Time to get prepared

If you were hanging around this blog in March of last year, you might remember that I wrote a little treatise on the importance of being prepared for disasters (like, say, the pandemic). If you weren't, you can find it here.

Why do I bring this up? Oh, for a few reasons:

• Last year brought a horrific fire season across the western United States and Canada.
• There's been little rain and snow across most of the Western seaboard this year.
  
• Fire scientists at San Jose State University in California say that cuttings taken from trees and brush across the state indicate fuel moisture content of a terrifyingly low rate not seen in the last decade. Low fuel moisture describes the low water content of trees, shrubs and grasses -- the items that provide fuel for a wildfire -- and the drier these are, especially this early in the year, the more combustible they are and the more likely upcoming wildfires will be widespread and dangerous.

Holiday Farm fire, September 2020.
Public domain image by U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region.

If you live in Western North America, make a plan now to survive a wildfire in your area. Pack a bag with necessary items and put it in your front hall or the trunk of your car. Put all your important documents in a safe place, and make copies to keep elsewhere in case they're incinerated. Keep your cars' fuel tanks (or batteries) topped up. If you have pets, prepare to evacuate with them. Be aware of lightning strikes near you. Set up a phone tree to contact a family member outside the danger zone and let that person know you've made it to safety; then he or she can call everyone else so you don't overtax the phone system in an emergency.

And if you don't live in the immediate path of a wildfire, but you remember having to breathe mostly smoke for about a month in 2020, now would be an excellent time to invest in a quality air purifier for your home. Don't wait until the orange haze descends and you have to fight everyone else trying to buy one off Amazon.

We weren't ready for the pandemic, but we can be ready for this. It's time to get prepared.