Wildfires give us one minute to escape with our lives, this is how to get out in one minute.

                                  Failure to Plan is a Plan to Fail.

The Campfire yesterday 11-13-18

Thirteen wildfires are now burning throughout the state of California, some on their way to containment, others cannot be approached yet. Fires of the magnitudes of these currently burning are unprecedented, the state is experienced with them, however, they continue to become more intense, larger, and unpredictable. They burn fast, one report stated the Campfire was burning the length of 80 football fields a minute (4.5 miles 7.25 Kilometers) 90 miles per hour (145 kph). Once the fires reach a home the residents have one minute to get out and be on their way to safety. We hear and read a lot about being prepared for evacuation and all of the gear we need to grab before we go, it can be overwhelming. By the time a wildfire reaches our doorstep, it is far too late to decide what to take along that is of the utmost of importance. We don't have time for that, there is only time to save our lives. Our thinking needs to be adjusted a little bit, and in some cases a change of thought is monumental.

(Follow this Link to FEMA's page on Wildfires)

We should accept the fact that a one minute escape is possible when pre-planning is performed. It will take a paradigm shift, the new planning and preparations will become a major part of our lifestyles, some tasks we perform every night, others twice a year. The one-minute escape plan precludes our normal family disaster planning, it is in effect a plan "B" which is relevant to other natural disasters as well. We won't have time to secure every valuable possession in the home, but we will be able to save ourselves. When is the appropriate time to begin to think in the one-minute escape mindset? Today, we will begin.

Use a FEMA template and put together a family disaster plan, the full-scale one includes every item on the list. This is one of those things that doesn't change, we still need a written plan, when tasks are written down we have a tendency to remember them better. The plan will include all of the issues we should be paying close attention to when an emergency begins, some disasters we will have time to exercise all of them, others as in the one-minute plan, won't. One of the most critical reasons to make a plan is to practice it with the family and other household members. During times of stress, we will follow our instincts, and after practicing our emergency plan it will be committed to memory, becoming instinctive. Every item will not be remembered during a catastrophic event, but enough of it will be to enable our escape. It will bring a sense of order to a confusing situation that many of us have never experienced before.  Even at that, the disasters that call for an emergency plan to be constructed will give us about 5 minutes to prepare for what is on the way, but it will not address the need to get out right now.

(FEMA's family planning Link)

Included in the plan should be an out of area contact number to leave messages. Everyone in the area will be on their cell phones when the event is in full swing, the local lines will be jammed up, after a short while the cell towers will not be working. Texting may work, it doesn't use as much airspace compared to a cell phone, most likely all text lines will be jammed as well. Not so with out of area numbers, choosing one out of state may be a wiser choice, mine is a brother in Minnesota. Call once, then after 4-5 hours leave another message and pick up those that are for you.

Now we can get into what makes up our every night tasks that make up our one minute plan:

Charge the Cell Phone every night before retiring, plug it in before bedtime allowing enough time for it to become fully charged. Every member of the household should do likewise, and charge the auxiliary charger as well, they are available online and in most big box variety stores. The charger need not be fancy, one that will provide 3 charges is fairly standard unless it is convenient do not worry about the charging cords and box, just charge the unit.

Make sure it is charged each evening before bedtime.

Keep a leash handy for the family pets, whether it is a dog or a cat panic will set in for them. Dogs have a tendency to panic, causing them to run fast, and far, most of them will never be seen again. Cats, on the other hand, are a mixed bag, some panic and run, others will stay close to the house and hide, often they survive. It is much better and safer for the animals to keep them on a leash, there is no time to place them in a carrier, we'll be lucky to have time to put the leash on them. Place the restrainer in a pocket as well, that way we know where it is.

