the first things to do is to ascertain what foods have exceeded their storage life, cooked chicken is one of those foods. Any suspicious entrees should be disposed of, it is not worth the chance of becoming seriously ill. The food in the pantry will survive, pasta, canned beans, and dehydrated foods will be fine. In our pantry there is enough oatmeal to feed 20 people for two weeks, probably without milk, but oh well. A three-day survival is not tough to accomplish, of course, water is one of the main concerns. But why be prepared for such a short amount of time? Why not a bit longer?

One week of food isn't much. I don't see any
Oatmeal.

It makes sense to me to have on hand supplies to last one week, we have the food in the house, remember this is if we are sheltered in place. A three-day kit has items such as a dynamic radio, flashlight, candles, and water for that short amount of time. We will still need a source of heat to prepare meals, a camp stove, propane single burner, or an outdoor grill will all answer to the service. Doubling the amount of the three-day kit will get us to 6 days, that's simple, the addition of one case of 24 bottles of water in pints will extend a one person 3-day supply to seven days. It makes sense to add water to extend the life of the kit. Water is easy to fit into the normal rotation of supplies in the house, buy a new case every week while grocery shopping and using one from the reserve will keep the stock in the rotation. It is adding more water that will set us up for a longer event, I would bet most of us have at least one case on hand most of the time.

I'm fortunate, we are on a shared well system, our water is not potable, requiring us to have drinking water on hand at all times. We have a reverse-osmosis system in the kitchen but it will be rendered useless during a power outage. We have between 5 and 15 gallons at all times, a water cooler normally has a bottle in it. A family of four requires 4 cases of water for one week's supply of drinking water only, that is not for flushing the toilet or sanitation such as washing dishes. We could easily add an enormous amount of equipment, porta-potty, portable showers, and huge water storage systems, but we won't in this blog. When we begin to talk about that sort of gear we begin to talk about a lifestyle change, most people merely want the lights to come back on, they aren't interested in a cultural disturbance. In reality, we will have a choice to make, we can stay in our homes or drive to a family, friend, or even rent a motel room. If the blackout is preceded with an event that caused it, we may be faced with another entirely different set of choices. But for this, it's just a power outage.

Flushing of toilets, and keeping clean may be a challenge. If the residence is near a source of water the issue is easily resolved, but if water is not available it introduces an entirely new set of issues. Pouring a gallon of water into the open toilet will flush it, use that water for washing hands, and other cleaning first, the detergent will not hurt the throne. If water is not available, a portable toilet is a path to walk, it can be as simple as a 5-gallon bucket, or as involved as a complete sanitary station with a hot water system included. If the later is preferred, do yourself a favor and get a motel or hotel room, life without facilities is in many ways defined as miserable. Especially if there are toddlers, disabled people, or the elderly involved.

Very simple and useful in an emergency. Use a plastic bag
inside the Loo, it makes cleanup easy. I have used swimming
noodles for the seat, they are more comfortable.

Hygiene has other demands, water is not really needed for keeping one clean, disposable wet wipes work great. Using them for washing hands, face, and body is a good alternative, but there again we are getting into how much stuff do you want to keep on hand?

It is estimated that 33% of us are prepared for a short-term event, we are the ones with a kit set up, plan made, and it is practiced. For these people, it is a part of their lifestyle and they may very well be on the way for longer preparations. 33% of us are concerned and "feel" we should get set up for a three-day event, but somehow never get around to it. There are a lot of reasons for it, and I am not one to question it, most of us are dreadfully busy, broke, or don't know where to begin. 33% of us just don't recognize the potential for anything to happen, that is an envious position to take, everything will be just fine. You know what? Most of the time it is, but all it takes is one event of being stranded somewhere to make a believer of some of us.

There are many ways to put the kits together, pre-packaged are available, make one on your own, have a custom-made kit assembled, or merely stock water. Looking on the internet one is able to find hundreds if not thousands of articles suggesting what we should include, the bottom line is it ends up being your choices. Water is always the starting point for me. Many other items can be had at Dollar Stores, Goodwills, and Flea Markets, very little has to be name brand items. It doesn't have to be a large assortment of stuff either, making a list of items we think we would need is the place to start. Candles, matches, and a flashlight, building it up from there will be a snap.

The entire kit is available, or build your own, add a lot more water.

Being ready for a one-week power outage isn't a lot of work, or expense, in fact, most of us will be able to make it just fine with what we have on hand. It is always what comes along with the electrical outage that changes the entire plan. Planning for them is advisable because blackouts always accompany whatever precedes them, and that hurdle we have to take when it comes.

Thank you for reading and sharing my blog, winter is still months away, the Hurricane, Tornado, and Wildfire seasons still lurk in the near future. With them comes blackouts, we can prepare for that if nothing else. thanks again.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com