June tends to be our worst month in terms of fires. We generally get a fair amount of moisture in May, and then the North American monsoon usually arrives by mid-July bringing frequent afternoon rainstorms. But June tends to be bone dry and hot, hot, hot! I fear this year is no exception.
I could write a good long rant about wildfires, and how totally insane it is that people keep building more and more houses in the "wilderness." Of course, once the woods are full of people, they're no longer "wild" and the natural fires that would normally clear out the dead wood and underbrush are not allowed to burn... so the forests build up a HUGE amount of fuel. Add to that the drought and the global warming-induced pine beetle infestation and you pretty much have a recipe for disaster.
So it's not really surprising to me that each year we keep hitting new milestones for Colorado's "most destructive fire in history." Last year it was the Waldo Canyon Fire which burned on the northwest edge of Colorado Springs destroying 346 homes. This year, it's been the Black Forest Fire on the northeast side of Colorado Springs, which has, to date destroyed 473 homes.
CatMan grew up in the springs, so we have a lot of friends down there, and have been anxiously monitoring the fire maps. We have some friends who have a home in Black Forest, and it looks like they're gonna squeak through this one by the skin of their teeth. Homes burned to the ground about 1000 yards on three sides of them, but fortunately their home was in a little pocket that the fire missed.
Anyhow, when you watch hour after hour of fire coverage on television, it makes you really think about stuff. And I mean that literally - you think about all the "stuff" that people own.
So far, this fire has claimed two lives... the remains were found in what was left of the garage where the couple had been packing up their belongings for several hours. Somehow, I just can't get that out of my mind. They had several hours to evacuate, but somehow they pushed it just a little bit too far and the fire overcame them.
 |
| A home destroyed in the Black Forest Fire |
Now, I'm not exactly what you might call a minimalist. I think I own a lot less stuff than your average American, but nobody is gonna mistake my house for an Amish residence.
But it all makes me think, if I had only a few minutes to pack the car and get out, what would I save?
Of course, the first thing would be to get the cats to safety. After that, I'm not really sure. I suppose it might depend on how much time I had. I'd probably grab necessary stuff first like medication, cash, and critical documents.
Beyond that, it would be nice to save my computer just for convenience sake - though I am backed up to the cloud. After that I'd probably grab the photo albums and a few things like a change or 2 of clothing and maybe the cat beds so they'd be less frightened in an unfamiliar place.
But I'd be hard pressed to think of any thing that would be worth risking my life for.
Of course, that's all pretty easy to say when you're not faced with the situation - but I certainly hope that I'd err on the side of safety.
So how about you? What would you do if you had only an hour to pack up and evacuate?
I love the materialism poster--it sums it all up, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteI find myself puzzled as to why you would build in an area prone to wildfires ... or river flooding ... while I feel badly for these folks, a part of me feels frustrated with them. It seems to me that you are courting disaster when you build in an area where natural events such as this are bound to occur on a fairly regular basis. The story of the couple who died in their garage is horrifying--truly a case of "where your treasure is, there your heart will be, also" in its most negative form.
Beyond my family and my cat, I'm not sure what else I would take. Pictures. The painting my husband made for me (a view from our honeymoon). Meds/documents. A favorite stuffed animal for my children. Really, though, I'd be way more concerned about getting all of us to safety.
I totally understand the feelings of frustration. I mean, how can you not feel for someone whose entire home has just burned to the ground? At the same time part of me just wants to scream "What were you thinking?!?" And it's not like these are people who are suffering financially. Most of these homes were valued at WAY over a million dollars.
DeleteI dunno, I just think that in a big picture kind of a way it doesn't make sense for a society to have to expend soooo many resources to protect the homes of the wealthiest among us. I think the same thing about luxury beach houses in hurricane prone areas, etc, etc. It just seems like we'd all be better off if we just declared certain areas "human free zones" or at least "house free zones."
If you want to get on a similar-but-different rant, you could discuss people who indulge in risky health behaviors ... working in health care, my heart breaks for them, but at the same time, I know that they have brought it on themselves (I'm thinking of smokers/alcoholics). It's all the same premise--we have the power to make choices over our health and well-being and we can't control the choices others make.
