Discussions

Hurricane Helene First of all – My deepest sympathies to the people in Hurricane Helene’s way. You all have lost so much, and my heart goes out to you. Second – For those of us not in the hurricane’s path, what a huge wake up call this is. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned this week: 1. When the authorities say get out of the way, weather’s coming, do what they say. Get out of the way! 2. Know your surroundings and how to get out in a hurry.  3. Assess your current situation and be brutally honest with yourself. What CAN happen? What WILL happen, sooner or later? Time to be an adult and look reality in the face. 4. Make changes accordingly. No matter where you live, things are changing and we will all have to change, too. Our homes will be different, as will our power sources, our food supplies, and our relationships with our neighbors. Better to make those changes before disaster hits. A month ago, many folks in Appalachia had no idea how suddenly different their lives would be. 5. Have weeks of drinking and washing water saved up. Have plenty of food for you, your family, and to some extent, your neighbors. When downed trees cover the roads, or the bridges are washed out, where will you get groceries? Your own pantry may be it. 6. Keep your gas tank full. Then, if for whatever reason you have to leave, you can just leave. It’s  a big drag to sit in line at the gas station. You get the picture. In Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and other states, the folks who were prepared are better off now than those who were caught flat-footed. It’s heart-breaking how people are suffering. Pay attention when experts say something big is coming. Face the scary potential and make the needed changes now. Prepare the basics ahead of time. In the aftermath, instead of finding yourself with nothing, try now to get yourself in a position where you can be of help to others. Those are my big takeaways from Hurricane Helene. What did I miss? What do you think?

Framework for Prepping
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Two spots in Canada are making headlines this week. The Kelowna, British Columbia metropolitan area is home to over 200,000 people and wildfire burns on its outskirts. Over 50 structures have already burned. In Yellowknife, North West Territories, the entire city of 20,000 people is still under a wildfire evacuation order. From my vantage point, south of Denver, I watched the Marshall Fire develop in Boulder County, Colorado a couple of years ago. I’m about 20 miles away, as the crow flies, and at first I thought it must be an industrial fire, with all the black smoke. Over the course of an hour or so, the smoke billowed bigger, higher, and very black. A residential fire was burning, but it looked like petroleum smoke. And of course it was. Our houses are made of plastic. Roofs, paint, siding, window frames, floor coverings, furniture, clothes in the closets, and PVC pipes in the walls – all made of plastic. Plastic that burns hot and fast. There is nothing to say that on a windy day, wildfire won’t spread through urban areas. Wildfires aren’t just in the forest. No matter where you live, it makes sense to get ready. It sucks to run out of the house with nothing but the baby and the diaper bag. Scan important documents onto a flash drive and stash them with friends and family a decent distance from your home. Have water, a go bag , phone numbers, cash, and gas in the car. When it’s windy, pay attention, listen to the radio, watch the sky. It’s not just wildfire, these are good precautions for all kinds of situations. References: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/wildfires-shuswap-kelowna-august-21-1.6942356 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-yellowknife-fire-update-august-20-2023-1.6941967 https://www.nifc.gov/nicc-files/sitreprt.pdf https://apnews.com/article/canada-wildfires-british-columbia-northwest-territories-2450568b1db8152ad8f39b8197df321b


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Framework for Prepping
3
2

Hurricane Helene First of all – My deepest sympathies to the people in Hurricane Helene’s way. You all have lost so much, and my heart goes out to you. Second – For those of us not in the hurricane’s path, what a huge wake up call this is. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned this week: 1. When the authorities say get out of the way, weather’s coming, do what they say. Get out of the way! 2. Know your surroundings and how to get out in a hurry.  3. Assess your current situation and be brutally honest with yourself. What CAN happen? What WILL happen, sooner or later? Time to be an adult and look reality in the face. 4. Make changes accordingly. No matter where you live, things are changing and we will all have to change, too. Our homes will be different, as will our power sources, our food supplies, and our relationships with our neighbors. Better to make those changes before disaster hits. A month ago, many folks in Appalachia had no idea how suddenly different their lives would be. 5. Have weeks of drinking and washing water saved up. Have plenty of food for you, your family, and to some extent, your neighbors. When downed trees cover the roads, or the bridges are washed out, where will you get groceries? Your own pantry may be it. 6. Keep your gas tank full. Then, if for whatever reason you have to leave, you can just leave. It’s  a big drag to sit in line at the gas station. You get the picture. In Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and other states, the folks who were prepared are better off now than those who were caught flat-footed. It’s heart-breaking how people are suffering. Pay attention when experts say something big is coming. Face the scary potential and make the needed changes now. Prepare the basics ahead of time. In the aftermath, instead of finding yourself with nothing, try now to get yourself in a position where you can be of help to others. Those are my big takeaways from Hurricane Helene. What did I miss? What do you think?

Two spots in Canada are making headlines this week. The Kelowna, British Columbia metropolitan area is home to over 200,000 people and wildfire burns on its outskirts. Over 50 structures have already burned. In Yellowknife, North West Territories, the entire city of 20,000 people is still under a wildfire evacuation order. From my vantage point, south of Denver, I watched the Marshall Fire develop in Boulder County, Colorado a couple of years ago. I’m about 20 miles away, as the crow flies, and at first I thought it must be an industrial fire, with all the black smoke. Over the course of an hour or so, the smoke billowed bigger, higher, and very black. A residential fire was burning, but it looked like petroleum smoke. And of course it was. Our houses are made of plastic. Roofs, paint, siding, window frames, floor coverings, furniture, clothes in the closets, and PVC pipes in the walls – all made of plastic. Plastic that burns hot and fast. There is nothing to say that on a windy day, wildfire won’t spread through urban areas. Wildfires aren’t just in the forest. No matter where you live, it makes sense to get ready. It sucks to run out of the house with nothing but the baby and the diaper bag. Scan important documents onto a flash drive and stash them with friends and family a decent distance from your home. Have water, a go bag , phone numbers, cash, and gas in the car. When it’s windy, pay attention, listen to the radio, watch the sky. It’s not just wildfire, these are good precautions for all kinds of situations. References: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/wildfires-shuswap-kelowna-august-21-1.6942356 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-yellowknife-fire-update-august-20-2023-1.6941967 https://www.nifc.gov/nicc-files/sitreprt.pdf https://apnews.com/article/canada-wildfires-british-columbia-northwest-territories-2450568b1db8152ad8f39b8197df321b


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