Prior to bedtime set up the bed to enable an escape, each family member must do it. Next to the bed set up a complete set of clothing, shoes (leather are best), long sleeve shirt, cotton slacks, socks, a hat, and jacket. In the pockets fill them up with your cell phone, charger, a pocket knife, the family disaster plan card, and car keys. (placing a set of keys in one pocket of everyone's jacket is a good idea) Clothing with a lot of pockets will allow more items of importance to be included, in a family of four that is a lot of pockets and a lot of articles. Medication must be in one of the pockets, it is advisable to set up a weekly pill organizer, put it in a pocket. In another pocket sunglasses and readers may be placed, another of the rear pants pocket place your wallet. In the one minute plan, we don't place an emergency kit next to the bed, we have another spot for it.

It's often difficult to do and remember but it is important to keep the vehicles fuel tank 1/2 full, it will be enough to get us far away. Normal maintenance at the prescribed intervals is sufficient to be sure the car is in suitable condition to escape. The vehicle's trunk is the spot for our supplies, whether it is an emergency kit or a supply put together by us makes no difference. This is where to put the case of water, some granola bars and whatever equipment we each feel we will need to survive. There is a good chance the vehicle will be destroyed and we will have to run ahead of the flames, it is best to expect that scenario.

Learn how to open the garage door when the power is out, normally there is a rope that disengages the drive from the door. That rope has a red handle, pull it then drag the door towards the wall, pull hard at first then it will fly open. Closing the door after the car is out is best practice, but that takes a few precious seconds which could be the difference between life and death. Besides the house is most likely a complete loss so why risk our lives to preserve the adobe for a few more minutes.

Pull down and then pull away from the door, it will take an effort to
get it moving.

Write a one-minute escape plan also, events will unfold too fast to read it, but with practice, it will be second nature. Reading through the plan once a week at first, continuing with monthly readings will commit it to memory, simply walking through the plan will take less than a minute after it has been done a few times. Talk about it, practice it and fix any discrepancies before it is needed, remember the one-minute plan is merely to get us out of the door, everything behind that door is dynamic and unpredictable. Decisions will have to be made within seconds, the pressure will be immense. What we have in our pockets and on our backs is all we will escape with, our material items will be lost, hopefully, the homeowners will cover it.

People with disabilities and the elderly have special needs, one person in the household must be assigned to assist them. I am disabled, my walking distance is 50 feet, that's it, we also have my 95-year-old mother in law with us. Writing down a one-minute escape plan is of the utmost importance to a household like ours. But we are fortunate because both my mother-in-law and I are mobile, my scooter is just outside the door. Other households have a situation where a person is bed-ridden, these are the truly at-risk people. In these cases, the one-minute plan turns into a one-day escape plan, as far as wildfires are concerned. When the weather bureau predicts high winds and dry conditions it is usually made public several days before the wind event occurs. Our electric utility will begin to investigate whether we are at risk for wildfires and if the service will be secured, if the prediction is ripe for the fires to start, perhaps that is when we should leave.

(FEMA's page on the evacuation of disabled persons. Link )

The spirit of the one-minute escape plan is to get out of the house, at that point nothing else matters. That is also the point we accept that all is lost, to leave my guitar behind will be a life-changing event, but not as much as the wildfire. The guitar stays, there were a million made all those years ago, more are available. This is where reality hits us hard, just the thought of losing everything is tough to think of, but it must be accepted. Our priorities are of the living kind, Children, Wife, Mother-in-law, Pets, and then Me everything else is on the back burner and will be lost. There will be plenty of time to lament over the unbearable loss, but you know what we will survive. The object is to realize the threat of a flaming infernal traveling towards us at breakneck speeds demanding our reaction to be swift and sure. Developing a one minute plan will serve to address that situation, indeed just realizing it is a very real situation is a giant step forward, it doesn't promise we will all escape but it will surely increase our chances.

Thanks for reading and sharing my blog, the human suffering continues there are 13 wildfires burning (Link) as this is being written making it impossible to keep up with them all. People are dying, the property is being destroyed, and the emergency response is exemplary, there is no comparison to any other actions being performed. These people are amazing, they are actually fighting a war when the conditions don't allow them to fight the fires they are saving people, what an amazing group of people. The suffering of the victims makes my problems insignificant. Thanks again.

JacquesLebec  emergencykitsplus.com