Living in the line of fire

5 min readAug 18, 2021

As I write this post today, there are thirteen active fires burning in California. According to the CalFire, in 2020 over four million (4,257,863) acres burned in 9,917 fire incidents. And this year, between January 1 2021 and August 18, 2021, 6,049 fire incidents have burned 579,614 Acres. These fires tend to be active from July through early October.

Friends from as far as New York reported smokey, overcast and orange skies that drifted accross the country from the fires raging in California, Oregon and Washington states.

Given that we are mid-August and already over a half million acres have burned, we all need to acknowldge that the clmiate crisis will effect every one of us regardless of where we live

We can calculate this loss in acerage, in structures lost, or human death. But, what doesn’t get calculated is the loss of wildlife, habitat, carbon processing trees, loss of livliehoods, communities and peace of mind.

We can and should mourn for this loss, and it’s also important to acknowledge this is the condition we now are living with. So it is important to be prepared and remember we all have agency to protect the ourselves and the flora and fauna we depend on.

I have created a list of things that I have found to be helpful during my own experiences with evacuating, these are easy and doable things any of us can do today to be more prepared and empowered in these very troubling times.

Things to have in your home

A weather radio that can be solar or crank charged
At least one way to filter water. Such as a LifeStraw, a USB chargeable water filter.
Solar-powered outdoor lights
Solar chargeable, battery, or hand-crank powered lights for inside your home
Nice to have: a Satellite internet hot spot
Invest in a solar generator, power outages are now a fact of life in rural areas of California
Water. Keep large bottles of water on hand
Flashlights and a headlamp

Prepare well in advance

For each horse, goat, llama, cow you have — make sure you have a trailer and vehicle for them. If you live in fire country you owe it to the living creatures you are responsible for to get them to safety.
Make sure your car is in good operating condition and has at least 1/2 tank of gas or is half charged at all times
In fire season, park your car nose facing out — this makes it easier to get out of your driveway and also may make it easier to pack your trunk
Keep your yard clear of debris, remove things that are flamable from the perimeter of your house
Make sure your gutters and roof are clear from debris. I have my roof and gutters cleared before each Summer and early winter.
Have your clothes dryer vents and chimneys cleaned every year. If you are renter or owner, it’s important to stop fires from ever starting.
Make copies or store important documents like passports, birth certificates and titles away from you home. If you have secure cloud storage space you can also keep scans there.
Scan family photos. It’s heartbreaking to lose these memories, but they are not worth losing your life over — so make scans and share them with your family.

Know where to go

If you have internet capability be sure to check out the fire map, this will help you know what direction the fire is to you and what roads to avoid.

Radio
Tune to a local radio or public radio station to find out about evacuations, shelters, road closures and exit routes. Unfortunately there are very few stations that will cover hyper local information. So it’s best to search for these resources in advance of needing them. A weather radio is the best resource for live relaible information.

Social media
If you know the name the fire has been given you can search for it on Twitter or facebook which can help you find the links to the latest official information. Please note that information on social media, while well-meaning, is not reliable so make sure you are going to an offical social media source such as your local newsbroadcasters, the fire or sherrif’s department. Typically these will be indicated with a blue checkmark.

Things to Bookmark now before you need them

Zonehaven Fire Aware
https://community.zonehaven.com

Wind Map
If you don’t know exactly where the fire is, consider what direction the wind is blowing and try to go downwind. Note: Megafires create their own weather so winds can change rapidly, but anecdotaly, fires also tend to move together so if there is more that fire burning in your area — DO NOT try to go through them, even if you have to take a direction that not the most direct.
https://www.windy.com/-Ozone-layer-gtco3?gtco3,37.777,-122.406,5

Try to avoid the main exits if you are sure the alternate route will get to safety
Take back roads and explore your area so you can get a sense of the terrain, possible chokepoints and

Always be prepared to leave

Always bring your pets — do NOT leave them behind. This means your cats, dogs, rabbit, gerbils, birds. So not leave them thinking you can come back later do not leave them to starve or burn. Bring your neighbors pets too if you can, just leave them a note or let them know you have them and they are safe.
Try to leave a sign that indicates you have evacuated. This helps emergency personnel know they don;t have to spend precious time knocking on your door in an evacuation.
If you have time, wet down your roof and yard. But, TURN OFF the water before you leave. Fire fighters need the water pressure. If you have a pump, use that water to wet down your home, you might have more water than you might think, espcially if you have a swimming pool or a hot tub.