DeleteOn your original topic, my husband knows a man who lives north of New Orleans. This man (who housed many newly homeless people in his home for months after Katrina) was aghast at people who wanted to return to New Orleans. His comment was that New Orleans is a "bowl" and it was bound to flood again. It was interesting to hear the thoughts of someone living in the area.
You know, the older I get the more it becomes crystal clear to me that human beings are not creatures of logic. Sigh.
DeleteDespite being lucky enough to live in an area where I am unlikely to ever have to face this situation, I've thought about this a bit (more along the lines of 'I need more baskets for the pets in case we have to evacuate!' I would get all of the animals into the car; then my box of documents; computer hard drive thing (though thinking I should have a little USB backup); food for animals; litter tray etc; food for humans; clothes (could pack these up very fast as I have few!); toiletries; camera and lens; a few bit of art work; knitting stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe animals and the bf are the only irreplaceable stuff; the rest I would just pack up as much as I could until I had to leave. But not leave it too late!
Having just thought about the size of my car and the number of animals to be crammed in, I reckon most of the rest of my stuff would have to burn... I would be sad about some things, like old family photos and things I have hand made, and if I were to lose my photos, but I would be much more scared of burning to death than of losing them!
I have a USB backup drive, so I'd probably just grab that if the situation was really dire. I think one of my biggest fears is that one or two of the cats would hide someplace where I couldn't get to them and I'd have to leave them behind. I think that would totally crush me.
DeleteI've got 4 cat carriers, though only 2 are the easy access kind with the top that opens, so it could be a challenge. I saw a video of a family that had put 2 cats in a clothing hamper with the top wired shut. I guess that would work in a pinch!
I would feel so guilty if I had to leave one or both of my cats behind . . ugh. I don't even want to think about it. Hopefully they'll come quietly or be easily bribed by treats/toys/wet food.
DeleteLuckily mine are fairly easily bribed and lured out of hiding with food..and I think I've worked out that we'd be ok for carriers if there was a bit of sharing!
DeleteMine are all easily scared. Even a knock on the front door and they all go scattering to various hiding places. I read somewhere that if you were in one of the pre-evacuation zones they recommended that you confine your pets to one room so it would be easy to grab them if and when you needed to go. But I think I'd pretty much be willing to tear the house apart to get to one of my babies in that situation!
DeleteMine go outside, which is the only real problem with gathering them in. Thankfully, we're unlikely to ever have to deal with it, as we don't have fires and no major rivers to flood. Other than flash floods (also fairly unlikely) I can't think of any likely natural disasters.
DeleteBut if it was to happen, I too would be tearing the house apart rather than leave the cats!
I love the "wilderness", but living in it... meh. Too dangerous. And a lot of bugs.
ReplyDeleteI live in a very old building full of very old people. Fires are rare around here, but I worry about a grandma forgetting to turn off the stove. I always keep my "valuable" stuff (documents, laptop, external hard drive and expensive electronics) in a backpack, along with a change of clothes and water. I would probably miss a few books, clothes and gifts if they were gone in a fire, but not nearly enough to stay behind for them. The sole reason for me to risk my life during a fire would be to rescue family or pets.
The comments on saving photo albums reminded me to scan my old pictures. My album box is huge, I could never run down the stairs with it!
Wow! You're really prepared! So do you just keep all that stuff in the backpack and return it there when you're done using it?
DeleteI think I need to step up my efforts to get all of my photos scanned too. That would certainly simplify things if the worst happened.
Yes, it took some getting used to and I often forget to pack the laptop after using it, but this crazy solution works for me because I have limited storage and like to have a designated place for everything.
DeleteOf course that only works for natural disasters. If an eventual burglar is attracted to my old Snoopy backpack I'm screwed :o)
Well... you could put the whole Snoopy backpack in a ziplock bag in the freezer... just joking! :-)
DeleteWild fires are not a risk here - floods are a bit closer to home - and I've never seriously thought about this question. It's very difficult to know what I'd save. I think if it came to it, I'd panic and run without saving anything (apart from the cat) and then have all sorts of hassles because of losing documents.
ReplyDeleteAs for what I'd feel sad to lose, I think I'm most attached to my kitchen equipment, partly because much of it's inherited. We could well end up leaving in a 2CV with some camping gear (a tent's got to come in handy, right?), a cat, an old saucepan and a few old spoons.
