This post was inspired by Mr. James Woods on X, who posted about a local (Independent?) pharmacy that was opening early this morning to help people who had evacuated without their medicines. Before anyone starts to chest thump about being too good to get caught like that, let me just say Horsehocky.
Fact is, even those of us who think and prepare can get caught out under the right circumstances. Unless you have a very good doc, pharmacist, and insurance company, the odds are that medicines are going to be one of the last things dumped into your boogie bag. I know I can’t afford to get a set of meds just to keep at the ready, and frankly few of us who are older can do so.
In this case, it does reinforce the need to have thought out what you need to grab on the way out the door. I sincerely hope and pray I and you, dear reader, never have to bug out on extremely short notice. Keep in mind that things went from idyllic to a taste-of-hell quite literally in a matter of minutes for those hit by the fires. Most of the time between ‘oh we might want to take steps’ and ‘oh shit’ was spent trying to prevent fires and fire damage. The focus was on prevention and preservation, not on bugging out. I watched one video where two guy literally did get out the front of the house as the back apparently went up. They waited so late trying to save the house that they had to evac on foot (not a good thing). One of them kept repeating “I’m sorry bro, we tried” over and over again even as they went out into the smoke and flames on foot.
It’s a very human thing to want to fight to save your home in the face of such a threat. It is the focus, not the concept of bugging out, which can and does seem like a defeat under those circumstances. In some ways it is; which, just makes it worse to pull the plug and run.
Which makes it all the more important to plan ahead. I’ve talked about it before in Preparedness Pays, but it needs repeating because life is not neat and tidy and precise. Life is messy, hard, and comes at you fast. It is easy, deadly easy, to get caught up in a last-minute cycle of ‘I Need To Save…” It’s not the easy stuff — the copies/certified copies of important documents both paper and electronic, cash, etc. — that gets you. It’s the sudden thought of that gift from Aunt Nell, that menu or other item from a first date, the little things that are a huge part of our psychological life. Of home. The home you are about to lose. You are not likely to be thinking fully on plumb at that time.
Again (and again) we are not talking about a bug-out situation where you have time to think, plan, pack, and prepare. We are talking about a situation where you have to switch from defense of the home to immediate bug-out in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. That’s the hardest thing for some to plan for and handle.
For such situation, I tend to use the 90-second rule. Basically, if I can get to something in 90 seconds and have room, I will pack it out. For example, I’ve already thought about having to do an immediate departure of my home. There are several things that could happen which would cause me to have to depart PDQ. Trick is, evaluate what options are available for transport and grab the appropriate go-bags and get in the last minute items.
In 90 seconds, I can have all my medicines and supplements into my “on me” go bag. In 90 seconds, I can have the stockpiles of same in a separate bag. In 90 seconds, I can grab the small number of essential books and have them packed. If I can get to it in 90 seconds, there is one photo album I want to grab. Everything else is expendable. I am actually a very sentimental person, and there are small things that are incredibly important to me for that reason. None of them are worth my life or the life of those I love. Their loss will suck, but life can be rebuilt. New things can and will come in to take their place. Life will go on.
You need to be thinking and planning on that basis now. When you see the flames suddenly shoot up is not the time for thinking, it is the time to react. It is time to cut on the sprinklers, activate the defenses, and begin preparing to boogie.
Clothing, food, shelter, water, copies of documents to prove you are you and what property you own, cash and/or other valuables — those are the easy things to prepare. They are the easy decisions to make.
The hard decision is often how fast to pull the trigger on the boogie; and, what are the things you really want to take with you. Think about those now, while there is time and you can think rationally about them. The real key for me, at any rate, is to look at it on the basis of 90-seconds and if having it is worth a life. Like I say, for me it comes down to a photo album if possible. There are a couple of other things that if there is time and room/weight (you may be packing out instead of driving), I would love to grab. I might give up an edged weapon for the guitar, but would not give up a firearm. I want a balanced load, in all senses of the phrase since what I have may have to get me by for a while. Potentially a good while.
Again, think and plan ahead. For wildfires and earthquakes, there is likely to be little to no notice. That’s when planning ahead really counts. Just remember: things can be replaced. People can’t. Don’t let a thing put a life at risk. Especially your own.
More soon. Be prepared and keep your family and friends close, and your things where you can find them in the dark.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.