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Imminently Evacuating for Fire


Ailaena
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Any tips on what to take or what to leave?  Do I turn off the power?  Fill up the bathtubs?

they have evacuated all the way to the highway about a mile away, so we are packing (like we have been for a couple of hours) and I know y’all always have such excellent advice ❤️ 

If I forget to reply for a while, I apologize. 

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Stop right now and take video of your home. Open every cabinet door, go through every closet. Open storage bins. You are documenting for an insurance claim.

Grab your insurance agent contact info and policy papers. All important papers: passports, birth certificates, marriage licenses, contacts for utilities, bills pending to be paid, etc.

Grab RX medicines, clothes, including swimsuits if you are headed to a hotel or good AirBnB.

Take N95s and an air purifier. We went six hours east in 2020 and were still dealing with crappy air from all of the smoke blowing.

Grab the irreplaceable: whatever has meaning for you and yours. We gave everyone a “pick 3”. 
 

Grab electronics and chargers: laptops, cell phones, roku stick, internet router.
 

Good luck. 

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4 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Stop right now and take video of your home. Open every cabinet door, go through every closet. Open storage bins. You are documenting for an insurance claim.

Grab your insurance agent contact info and policy papers. All important papers: passports, birth certificates, marriage licenses, contacts for utilities, bills pending to be paid, etc.

Grab RX medicines, clothes, including swimsuits if you are headed to a hotel or good AirBnB.

Take N95s and an air purifier. We went six hours east in 2020 and were still dealing with crappy air from all of the smoke blowing.

Grab the irreplaceable: whatever has meaning for you and yours. We gave everyone a “pick 3”. 
 

Grab electronics and chargers: laptops, cell phones, roku stick, internet router.
 

Good luck. 

This is a more detailed version of what I was thinking. ☺️
 

Hope you are back home soon. 

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honestly, school stuff isn’t worth the space. It’s all replaceable with insurance dollars. If her house burns, she is going to have other priorities for a while. Maybe pack math or high school stuff, but the rest can wait. 

ETA: in 2020, our vehicle was full just with a suitcase each + a handful of irreplaceable. I would choose the space for those over school books any day of the year. We did pack a bit of school but I wouldn’t again.

Edited by prairiewindmomma
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2 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

honestly, school stuff isn’t worth the space. It’s all replaceable with insurance dollars. If her house burns, she is going to have other priorities for a while. Maybe pack math or high school stuff, but the rest can wait. 

ETA: in 2020, our vehicle was full just with a suitcase each + a handful of irreplaceable. I would choose the space for those over school books any day of the year. We did pack a bit of school but I wouldn’t again.

I agree. I would much rather fill the space with items that are important to the kids, like favorite toys and sentimental items, rather than something that won’t really be missed in the long run, like generic schoolbooks. Choose the irreplaceable things first! 

Praying that the house will be spared!

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2 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

honestly, school stuff isn’t worth the space. It’s all replaceable with insurance dollars. If her house burns, she is going to have other priorities for a while. Maybe pack math or high school stuff, but the rest can wait. 

Yeah, my kids are older and the possibility of not being able to keep up with classes would have caused them additional stress. 

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Medication, computers, vital records - birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, passports, mortgage papers, insurance info, social security cards, car titles, wills, advance directives. Pets & pet supplies. I agree with the previous advice to stop and record everything quickly if you can. Credit cards. Irreplaceable photos - especially of deceased family members. 
Print your contact list. Make sure all your kids have your contact info - as in know the phone numbers. Charging cords, plugs.
Also - I hate to say this, but If there is any chance your family might get separated, like in a shelter, write your contact info on your kids arms in sharpie along with another emergency contact name & number. Write drug allergies or medical alert info too.

Praying for you all. Go. 

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In addition to what others have said....if you have room in the car, take pillows and blankets for the car incase you end up sleeping there. Take slippers and sweats, if you think you may end up in a shelter. Take a roll of toilet paper and a coffee can to put dirty items in, just in case you get desperate and don't have a place to sleep. If you are near your cycle, take supplies. Grab a bottle of tylenol/motrin for adults and kids, to help with stress headaches and discomfort. Grab some shelf stable snacks or sandwhich items like PBJ. 

 

((((Hugs))))))

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I doubt I saw this early enough to be of any use to you now but just know I will be thinking of you and hoping you’re safe from the other side of the world. Filling up bathtubs is for when you stay and defend, so you don’t need to do that.  Even gutters and wetting down is not likely to help if the fire is over an hour away.

Take identification papers, insurance paperwork, medication, spare clothes, underwear and wool blankets for the car if you have them. Phone charger and portable charger. Battery radio if you have one. Pets and pet food, computers or external hard drives with important information and sentimental stuff. Wear long sleeves, long pants and protective footwear.

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Most of all, I would say that don’t delay evacuation to get any of the “stuff” that has been described above. If you have time, that is great, but …

I had to evacuate from a fire a few years ago, and this one is much scarier because of how fast it is moving and the super high winds. I read that they can’t have any air support until morning. What saved my small town was the line of “pink stuff” that the air tanker dropped a mile out of town. 

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Hoping you’re safe!

My own evacuation checklist goes in order of priority/irreplaceability so that it can be adaptable to whatever timeframe we would have between decision and rolling out.  If all I have time for is people and a dog, so be it. If I can get all the way down to cherished Christmas ornaments, great.
(Though now I’m realizing that should be off the list while the tree is up. That would take way more time than a box!)

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You people are so wonderful and I hope that nobody ever has to search for this information, but I’m glad it’s compiled.

Emotionally, we are obviously drained, but the house is fine, our neighborhood is fine, our cats are angry that I had them on standby but they’ll get over it.  We have some extra people in the house who came after midnight who should be cleared to go home soon and we have a couple of friends who no longer have homes to go to soon and it’s...  Devastating is an understatement even though it’s just stuff.   I know some of you have been there and I would never want anybody to go through this.

Thank you again for coming together and always being there for people!!

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6 minutes ago, Ailaena said:

You people are so wonderful and I hope that nobody ever has to search for this information, but I’m glad it’s compiled.

Emotionally, we are obviously drained, but the house is fine, our neighborhood is fine, our cats are angry that I had them on standby but they’ll get over it.  We have some extra people in the house who came after midnight who should be cleared to go home soon and we have a couple of friends who no longer have homes to go to soon and it’s...  Devastating is an understatement even though it’s just stuff.   I know some of you have been there and I would never want anybody to go through this.

Thank you again for coming together and always being there for people!!

Relieved to hear you are safe! 

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