I would then be really pissed off about losing all the information on my computer that I'd failed to back up. Ian would take his computer, so we'd have about a million photos of old cars, too.
Ha! Well, hey, if you've lost everything a million photos of old cars could come in handy... I'm not sure how, but I'll think of something! :-)
DeleteThis really does make me think that I should put all of the critical documents in a safe place where I could easily grab them. Maybe even one of those little hand held safes that are supposed to be fireproof.
As far as I'm concerned, everything is replaceable. As long as my family and animals were safe, I wouldn't be worried about anything else. Losing sentimental possessions doesn't destroy my memory so I wouldn't even be concerned about that. But if I had time to grab a few things, all I'd get would be food, water, family medication, a few clothes for layering and my debit card.
ReplyDeleteFood and water... I didn't think of that. I suppose it would be good to have some of that on hand, especially for the cats.
DeleteAt one point I decided to put together a disaster bag for my car - I filled it with food, water, medical supplies etc. Then, for some crazy reason I decided that candles would be a good thing to add. I guess I was thinking about being somewhere without power. But the reality is that candles in a car... that can get over 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54C) if left out in the sun were, ahem, a really bad idea, especially since I left them out on the dashboard! Can you say melted was everywhere? Anyhow, I'll never, EVER get the blue wax out of everything, but at least I learned my lesson - and the car does still smell a bit like blueberries (they were scented candles!) Oh my!
Ha! Oh dear. Yeah I fear some of our best intentions turn out to have disastrous consequences!
DeleteIt's funny, I've been reading the previous comments about saving important documents and never once did it cross my mind. I'd say it might be harder to replace them State-side than here in Ireland? Although if I was after losing my entire home with all its contents, I don't think anyone would want to make it difficult for me to sort those things out! Something tells me I wouldn't be very nice if they did!
I can never understand why people choose to live in natural disaster prone areas. Thankfully in Ireland we don't get fires of any natural kind but we do get flooding. Now it's not overly severe the majority of the time but Irish people are ill-equipped for anything that's a slight inconvenience. 2 inches of water and the whole country shuts down! (you'd think we'd be used to it with all the rain we get...go figure!) Anyway our genius county councils have these brilliant ideas to build whole towns on flood plains. The river then floods and the council men are standing there going "Oh dear, the river flooded and destroyed our housing. I wonder how that happened" and here's me in the background ready to blow a gasket with the stupidity of it all. And every time this happens, my first thought afterwards is that I need to take up meditation.
I'm laughing at the blueberry candle incident! The car disaster bag is always a good idea, though, especially considering the crazy Colorado weather.
DeleteEimear, regarding documents, I've had to replace most of mine 3 years ago and it was such a prolonged and expensive pain in the ass! I would rather run out the door naked (it's warm here, and people walk almost nude in the street anyway) than leave those damn things behind.
Eimear - replacing documents here in the US got much more challenging after 9-11. A few years ago I lost my wallet and had to try to get my driver's license replaced... HOLY MOLY! They made it ridiculously difficult.
DeleteI had to have either a valid passport or a certified copy of my birth certificate, neither of which I had. Of course, I couldn't get a passport without a driver's license and/or a birth certificate, so there was no option other than the birth certificate.
I was born in Hawaii. So... I'm trying to figure out how to get a "certified" copy and everything on their website says that I have to "stop by" the records office to pick one up. Um... no. Finally I figured out how to order one online, but it took 6 weeks... yes SIX to have it sent to me.
But here's the totally crazy part. All I needed to order the birth certificate was my full name, and the names of both of my parents, plus $14.
So, it was this crazy thing where there were all of these roadblocks that were supposedly gonna "keep us safe from the terrorists" but all they were really doing was making it harder for legitimate people to do valid business. I mean if some "bad guy" really wanted to, it wouldn't be very hard to get a certified copy of ANYBODY's birth certificate, and from there you can get anything!
Meanwhile, an expired driver's license or passport, both of which have my photo on them, weren't considered sufficient ID... never mind the fact that they have my fingerprints on record (they fingerprint everybody to get a driver's license in the first place.) AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!
OK... sorry for the rant, but the whole thing just showed me how ridiculous it all is!
