What!!! A 6:30am frantic phone call from our neighbor. "Look out your back window you can see the flames. We have been advised to evacuate.!!"
Oh boy!!! What a day to remember this was. It was a day that nothing on my to do list got accomplished and yet it was memorable and will change the way we prepare for future possible emergencies.
We woke the kids up and got them dressed. We told them they could each pack one bag of what is most important to them. I am proud of all of my kids for making wise choices in what they packed and for not panicking or causing problems. (however, the 6 year old only packed one soccer ball and nothing else. The 2 babies are too young to pack themselves) -- Ok 2 - out of 5 kids did a good job.
We also recognized we were very unprepared for this situation. Even though we live in a high fire possible location, we still thought. "it will never happen here."
What we learned:
#1 -Staying calm and working together is really important.
#1b - Everyone has an important job in evacuating the family. (again I have to brag that this we did surprisingly well with, everyone did do something important to help the family.)
#2 - tell your kids to pack extra clothes and that whatever they put on that morning is what they will wear at least that day and maybe more. (my daughter was in tears when she realized people might see her in what she was wearing. "I thought we were going to live in the RV and not see anyone.")
#3- HAVE A PLAN. - we are going to work on developing our plan. -- Where to meet, how to get there, what needs to get packed. What is important to each person.
#4 - keep important documents in one place.
#5 - always store info (especially pictures.) from your computer on a portable hard drive.
#6- even if nothing ever happens its better to be prepared than to face the emergency unprepared.
#7- do not leave the back of your vehicle open lest the strong wind force it shut and shatter the glass everywhere adding to the anxiety of the situation.
#8 - Know where your 72 hour kits are. - it was an hour of packing before we found ours.
#9 - Have a 72 hour kit for each member of the family. Everyone needs different things. Every upcoming October is going to be Fire Evacuation Remembrance month where we update our 72 hour kit. - Who wants to be caring around expired cans of chili and diapers when your 6 years old?
#10-have a system for organizing the vehicle -so it is not haphazardly thrown in there with no idea where anything is and if you sit on a blanket there might be a picture frame under it that could break. - or you open a door and everything falls out.
#11- Trust in God that all will be well and that He will inspire you to know what to do in these situations.
Fortunately, the winds shifted and we were able to return home the same day. However, the way we prepare for possible emergencies will never be the same.
We also know which things are most important to us - everything that is of any value emotionally or monetarily is in the magic mobile classroom (AKA - emergency get away vehicle). What I should do now is go through the house and donate everything that remains. -- That would be a great way to declutter-- but, I know myself well enough to know I won't do it.
We ended up with 4 hours to pack before we had a mandatory evacuation order. We were fully prepared to never see our house again and we would have been ok. I am not looking forward to unloading all that stuff and moving back into our own house. God is Good and I am thankful for the opportunity to prepare for the future and that we still have our home and all the junk inside it. I am also thankful for the abundant rain he is pouring on us and on the fire. Our prayers have been answered and He has provided a miracle.
