The Evacuation List

  FHR_Fire(49) 
  Originally uploaded by Miro-Foto

August 30, 2008/Eve of Hurricane Gustav Landfall: 

If you have come across this page through a Google Search, this list pertains to fire related disasters. I have links and resources directly related to the current situation here.

Please, friends, take care! Grace/Blogger

When the fire's this close, it's definitely time to get the fuck OUT.

So, besides the family and the pets, what should you take with you?

I think about this all the time.  In the weeks following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the Bay Area was rocked with disturbingly frequent aftershocks.  I slept with my hiking boots, socks, jeans and a hoodie at the bedside, a fast change of clothes in case of an especially gnarly tremor.  Important papers, assorted valuables, medicines and a wallet full of cash were stashed in my backpack next to the escape ensemble.  Get the fuck out, indeed.

I actually practiced putting on the escape ensemble as fast as possible - Quick! Jump into the jeans, slide into the boots, throw the hoodie over your head! Swoop down and pick up the backpack, swing it over your shoulder and out the door you go, mama!

I was paranoid, but I was prepared.

Of course, I was not prepared for the main event at 5:04pm, October 17th, also known as The Longest 15 Seconds of My Life.  I rode out the sickening waves of the quake in my office on the Stanford campus and when it was over, I scooped up my backpack and headed straight for home in Mountain View.  At the house all I lost was a crystal candle stick.  Everything else was intact and in place.  Lucky.  My office, however, was a mess that took a week to clean up.

I wondered what other folks grabbed before getting the fuck out.  I read that somebody made sure to grab their box of Q-Tips.  To keep their ears clean.  Swear to God, that's what I read.  A dude in Los Gatos snatched a bottle of beer from his fridge.  He wanted to make sure he had the last cold one.  Go, dude!

Q-tips, a Corona - what else should we be packing?  Here's one of the official lists.  This is from the center of the firestorm, the San Diego Union Tribune's blog, SignOn SanDiego. 

Let me know:

If there's a glaring omission.  Right off the bat, I'd say - CELL PHONE/LAPTOP/IPOD CHARGER.  And, much to my kid's horror - HER HOMEWORK, SCHOOL BINDERS AND TEXTBOOKS.  No "the fire ate my homework" excuses.

If you would add anything.  If I was taking off in my car, I'd haul our big box of camping gear.  The stove, tent, sleeping bags - all that stuff.

And, what quirky, weirdo, odd item would you pick up as you're scrambling out the door?   I'm like the Dude referenced above, cold beer, except I'd take the whole six pack, not just one.  Oh, and that bottle of expensive French champagne we've been saving forever.  Bubbly and beer, that ought to ease a bit of pain.

Okay, dollins, take a look and tell me what you think.  Heck, if you've been through this before, tell me what you did.

List after the jump.

WHAT TO TAKE
Family
__ Photographs of all family members
__ Pets (if advance warning, take to an approved shelter)
__ Pet ID tags
__ Pet medications
__ Pet leashes
__ Pet water bowls

Documents
__ Health insurance card
__ Car insurance card
__ House deed
__ Marriage license
__ Insurance papers
__ Tax papers
__ Birth certificates
__ Drivers' licenses
__ Legal documents
__ Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
__ Computer backup disks
__ Computers (time permitting)

Money
__ Check books
__ Savings books
__ Credit cards
__ Cash
__ Purse
__ Wallet
__ Blank checks

Medications
__ Prescriptions
__ Analgesics
__ Motion sickness tablets
__ First-aid kit
__ Prescription glasses
__ Prescription dentures
__ Prescription hearing aids

Jewelry
__ Gold, silver, and other valuable jewelry
__ Family heirlooms
__ Decorations, pins, awards

Sentimental
__ Photos and albums, slides, movies, home videos
__ Family Bible
__ Irreplaceable keepsakes
__ Original paintings

Food and Water  (for three to seven days - if time permits)

__ Water (at least one gallon per person and pet per day)
__ Non-perishable, ready-to-eat food
__ Pet food
__ Pet treats
__ Manual can opener

Toiletries  (if time permits)
__ Soap and towels
__ Toothbrushes and toothpaste
__ Shaving articles
__ Sanitary devices

Clothing  (appropriate for the season - if time permits)
__ Change of clothing for each person (for one to seven days)
__ Coats and jackets
__ Hats and caps
__ Gloves and scarves
__ Shoes and boots
__ Change of underwear
__ Sleepwear
__ Infant supplies and toys

Additional Items to Take  (if time permits)
__ Cell phones
__ Reading material
__ Recreational items
__ First-aid kit
__ Flashlights and extra batteries
__ Portable radio and extra batteries
__ Cameras and extra batteries

Comments

[mamadaisy]

salt and pepper. canned green beans without seasoning taste worse than a disaster survivor deserves.

[Jenn]

we got a reverse 911 call telling us to be prepared... that and the fact that I could see the fires were headed my way on 75 mph winds, I had plenty of time to prepare. I loaded up family photos, letters, historical documents, jewelry, my tiny buddah statue, a couple of small cast iron angels from my mother (who passed away when I was 13), my computer, my cell phone charger, small bag of clothes deoderant etc. I also had cat food ready to go, and room in the car for my two kittens, and me. that's it. Oh I threw a deck of cards into my purse and a beach chair into the trunk. At the last minute I added a phone bill to prove I live in the neighborhood up on return-- my DL has my old address on it.
Then never had to leave. But I was ready!
Great list you've got, I'm going to print it out.

[jee]

Someone once told me to take the clothes hamper (your favorites are usually in there, waiting to be washed).

[beth]

The items I grabbed after the Northridge earthquake:

Cell phone, carton of ciggies and a lighter, pets, and boyfriend (who was not quite husband yet).