Bele - I really should revisit that idea. I think the bag is still shoved under the back seat, though I haven't opened it in years. God knows what's in there... 10 year old raisins probably!
National Geographic did a big article a few years ago about how important wildfires are - I was shocked! I never thought putting out wildfires could be a bad thing. It's another example of people trying to "fix" or "improve" things before they realize how complicated the issue is.
ReplyDeleteMy first priority would be my husband and cats, but it would also be nice to grab water, food, and medicine. I'm too much of a worrywart to use my whole hour . . I'd be in such a rush to leave that I doubt I'd grab anything else. It's hard to imagine though, and I can understand being so panicked that you don't want to leave until you're sure you have everything you need . . it's terrible that those people died packing! Hopefully it won't happen again. :(
And a kinda related side note: when my husband and I got our wills done, we were told a ziploc bag in the freezer is one of the safest places to keep important documents - because it's unlikely to burn.
Ziplock bag in the freezer. I never EVER would have thought of that one, but it makes total sense. Thanks for the tip!
DeleteI know what you mean about the forest fire counter-intuitive thing. There are actually some species of pine trees that need the heat of the fire in order for their seeds to open up and sprout.
Somehow we humans just can't seem to get it into our heads that we're not actually the center of the entire universe!
The bag in the freezer is genius! I'm soo going to use that tip.
Delete"Somehow we humans just can't seem to get it into our heads that we're not actually the center of the entire universe!" -- amen to that! I say voluntary human extinction is the way to go.
Voluntary human extinction, oh my! I wouldn't hold my breath for that one! I actually think that everything would be OK if there were just fewer people - like no more than a billion. Unfortunately I can't think of a non-horrific way to achieve that - well, I suppose if a bunch of people just agreed not to reproduce for a few generations, but somehow I just can't see that happening.
DeleteUltimately though, I think this is one of those "self-limiting" sorts of equations, and mother earth will probably take care of her "human infestation" all by herself. It just would be sooo much easier on everybody (including all of the other species caught in the crosshairs) if we could be a tad bit more proactive on this one!
I so agree with you on this. There are really too many of us, and self limiting would be much less painful than waiting for mother nature to get us back in line.
DeleteIt certainly would be less painful. Unfortunately, humans don't seem to be real good at the "limits" thing in general!
DeleteSome of us are doing okay in that department. I had 4 children and I have 2 grandchildren. If some people just chose not to, we could get there.
DeleteWell, I could write a novel on this subject, but I actually don't think that we need to convince anybody to have fewer kids.
DeleteAll the evidence shows that when you educate women, raise people out of poverty, and give them control over the size of their families, the birth rates naturally fall. In most of the developed world the birth rate is barely at replacement, and in many places it's actually far below that.
So it seems to me that if we want to solve our population problem we need to focus on poverty, education and birth control - the rest will take care of itself.
There is, of course, the whole question of religious rules against birth control, but that's a whole other nest of worms! Still, I find it really hard to believe that any rational person looking at the actual facts could truly believe that birth control is somehow less moral than the alternative!
I would save the same things you would. I also feel frustrated about people who live in danger zones such as cliff side houses, beach fronts and earthquake zones. I suppose some people are swayed by the natural beauty, and some have inherited property, but it seems to be mostly a status thing...sigh.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what it is... but now the "we shall rebuild" mantra has begun, and I just find myself shaking my head in dismay.
DeleteTo be fair, rebuilding after a forest fire is smarter than rebuilding after a hurricane, flood, or earthquake. The underbrush has been cleared out, so it's now less of a danger.
DeleteTrue. I guess I just preferred it back when the forests were... well, forests - not housing developments for the uber-wealthy.
DeleteThat's a whole other can of beans. I do have a problem with us ruining ... everything, just for ... all kinds of not-good-enough reasons.
DeleteI agree with most of the discussion. Houses should not be build where they are regularly destroyed by nature. This has long frustrated me that expensive beach houses are rebuilt after storms.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we have four cats and four carriers--two of which are not so easy to get the cats into. Sounds similar to your situation. What I have to do when I take a couple of them to the vet is put them into a pillow case, and put the whole bundle into the carrier. It seems to work okay with a struggling cat.
