My primary home is out high in the country, I have several bug out locations. I have prepped for bugging in (long term) and bugging out short term and also in a I.N.C.H situation, I have several modes of transportation depending on the circumstances and now we get hit with a double whammy that challenges us in every aspect of prepping with a monkey wrench thrown in, now I'm having to rethink everything and I mean everything.
As most know, Washington State is in a drought and as a result many fires are all over the state. One of my gardens had to be curtailed because the creek we rely on that we pump out of for the garden has gotten to low and because of the lack of snow in the mountains last winter and the outlook for this winter isn't much better I chose not to use my wells water for this garden and cut back in other water usages.
Now, we have large fires all over the state 1 of them 22 miles away from my home with smoke covering the whole state, my cabin (our main bug out location) is a half mile away from one of the fires, our other bug out location all up in the hills further out from the cabin are now in trouble. If I need to evac I would have no choice but to head into Vancouver Washington suburb (a 'city') It's a little hard to head out to one's bug out location(s) when everything is burning around them! Whats going on around me is forcing me to head to heavily populated area in case of evac. I think by now many of you already see were this is heading?
Now, imagine this being in a SHTF or a T.E.O.T.W.A.W.K.I.
Today we have communication devices that tell us we are heading into a drought, where the fires are at, places to avoid. Today we have Fire Fighters. Today we can drive to the store for food and water. Today we have family and friends if we need to evac. Today the cities/suburbs are civilized however tomorrow, we have none of the above, the drought has sucked the creeks dry, the lakes have evaporated to the point of heating up killing the fish (my current situation) we would normally harvest for food, the animals are scarce heading further out or leaving the area all together (current situation), very little water for the garden (current situation), foraging is becoming very difficult to obtain anything tangible.
Now if we add fires to the drought (current situation) and one are up in the hills and you smell smoke, you see smoke, the smoke is getting thicker though one is unable to locate the fire nor locate the direction of the smoke but the light winds are blowing South, logically one would head South thinking the fire is North of their location but in reality this isn't always true never the less most would head South and unknowingly one heads right into a fire forcing one to head north and you keep going and going and going then you find out the smoke is thicker, darker and warmer, one soon finds out they ran right into another fire, there were two fires (that's the situation at my cabin right now, luckily I am not there, luckily we have fire fighters), now one has to make a choice East or West (it's a crap shoot) (does one have a compass? does one know how to read a compass and map?) what's your mode of transportation? if by foot and at this point what is one going to do? Now take into account one has their family one can't simply run zig-zag Southeast or Southwest in hopes to get the edge of the fires but by this time one has been breathing in smoke and the energy level has already depleted, One can dig in but in forested area the fire would suck the oxygen right out of the air, at this point there is very little options left, one has essentially been running in the smoke blind.
I have dealt with these fires for a number of years to the point we have had to move the live stock on numerous times but none that jeopardizes everything like it currently does here, home, cabin that's 70 miles away bug out backup locations 30 and 45 miles from the cabin, when everything is in jeopardy at the same time that forces one to head to the cities to escape leaves much to contemplate! Remember, this isn't a worst case 'scenario' this could have 'easily' been happening now Luckily we are in peaceful times luckily we have communications that keeps us informed.
If anyone is romanticizing bugging out in the mountains then one is in for a rude awakening, it's tough up here. One will find out in short order one is never prepared enough nor can one imagine everything, I didn't see the possibility of all my bug out location being lost at the same time by different fires!
As most know, Washington State is in a drought and as a result many fires are all over the state. One of my gardens had to be curtailed because the creek we rely on that we pump out of for the garden has gotten to low and because of the lack of snow in the mountains last winter and the outlook for this winter isn't much better I chose not to use my wells water for this garden and cut back in other water usages.
Now, we have large fires all over the state 1 of them 22 miles away from my home with smoke covering the whole state, my cabin (our main bug out location) is a half mile away from one of the fires, our other bug out location all up in the hills further out from the cabin are now in trouble. If I need to evac I would have no choice but to head into Vancouver Washington suburb (a 'city') It's a little hard to head out to one's bug out location(s) when everything is burning around them! Whats going on around me is forcing me to head to heavily populated area in case of evac. I think by now many of you already see were this is heading?
Now, imagine this being in a SHTF or a T.E.O.T.W.A.W.K.I.
Today we have communication devices that tell us we are heading into a drought, where the fires are at, places to avoid. Today we have Fire Fighters. Today we can drive to the store for food and water. Today we have family and friends if we need to evac. Today the cities/suburbs are civilized however tomorrow, we have none of the above, the drought has sucked the creeks dry, the lakes have evaporated to the point of heating up killing the fish (my current situation) we would normally harvest for food, the animals are scarce heading further out or leaving the area all together (current situation), very little water for the garden (current situation), foraging is becoming very difficult to obtain anything tangible.
Now if we add fires to the drought (current situation) and one are up in the hills and you smell smoke, you see smoke, the smoke is getting thicker though one is unable to locate the fire nor locate the direction of the smoke but the light winds are blowing South, logically one would head South thinking the fire is North of their location but in reality this isn't always true never the less most would head South and unknowingly one heads right into a fire forcing one to head north and you keep going and going and going then you find out the smoke is thicker, darker and warmer, one soon finds out they ran right into another fire, there were two fires (that's the situation at my cabin right now, luckily I am not there, luckily we have fire fighters), now one has to make a choice East or West (it's a crap shoot) (does one have a compass? does one know how to read a compass and map?) what's your mode of transportation? if by foot and at this point what is one going to do? Now take into account one has their family one can't simply run zig-zag Southeast or Southwest in hopes to get the edge of the fires but by this time one has been breathing in smoke and the energy level has already depleted, One can dig in but in forested area the fire would suck the oxygen right out of the air, at this point there is very little options left, one has essentially been running in the smoke blind.
I have dealt with these fires for a number of years to the point we have had to move the live stock on numerous times but none that jeopardizes everything like it currently does here, home, cabin that's 70 miles away bug out backup locations 30 and 45 miles from the cabin, when everything is in jeopardy at the same time that forces one to head to the cities to escape leaves much to contemplate! Remember, this isn't a worst case 'scenario' this could have 'easily' been happening now Luckily we are in peaceful times luckily we have communications that keeps us informed.
If anyone is romanticizing bugging out in the mountains then one is in for a rude awakening, it's tough up here. One will find out in short order one is never prepared enough nor can one imagine everything, I didn't see the possibility of all my bug out location being lost at the same time by different fires!
