TWEAKS+inspirations : Fire in the Neighborhood
The unexpected happened last week. Here's what I learned.
abc world news
About 2 pm, Friday, October 18th, I heard helicopters, planes, sirens and a lot of traffic speeding by my house. It wasn't hard to figure out there was a fire. I went outside to check for smoke and wind, then quickly turned on the radio and the TV. The newly named "Keller Fire" was raging 5 minutes away, a mere 2.3 miles. It was downhill and to the south of my house. I quickly opened my "go bag," adding a few items. I went back outside as a passing policeman broadcasted, "Evacuate now."
Five minutes later, I was parked at nearby Merritt College and out of the evactuation zone. A few hours later, a neighbor (who decided to ignore police's advice and not evacuate) texted me to make sure I was OK. He said the police asked if anyone was in my house as I hadn't come to the door when she kocked. I could see on my RING camera she had an hour after I'd left. Turns out, 500 homes were evacuaed.
From my perch at Merritt College, I saw that some people were being allowed to return home about 5 pm, Online, it looked promising. I drove up to the first police barrier and they let me go through. That's as far as I got. Some houses near the college were allowed to return but my house was still inside the evacuation line.
I ended up parking at the corner of the evac line so I could watch the police and get the latest info. Everything I heard or read online said to know your "location number." I had no idea what that was nor could I find online. The next day, after we were allowed to return, I discovered the "Genasys Protect," adding the app to my phone. This app will give you your county location and up-to-date info for your actual address including evacuation for any disaster. The is a must for those of you in the Bay Area. Last month, the State of Oregon signed a multi year contract as well. In the last few years in the Portland area, both Lindsey and Connie have been very close to evacation during a fire.
According to their website - "Genasys Protect is available in more than 500 cities, counties, and states in the United States. This includes more than half of all California counties.
Genasys Protect is an evacuation management tool that helps communities and first responders plan, communicate, and execute evacuations. Residents can use the Genasys Protect app or website to find their evacuation zone and evacuation information for their area:
Website: Go to protect.genasys.com and enter your address in the search bar.
App: Download the Genasys app to check evacuation zones.
KQED photo
In the early evening, things were looking better. Radio and online news reported 10 homes destroyed but by the next morning, it turned out to be two homes. Every hour, we were told it would be another hour before we could return home. I was OK until I had to pee. UnfortuateIy, I could still barely walk as a result of foot surgery. The closest restroom I could think of was in Safeway but there was no way I could walk through Safeway to get to their restroom. A policeman told me he could call for an ambulance. Good grief. After asking me if I had to go 1 or 2, he said to just go by the side of the car. Oh, boy. After it got dark, I drove to the next street, a cul de sac, parked in someone's dark driveway and did my business. Of course, it pooled all over my pant leg so there was that. About an hour later, a nice woman who lived in the house I was parked in front of came by and asked if I needed water or to use her bathroom.
I sat in my car watching neighbors get updates from police. As people walked back to the cars, I asked them for the latest info. By 5 pm, the police told us the fire departments were tamping out spots and it would be another hour. By 6 pm, it was another hour and so it went. The police were great. One went to pickup an elderly wife whose husband had left her at home at lunch time while he ran errands. It was sweet to see them reunited. I saw a couple of people get rides home to get their medicine. One woman wanted to check on her cat but the police told her the cat would be fine.
Some people decided that since the fire was "out," they were going home. Above is just one of the photos where people decided it was safe to go through. The police told them to go back to their cars. At one point, a group of men decided to walk home only to be stopped by police. Honestly, I don't understand. Don't they remember the Oakland Hill Firestorm (Tunnel Fire) of 1991? That occurred October 19-20 - the same weekend as the fire we were waiting out. That fire killed 25 people and injured 150 others. 2,843 single-family houses and 437 apartment/condo units were destroyed. My friend, Sue, lost her home. The origin of the fire? The day before a grass fire was extinguished but rekindled the next morning. No one wanted our fire rekindled.
At 8:50 p.m. the police used a loudspeaker to say, "No one will be allowed back in until tomorrow, 9 am minimum." I took gracious Mary up on her offer to spend the night. Turns out, she had already had her guest room ready, Bless her! I was lucky to go home the following morning. Tina, at the other end of our street, had to spend a second night away. She was evacuated so quickly, she had no time to bring anything. The remaining 43 homes were evacuated for 3 to 4 nights.
After sitting in my car for 6-1/2 hours, what did I learn?
1) Tell family and friends where you are. I had texted my family in Portland as soon as I left my house. Good thing as my brother heard about the fire on the national news. From the get go, friends in the Bay Area were texting me to come to their houses. Others were texting to make sure I was OK. All weekend, I received calls from family and friends in other states. It warmed my heart.
2) I knew I had a car phone charger in the car but it turned out, it didn't fit my newer iPhone. When my battery went dead, I was stuck. Fortunately, a neighbor took my phone to his car and recharged it some. The next day, I ordered a $10 charger from Amazon. I didn't have my portable battery (and it wasn't charged anyway) in my go bag. If you're buying one, I'd suggest a good solar charger.
3) I had a quarter of a tank of gas. I vowed to keep my tank full from now on.
3) Be sure your go bag is easy to carry. My go bag was a wheeled suitcase. It was easy to get in the car but not easy to climb the stairs into Mary's house. (Thank you for carrying, Mary!) My new go bags are three small, easy to carry - one backpack and two handheld (if those are needed).
4) Have cash (in small bills) with you. If the electricity is out (as was in the case of this fire), you'll need to make cash transactions.
5) In my go bag - two changes of clothes + pjs, medicine, glasses, devices and cords. I admit I did bring Jimmy, the Mouse, who has a strong connection to my mom and P.
6) Lots of things don't need to go into your go bag. I'm in the process of storing photos of all my photos in the cloud. Insurance info and passwords can also be carefully stored in the cloud as well.
There are a zillion things I haven't thought through yet. If this had been an earthquake and I was stuck at home, there's more planning to do (storing water, etc). If you have kids or pets, there's certainly more to consider. I'm motivated to be better prepared now. Have a great, safe Sunday!
top photo : sf chronicle
Check out this comprehensive list on the Red Cross website regarding survival kits.