Holy Moly! I'm trying to imagine getting a cat into a pillow case... I guess I could see tricking the boys into it like it was a game, but Sputnik or Princess would sooner be tarred and feathered!
DeleteIt's really not too bad because you can mold the cloth around them instead of trying to get them into a specific hole in the carrier. It's definitely easier than the carrier with a struggling cat.
DeleteOK, well I'm going to suspend disbelief and assume that this really works. Perhaps I'll try it next time somebody need to go to the dreaded vet!
DeleteGREAT question because it does make you think about what "stuff" is important. My cat would be first, followed by photo albums, my journals, wallet, phone, and laptop. I guess if it was a longer term evac. I would want a variety of clothes to take (like packing for a trip) and important documents.
ReplyDeleteI think packing for a trip would be a good way to look at it - if you had time that is. I mean, depending on the situation and what resources were available once you evacuated, a sleeping bag could end up being vastly more important than some family heirloom.
DeleteI'm not sure I would be in the frame of mind to take anything but my family. Nothing matters enough to me to risk their lives.
ReplyDeleteWe were in the Nisqually earthquake of 2001. I was home alone with all 3 kids, and the only thing I could think of was keeping them all safe. The quake didn't do any real damage, but the house swayed so much and for so long, that it scared the daylights out of me. I may react differently, though, if I had some warning time.
Gosh... that must have been really scary. We seldom get earthquakes here in Colorado, but tornados are a definite possibility. And I have to admit that when the tornado sirens are going off, the only thing I ever think about is getting all of the cats down into the basement - saving my birth certificate has never once crossed my mind in that situation!
DeleteOn disaster-prone areas, aren't virtually all areas prone to some sort of disaster? Admittedly, some are much more prone, and insurance rates there should be spectacularly high (which I know they are in the Florida Keys).
ReplyDeleteI made sure I didn't buy a house in a hundred-year flood plain. But then later I saw a map, and it turns out that the edge of such a plain is right along my back fence. On the other side is an apartment complex surrounded by an asphalt parking lot. If they flood, I don't see how I'm not going to flood. I do have flood insurance, and my photo albums and journals are on top shelves (even though normally it looks best to have taller things on the bottom).
On what's irreplaceable, I have loads of irreplaceable things beyond documents, photos, and journals: my favorite nightgown that buttons down the front and has long sleeves in a pretty print, my little black dress that fits, is comfortable, and is flattering, my stereo cabinet made by my dad, the murals an old roommate painted on the walls, that adorable Christmas card with the tiny trailer and one string of Christmas lights that I bring out to decorate with every year, etc. That doesn't mean I couldn't make do without them. Of course I can make do without anything but my life. (Which begs the question--why is it so hard to declutter?)
In real life, because I don't watch TV or listen to the radio, I'd be lucky if I had any warning at all, let alone a whole hour. I'd grab my purse and my laptop, then regret not bringing my birth control pills or my photo albums from Switzerland and from when I was a kid. My boyfriend would probably grab his back-up hard drive, wallet, and walking stick. We don't have pets. (But would I grab someone else's pet if I saw one and didn't know whose it was? What if it meant its owner stayed behind too long looking? Based on what happened in New Orleans, I think it's better to take the pet if possible.)
You are, of course, correct that no place is exempt from disasters. I guess it's just the stuff that's flirting with obvious disaster that really bothers me. With forest fires, people are always talking about the importance of creating "defensible space" around your house by cutting down any trees that are close to the house and clearing out nearby vegetation. Of course, people resist this because they don't want to live in a clearing, they want to live in the woods!
DeleteI guess it just bugs me... it's like people have this little fantasy about "getting away from it all" but they fail to realize how dependent they are on societal infrastructure. I mean, mountain communities are notorious for balking and complaining about extra taxes to build things like fire houses and hydrants, but then when there's a fire they're all screaming and hollering about how there aren't enough resources.
I too have a hard time getting rid of clutter. There's some crazy little part of me that actually thinks it might be a relief to lose everything. Somehow I think it would be easier to not acquire things than to get rid of things. Who knows how I'd really react though.
True, you can't have it both ways. The people I know who live in the Keys are rich and also have a place in Seattle. They don't pay for insurance--if it costs too much to fix after a hurricane, they'll just move full-time to their other place. Very reasonable.
