So Cal is a-Blaze! NEED TO EVACUATE???

My sister packed all of the photos, all of the documents (birth/marriage certificates, insurance forms etc.). These were easy as the photos are in albums or on CD and the papers are in folders in carrier thingy.

Blankets, clothing.

She had time so next were the Featherweight sewing machine and cake decorating books that are out of print.

They would have been evacuating to my parents' house so they didn't need much in the way of food, water, pillows and blankets, etc.

I have an emergency bin in my garage. It's a big, plastic rubbermaid thing I got at Target. It has things like water, food, a space blanket, eating utensils, camping pots, a crank radio, matches, change of underwear, pajamas, dog food, dog bowls, poop bags and a few dog toys. There's also one of those bazillion in one tools thingies. I have his collapsible dog crate in the garage too.

Things from the house would be: Laptop, photo albums, jewelry case, guitar. If there were more time the Featherweight.

She was packed on Sunday night but hadn't received even a voluntary evac by Monday. With that kind of time I'd be looking for irreplaceables. Like books that were out of print and hard to get. I've got a few that are pretty valuable. Little tchatchkies that have sentimental value, like my deceased aunt's clock.

 

if i had no time? take the husband, the pets, the laptops (lots of photos and data on these), wedding photo album, box o' paperwork, ipod.

in that order. most important things first, insurance covers the rest.

 

Isn't it amazing, in the end, how much of our material possession is just so much dispensible bric-a-brac! Kinda makes you sit up and wonder what else we could have done with all that money over the years, that we could part with what we paid full retail for so easily, if forced to do it.

I recall a poll years ago that asked the same thing: with only a few minutes to decide what to save and what to leave behind, I was astounded at how many answered that along with the obvious possessions of truly no price (photographs, pets, etc.) they'd rescue the television set! The television set!! This poll was long enough ago the Internet was just a trapeeze acrobat's safety device - it's gratifying to see we've matured somewhat since then!

Mark Baird
Alameda CA

 

Well, it really is best to be prepared and to think it through. In fact, practice it if possible.

They interviewed a couple on the news that lost everything. They were in such a hurry to leave their house that they weren't thinking. In their panic they grabbed: a year old box of baklava and three rolls of toilet paper.

No kidding.

I worked on my box right after Katrina. Time to work some more. I'll be burning photos to CDs and photocopying stuff. I'm lucky in that I do have some copies of things spread around already. All of my degrees and certificates are photocopied and hanging on the wall of my office at school.

I did get a dome tent for the hatch of the Prius. I have a blanket in there but I think I'll buy an inflatable mattress next.

There are evacuees sleeping outside in the parking lot at Qualcomm with nothing but a blanket between them and the asphalt. They may have cots by now.

I truly believe that the disaster that will force me into an evacuation won't be fire but an earthquake. While I have family nearby, I can't count on their house being any more habitable than mine or even being able to get there by car.

I'll be adding a backpack to my supplies. There is a doggie backpack already in there so he can carry his own supplies. In case we end up on foot.

 

Here, it's tsunami.
We won't have much warning, and the roads that all lead "uphill" are narrow, and will be packed with people.
We'll be limited to what we can carry, for a distance of about 2 miles...uphill.

Each other. The cat. Water, food for the cat, and our personal papers. My cell phone. The digital camera, because, hey, we'll want photos later.

 

Our town was evacuated on Monday while my wife and I were at work. A paramedic friend of ours was in the area the next day and we requested: the cat, laptop and desktop, wedding album, and the top drawer of our filing cabinet.

 

What did I take:
Laptop- serves as my photo album and served as my nav system if I was forced to take alternate routes out.
Hard Drive- the desktop was too big, so I pulled the hard drive before I left the house. Components can be replaced, files and photos can't.
Clothes- Seeing as I did laundry the day before, I just threw the full basket in the car.
Various blankets/non-perishable food- I seriously thought I would be spending the night in the car because all of the hotels were booked. (I ended up getting VERY lucky.)
Surfboard- The largest, non-replaceable, thing I could fit in the car. It's an older board signed by Rusty, and I'll be darned if I let that burn. (It also represents many hours of overtime work.)
Most of the things that I really wanted to take were items too large for the Prius. All of my furniture was either hand built by me or is a one-of-a-kind item that used to be in Disney. It was hard to leave those things, but they're not worth my life.
However, there is good news (no I didn't switch to Geico), I can technically go back home and nothing around my apartment was burned. But the fire near I-5 is still unpredictable enough for me to wait on making the trip form LA to SD. The smoke should hopefully ease up by Friday.

 

Can you wait one more day? I-5 is iffy and there's talk of getting some control tomorrow.

No sense giving up your room and having to turn around.

I think things will be much improved by Friday.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Oct 24 2007, 11:46 PM) [snapback]530119[/snapback]</div>

I think I misworded myself (is that a word?). I actually return on Friday morning. I was originally supposed to leave on Thursday, but my family back in FL convinced me to stay another night. The cast members here in Anaheim have been really great in accomodating those who had to leave their homes and have gone out of their way make us feel comfortable. (They were really nice and gave me a cast rate for the room.) Ironically, the plan back in Florida was to stay at the Disney Contemporary "bunker" in case we had to evacuate our home during a hurricane. We never had to use that plan, but three months after I move to CA I find myself using west coast Disney as an evacuation point. It's a small world after all.....

 

The Red Cross has lots of information on being prepared for a disaster, including what to have packed and ready to go at all times.

American Red Cross - Get Prepared

Specifically they recommend having a bag (or bags) with change of clothes, copy of important documents (passport, etc.), copies of prescription medicines, cash, radio, flashlight, spare batteries, food, water, and more.

Also they recommend going over a plan with your family in case you get separated, and have a relative/friend who lives in another region designated as a point of contact for everyone.

By the way if anyone wants to help out those who were affected by the fires, you can donate here:

American Red Cross- CA wildfires

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MJGreen @ Oct 24 2007, 09:46 PM) [snapback]529987[/snapback]</div>

We have done the following since 9/11 to get ready for whatever...

1. Fire Proof safe in the house - actually two of them, one built into a wall very well hidden, one larger one for important papers and no cash or jewlery.
2. set up meeting points - in manhattan and a failsafe one just in case.
3. cash on hand - always in case the ATMS go down
4. safe room - can be set up quickly
5. supplies for about one week minimun - including for out pets
6. one gun permit, at least one handgun, and training to use it - plus ammo - all in a safe.

what would i take if i had to egress quickly from the home on fire - me, my family and pets - that it. more time than that - keep sakes like photo albums - although most of our stuff is digitalized and we have copies outside the house.

we did have a fire in the home - i discovered an attic fan motor on fire one night about 10 years ago - i did the following..
1. got the wife and kids out and pets
2. turned off the electric
3. got a towel and soaked it and wrapped it around my nose and mouth
4. got the big fire extinguisher and went up and put the fire out

had the wife call 911 at the beginning of the whole thing

thankfully, it all worked out -- seems as though they did not put the attic fan motor through the circuit breaker panel on its own circuit - fixed that sucker - and put a rate of rise temperature sensor in the attic too. for completeness sake, also put in a hard wired CO detector upstairs and in the basement - and bought a lot of fire extinguishers of all shapes and sizes.