[e]

passsport. asthma inhalers. sunscreen. wristwatch. portable musical instruments. knitting and additional yarn. more knitting. ipod. laptop! with car battery running thingy. wacom tablet. digital camera and usb connect. anything work-related (briefcase? mss? teaching planner?) the beef stew you just made that was supposed to feed you for a week.

upload those family pictures to a satellite somewhere, or flickr. scan them now and get them up there. (you reminded me of this with the house inventory thing, which i uploaded, all 220 pics, yesterday morning at 5am...)

[e]

that should've read "laptops!" if you've more than one, and a car, take them all, you never know.

[Lisa Williams]

Check out EMT Jim MacDonald's discussion of "go bags."

I have a totally over the top post-Katrina freakout go bag in my car. And a tent. Seriously, I get stranded by the side of the road I can just go camping -- in any weather.

My Post-Katrina Freakout Bag (TM) lives in my car and has five gallon size plastic bags in it:

Heat/Light (flashlight, fire starters, a few cheap knit watch hats, two pairs of winter gloves, space blankets)
Sanitation (handwash, toilet paper, water purification tablets, wipes, a few trash bags)
First Aid (the usual plus immodium, aspirin, caffeine tablets)
Tools, Tape, Rope (Duct tape! 50 yd paracord, folding knife, small folding spade, small hatchet)
Communication (Radio, batteries, phone card, roll of quarters, loud rescue whistle, paper and pen, a couple of envelopes and stamps)

Then, some indestructible energy bars, a bag of powdered jello (mixed with water it makes a great survival drink) and a couple large bottles of water. An outer pocket carries a survival guide, a pack of cards, and a couple of travel games. It's in a backpack and it's frigging heavy.

I have a lightweight two person tent that lives in the well with the spare tire.

What I don't have ready are things like change of clothes or papers (although the important papers are in a small fireproof box in an easy-to-reach place). I do, though, have a "Get The Hell Out of Dodge!" packing list taped to the inside of a kitchen cabinet door that lists everything we'd need to grab in a hurry -- clothes, food, dog food, lockbox with papers. I've thought if we really had to go in a hurry we'd put my kayak on the rack on top of our car and put stuff in there, so we could put the dog in the area we normally put cargo in. The kayak already has fishing gear stored in it; hell, we'd probably be eating stripers by the next nightfall).

[Chookooloonks]

Great list, Grace. Those of us who live here in Hurricane Alley also need to take heed.

K.

[Suebob]

And don't forget your AT&T cable box! Check out this horror story:
http://consumerist.com/consumer/videos/att-asks-ca-wildfire-victims-if-they-remembered-to-pick-up-satellite-receiver-as-they-fled-their-burning-house-315421.php

[carrien]

Totally forgot the tax papers. I think we got everything else though. I grabbed photo albums, forgot the kids handmade quilts and worried about them more than anything, so that goes on the list for next time.

And I brought the crockpot that was working on chicken noodle soup for the Boy's birthday dinner and presents wrapping paper and cake mixings. We had his party while in exile. Fortunately, we were in exile to a family members house outside of the evacuation area.

The kids were a bit worried about all fo the trees and bushes near the house that were trimmed within an inch of their life by the guys. And the stuff near the propane tank.

MY mother in law went a little crazy cleaning her BRAND NEW GORGEOUS KITCHEN before taking photos of it. It had to be pristine before she would take the pictures because she was afraid to lose it. And she wanted the insurance adjusters to see just how pretty it had been when they finished the renovation.

The other thing she did, that I thought was very sweet, was walk over to the baby grand piano that she inherited from her uncle and play one last song on it. She said, as she rose from the piano bench, "Well, if that's the last song this piano ever plays, it was a good one."

I would add any handmade quilts or wall hangings that you care about. They hold lots of memories and thoughts of home, and they can keep you warm as well as being easy to transport.

[mbbored]

I live in hurricane country so in the summer time I always have a kit ready. A locked removable drawer with my most important documents, picture albums, a shoebox filled with mementoes of my father who passed away, the dog's stuff, my stuff, lots and lots of batteries, and oddly enough, my childhood stuffed animal.

[Meeta]

Wow. Its things like these I think that make me a little grateful that I live in the midwest.

But I am keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers.

[Susan too]

We did evacuate last week, and although we had essentials mentioned above, I spent the next 4 days until we returned thinking about all the things I SHOULD have taken. We had some time, like about an hour to pack as we were up at 330 from the wind. Our house was spared, but many in our neighborhood were not. I now have a list just in case.

[Kendra]

Evacuated in '03-took the essentials but there was one thing that I would have killed myself over if the house had burned-The quilt that my 101yo grandmother made me when I graduated from college. Nothing can replace that! Believe me, I'll never forget it again.

[Daisy]

Wow, that'a long list. A traveler friend once told me that if you had your passport and your money, all would be well. These days I would add prescription meds, cell phone, and charger to the list. Much other "stuff" can be replaced or purchased.

[ozma]

I need to prepare for disaster more thoroughly. I live in a less disaster prone area but still...

Your list is pretty daunting! But when I think how long it takes me to get out of the house in the morning...Well, I'm doomed basically.

[David Kitchen]

Coming from the UK the closest we get to earthquakes are the loud rumblings of some large lorry going past. I would probably keep some sort of basic survival kit in the car which would include basic tools for constructing a simple shelter, lighting a fire and first aid, but as long as i could get to my family and folks we would figure something out! A few brewski's never go a miss however! :-)

[Hungrydog]

Your list is good but in the event of a fire you just simply need to get out.

[Joey Dog Man]

I have two dogs and they would be of my highest priority at this point of my life.