DeleteI've heard of packing up all your stuff and moving it to the garage or something, and then only unpacking things as you realize you want them. This would work sort of like losing everything without all the danger and trauma!
Ha! Now that's an idea... but if I was gonna go to that much trouble I'd just as soon get rid of it all! :-)
DeleteAt least for some natural disasters e.g. hurricanes and some wildfires you at least have warning. I don't live in tornado alley, but I do live right outside it (and now I know a new word - derecho for strong straight-line winds). Sometimes you're lucky to have any warning, and weather radios or phones setup to receive that info are smart things to have.
ReplyDeleteYou're sooo right. A disaster that comes with hours of warning is a completely different animal from one that strikes out of the blue. Part of me thinks that having time to evacuate and "prepare" is a double edged sword. It sorta gives you time to start hemming and hawing about what to do, which allows your brain to get in there and start churning. If you're in a "fight or flight" situation, you simply react with instinct, which is (for most of us) to save yourself and your loved ones.
DeleteCst, I have heard about the latest fires in Colorado it is so sad. I feel much the same way about building in disaster prone areas.
ReplyDeleteBack in 2001 I lost my home to an electrical fire. By the time we figured out what was going on there was nothing we could do. Tearing down a wall to put the fire out was too dangerous. I grabbed my kids and the dog, jumped into the vehicle to move it out of the way and found the keys were still inside. The only thing I had grabbed was the phone which I was dialing 911 on. We got the keys, I always kept them right inside the door.
I sat outside watching the fire consume my home when it hit me I had nothing else.
Four years later I was living in AZ preparing to move. My home was all packed in boxes when a fire broke out in an area directly behind the apartment building. I tossed my purse and laptop in the car, called my son to see what was important to him, only his computer. With those things loaded I figured I could let go of anything else. Luckily it narrowly missed the complex but I didn't care about the things still inside one bit.
Wow! I guess these really aren't hypotheticals for you are they? You've written about the electrical fire before, but I didn't know you'd had another brush with destruction. Somehow your response is quite heartening... the things are just things.
Deleteso glad you're safe!
ReplyDeleteYup... all safe and sound. I think I'm pretty insulated from wildfires here in the land of crackerbox houses. A fire would have to burn through about 20 miles of suburbs before it could reach me! :-)
DeleteI'm in the middle of preserving photos and important documents on my computer. So, I'd have to say I'd reach for my laptop and my hard drive back-up, which would contain what I'd need to get through. I know this doesn't sound sentimental, but I'd be most concerned with (after the well-being of those around me) dealing with the insurance company and handling my affairs.
ReplyDeleteOoooo... I never thought about scanning important documents. That's a great idea.
DeleteAnd I'm ashamed to admit that I have never given much thought to those who would have to deal with my affairs after I'm gone. Ya think the cats could handle it? :-)
It always kills me when I hear about people dying cause they either got buried under their own crap or were killed as a result of it (as you mentioned). How horrible. What would I save, my bike. Well, I would have to ride on it as I have no way of getting out. But besides my laptop and phone I own nothing of substance or value. As long as I'm with my husband I'll be happy. Having moved so many times has made me able to detach from stuff quite easily and I go through regular purges all the time, anyway.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Also, nice to see you again :)
Sam (brown girl)
Hey Sam,
DeleteI remember you writing something about training on your bike so you'd be in good enough shape to ride out of the city in case of an emergency... I'm hoping you never need to!
Good to hear from you again... hope all is well!
xoxoxo,
Cat
We're having the same problem with extreme weather here - we've had some terrible bushfires in the past few years in the south, but the main problem up here has been floods. The town near where I did my fieldwork has had two huge floods in three years, cutting the town in half and destroying people's homes.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what I would save - probably my pet turtle (although he would enjoy a flood) and my laptop since I'm not as good as I should be at backing up my PhD! I also have diaries dating back from when I was a kid, so definitely them.
I don't have contents insurance, so if I had time I would save my flute and food processor since they would be expensive to replace
It sure seems like "extreme" weather is becoming the norm more and more!
DeleteAnyhow, this is off topic, but you keep mentioning your "field work" and I'm curious what you're getting your PhD in... sociology? environmental science? Anyhow, I'd love to hear about your research! :-)