EMERGENCY PREPARATION, WHAT IF THE BIG ONE HITS?
Well, living on a more than one fault line and surrounded by forest, flanked by a busy interstate freeway, it's inevitable that disaster will strike our communities. We are intent on helping people figure out the best ways to fend off the inevitable. We have already discussed making your home defensible from wildfire. Here, we'd like to offer a check list of emergency preparations you can make in advance of disaster.
- For the new year, commit a weekend to updating telephone numbers, buying emergency supplies, and reviewing your emergency plan with everyone in your household.
- Stock up on canned goods, water, gasoline, candles, lamps and lamp oil, fire wood, and pet food. Give yourself at least two weeks supply. Because some supplies can go bad, you should rotate them periodically.
- Know how to turn off water, gas, and propane lines into the house.
- Have important papers and pictures in a place where they can be easily transferred to your vehicle in case of evacuation.
- Be ready with pet carriers and leashes to take your small animals with you. View this handy guide to Emergency Preparedness for Pets.
- Identify a place to take large animals in case of an evacuation. Local representatives are working on a plan. In the meantime, check out some of these websites for more information about livestock evacuations.
-- CDFA: www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/ah/county_response_guide.htm
-- American Red Cross: www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/firstaid.html
www.ready.gov is the US Department of Homeland Security's comprehensive resource for emergency preparedness. They even have kits you can buy!
EVACUATION NOTE: Local law agencies (county sheriff in our case) are responsible for communicating evacuation orders. Fire and forestry personnel work closely with the sheriff to determine the stages of evacuation. A "voluntary" evacuation means that if you have health problems or small children, large animals etc., you should seriously consider leaving. If they issue a "recommended" evacuation order, it means they will not tell you again, and you should leave. Again, this order comes from the local law agencies and you should not listen to rumors without verifying them.
