Fire! Are You Ready for an Emergency?

 This has been a year for the record books. As we try to deal with the pandemic, staying on top of all the finances. We're in the process of refinancing our house and now fires. 

Last Monday we had heavy winds in Oregon. We had a rather large tree branch fall into our front pond - big enough to need to be cut before we could move it. There are branches and grapes all over our backyard. 

And then there are the fires. Those heavy winds fuel existing wild fires and turned them into an almost apocalyptic scene. 

Tuesday everything was bathes in an eerie red glow. This photo is unfiltered. And it was actually more of a blood red. 

Officials started to evacuate areas, some with so little time they literally escaped with the clothing on their backs. Entire communities have been wiped out, people have lost their lives and many more are missing. 

As they began to establish evacuation zones, I started to panic. Seven miles from my house was in level 2 - be ready to go at any moment. My husband and talked about what we would take; how we would transport four cats; where we would go. It made us very aware of how unprepared we are for an emergency. 

As evacuations continue, we are just on the edge of any level. Our town is circled on the map below. 

We are safe from the fire but not the smoke. The air quality fluctuates from 450s to lower 300s. You can't go outside. You can't even exert yourself inside because the smoke finds its way in and is dangerous. But I am grateful.

The fires have merged and turned many fires into larger fires. The entire Willamette Valley from top to bottom is on fire. People have been displaced and may not be able to go in to even evaluate the damage for months. The fires are so large it's going to take some rain for the fire fighters to even get them contained, let alone put them out.  

So how prepared are you for a disaster? Do you have pets? How will you move them? Do you know what you'll pack? Do you know where it all is? Where will you go? Do you have emergency money? These are the questions we've had to answer this week. And we had no answers at first. I can tell you we will be getting ready and hope we never have to use our emergency plan. 

Here are a couple of websites that give you information on preparing your family for an emergency. The red cross has a check list with information to Prepare for Emergencies.  Ready.Gov has a list of things you need to Build a Kit.

 I encourage you to look at these and make a plan. You never know when disaster will happen. Make sure you are ready when it does.