It's That Time Of Year Again - And It's All About the F Word !

Yep, it is an 'F' word here in the high dessert and in the dry mountains.  It's FIRE season.  My little town of 5000 people grew last week with the first fire of the season.  The Circle K kept the hot dogs stocked past 9 pm and the donut delivery guy brought a double batch.  Even after midnight, the coffee pots were full.  That's what happens when the fire crews are brought in. 

I understand why the officials call it a forest fire when it is barely a flicker.  The only way to get the crews headed our way and to be aggressive enough to put a quick stop to a fire is to give it a name and call it a forest fire.  Lucky for all of us (because this was literally in the middle of town) this ended up being more of a house fire that spread to a few other homes and structures.  In deed, it did end up charring about 20 acres, earned it's name as the John Adams Fire, brought in an extra 80 fire fighters, 30 deputies, 13 agencies and a bunch of the local volunteers.  For a little community like ours, that isn't too shabby.  I'm pretty sure that without all the extra help, the situation would have become a whole lot worse.

From one interview by a near by news station, it is obvious that the home owners were not prepared for this situation.  It's an  instant reminder of why we have to be prepared for all types of events. 

Our fire department is great about reminding us to form a defensible space around our homes.  Clear 30 feet around all structures so that a fire will be more likely to lead around your home and follow a different path.  Avoid having fire wood close to buildings.  Leave a ladder against your home so there is easy access to your roof, if the fire department does get called out.  And if you can afford these darn high water bills, keep the vegetation around your home green.  Fire just doesn't like the green stuff.   Last but not least, keep a good amount of gas in your car.  The last thing you want to do is be all prepared and be sitting in a line at the gas pump, along with all those other unprepared people, hoping to get gas before all pumps are shut down.  There's lots of helpful info on the site called Ready, Set, Go.  Check it out.  And the basics are good for more than just forest fires. 

What about the "Go Bag"?  The homeowner interviewed, who lost everything, was not prepared. He said he grabbed on dog, and yelled at his wife to grab the other and they took off to safety. DUDE !  Where's the Go Bag?   I'll give him a little break since he has only lived here for about a year.  It took me a couple to get on board and ready. 

Every April first, I restock and refresh.  Sort of like an April Fools Day, I'm no fool sort of thing. New bottles of water.  Fresh snacks and pet food.  I wipe down the pet carriers so they are clean and ready.  Replace flash light and radio batteries, freshen up the first aid kit, and make sure that my computer back up is complete and on my external.  Double check that all my copies of bank info, pass port, insurance information and all other legal documents are intact.  All of this is in a canvas bag, along with a couple changes of clothes, a bed sheet and an emergency foil blanket, a net hammock with bug cover (that is so not necessary but in my mind, there could be a lot of uses for it) - this is then put into a giant zip loc bag to keep it dry.  That's how my "Go Bag" works for me.