The Medic Shack posted Escape! last summer after the Maui fires as a bit of a lessons learned and “what should you do to prepare to bug out.” Below is only and excerpt, but the entire article is worth a read.
…For decades you all have heard people like me tell you. “You need a BOB, Bug Out Bag” And you need X amount of food, water and change of clothes. Also need Y type of weapons and reloads. You need this brand of radio and you need need need. Mostly we tell you the things you need, is well, you need them. And to be perfectly transparent. We make a little bit of money off purchases you make from the links we research and share with you. Today we’re going to diverge (somewhat) the you need to buy this. To you need to PLAN and RESEARCH this. Folks like me sometimes forget we need not tell you to buy something, When we should be telling ideas on how to find your own answers. This post starts that trend here.
Getting the heck out of Dodge
According to the news articles a lot of people died in their homes and automobiles.
Lets take the sacrifice those people made and learn from them.
So our first bit of planning and research is to put down the computer, phone and tablet. (Well after you read this. Please! ) And GET OUT. By that I mean get out of your home and explore. Really explore. Find those over grown logging roads and dirt tracks. The back alleys side streets and weed choked vacant lots. Take your GPS. You will get lost. And that’s part of this exercise, And get maps. Lots of maps. As was found out in Maui\.
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens sounded before people ran for their lives from wildfires on Maui that killed at least 55 people and wiped out a historic town. Instead, officials sent alerts to mobile phones, televisions and radio stations — but widespread power and cellular outages may have limited their reach.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/questions-grow-over-wildfire-warnings-as-maui-death-toll-rises
Without cell service your phone GPS won’t work. Stand alone GPS like Garmens will. But batteries die, A protected laminated map will last forever. Learn to read a map and use a compass. If anyone says again “My phone ALWAYS works for Google Maps” read again the above article. Get maps. You can even download and print maps for free from National Geographic. https://www.natgeomaps.com/trail-maps/pdf-quads. Print them. Protect them. And learn to use them. Hmmm, note to self. Looks a good old fashioned land navigation class is in order here.
Moving out. When?
When is it time to move out? That is something you’d have to answer for yourself. IN the above links, the major issue was no warning. And the major reason was power, land line and cellular service was down. A NOAA radio with battery backup is ESSENTIAL. NOAA stations have alternate power and keep broadcasting alerts. Get one like this https://amzn.to/3OPOm9e. That runs normally on household power, but has battery backup. NOAA broadcasts not only weather but disaster inforamtion. It can give size and location of whatever is heading your way. Now when. First most of us preppers are borderline horders. Remember. DO. NOT. TAKE EVERYTHING YOU OWN! Take what you need to survive. And you did remember to place cache’s here and there? If not do so. NOW! …(article continues)
Lower Valley Assembly 