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Old 08-15-2014, 01:41 PM   #1
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Bug out fast in emergency

I have a lot of friends here on the Forum and just thought I might tell them and others about how the Airstream can help in an emergency.

Mine is a wildfire situation. We had a lightning strike about 4 miles from the house on Aug. 3. It grew fast and went to a type 2, then 3 fire. 350 people working on it now. Storm blew up and the fire blew up on Tuesday afternoon, and backed down to within a half mile of my house. Evacuation, on Tuesday and I took little with me but the new Airstream, left the Argosy and everything else to fate. It was very very scary how fast thing changed, they thought probably 4 to 6 hour evacuation notice, but the storm changed that to half hour max.

The Airstream, even unpacked gives me a place to stay at a Forest Service Campground about 25 miles away, out of the smoke. I was able to get some food, they let me back into the house to pick up the garbage bag of clothes I tossed together and then left in the entry hall.

The Tuesday blow up came very fast. I had fiddled around way too long, suddenly the fire was here. Pack at the first sign of trouble, put food in, clothes, water. Hitch up, be ready to roll in 10 minutes.

Don't screw around with things in an emergency. It is only stuff. Leave, NOW. Take the Airstream if you can. Get out, save yourself and anyone else around you, stuff is stuff, it can be replaced.

Right now we are in a lull in the fire and they let me back into the house. I am taking the Argosy this time and two fire fighters are assigned to my house and one neighbor house. They think all will be OK. Everyone has been helpful and nice. If I hear anyone trashing the Government after this experience, they will get my wrath. I have never seen more helpful people and more concerned people. They are setting up a portable gas fire pump as I type this.

So, use the Airstream as your escape vehicle if you can, otherwise just get out. It is only stuff.

More as it develops. I won't be posting much as I have no net service or phone service at the remote FS campground I have moved to.

Thanks in advance for any positive comments, I may not get back to you right away.
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Old 08-15-2014, 01:54 PM   #2
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Glad you're doing well all things considered. Sounds like good advice too.
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Old 08-15-2014, 01:57 PM   #3
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How awful. Glad you are safe.

We had a thread late last year on putting together a bug-out bag, for just such emergencies.

Fortunate we are to have what amounts to a second home that you can take with you.

Good luck,


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Old 08-15-2014, 02:20 PM   #4
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Hope your home survives the fires.

We have been thru that drill as well here in Colorado. We now have 5 or 6 boxes packed in the garage that contain irreplaceable items, photos, home inventory and personal records. They are marked with big fire stickers so I know what to grab. That and grab the computers and a few clothes, hitch and go. I wouldn't bother with food and water, you can buy that once you get out of the evac zone.
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Old 08-15-2014, 03:47 PM   #5
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That sounds terrifying! Glad you are in a safe place and were able to get some of your stuff out. Wildfires are really horrible, and the guys who fight them are the bravest dudes out there. Stay safe, and best wishes for your home!
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Old 08-15-2014, 04:21 PM   #6
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Glad to see YOU are safe...

We live a bit inland on the east coast so we don't have much to bug out from, but we still use our campers as "safe" houses. Ice storm and the power goes out, move to the camper for heat. Summer tornado, camper is parked in a overbuilt building, move into it when the power goes out.

Airstreams are great escape pods!

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Old 08-15-2014, 04:47 PM   #7
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I made a point of setting up my Interstate as a bug-out vehicle, which included trading in my OTHER car for a toad to pull behind my Interstate so I don't have to leave one behind to bug out in the other.

I actually consider myself fortunate to live on the Gulf Coast, where at least our natural disasters come with a couple days advance warning. I hope I never have to bug out with less than an hour's warning!

If you ever think you'll need to use your Airstream as an evacuation vehicle, it's worthwhile to stock it with a few days' worth of clothing and non-perishable food, and leave the stuff in there all the time, along with some bottled water (since you don't know when you'll be able to fill your fresh tank). And always make sure your tow vehicle has more than half a tank of fuel whenever you park it, so that during an evacuation you don't have to hunt for fuel until you're well out of the danger area.

I'm not looking to rehash the bug-out thread, but I don't recall if the fuel issue was mentioned on that thread, so I figured no harm in mentioning it.
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Old 08-15-2014, 05:05 PM   #8
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Hope you and your neighbors all come out ok with the fire. Living in a known and proven hurricane zone I keep my trailer semi-loaded and ready to go. Grab a few extra clothes, perishable food and I am ready to go. I also have a couple of Wise 14 day ration buckets in case of emergency. I keep my holding tanks empty and refresh the fresh water every couple of weeks. 10 gallons of fresh gas in two cans. Self protection grab bag is ready to go. I can be on the road in less than an hour if the need rears it's ugly head for what ever reason. Not technically a "proper", just prepared.
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Old 08-15-2014, 05:47 PM   #9
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Wow, amazing stories. You guys out west are facing these fires quite a bit lately. Scary!
About the only disaster we have here in Iowa is a tornado. In case of severe weather we go underground, and hope it misses us. No use bugging out.

My Airstream hat is off to you guys in fire country.
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Old 08-17-2014, 12:16 PM   #10
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A quick update as of Sunday morning. We are allowed back in our homes, as long as we are willing to leave in a few minutes. The fire probably will move down to the forest face across the river from me, or they will deliberately set it off, due to danger of it going rogue or wild. I have a fire truck and two guys in the driveway for protection of my home and one neighbors home, all the homes up and down the road have similar coverage, pretty fantastic we all think.

I am not staying, other than to pick up a few more things and do a load of laundry while here. Then back to the Airstream. I guess I will go on a boon docking trip to Glacier Park area where I have more friends. I want to be out of the smoke.

With all the coverage and protection, I feel pretty good that my home will still be here when I return. Things around may look different, but even that is ok. I don't ever want to go through another Tuesday afternoon again, so if the fuel load is reduced, and it looks a bit different, so be it.

They are doing a fantastic job of a very difficult fire in a very very difficult terrain. And no fire has burned through here in 100 years , so there is a huge fuel load.
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Old 08-17-2014, 12:22 PM   #11
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If you are interested in how this type of fire in managed, here is last night's "fact sheet"

<8_16_factsheet_pm.pdf>



Oops, won;t work.
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Old 08-17-2014, 12:29 PM   #12
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Scary stuff, sure do hope all is well when you return.
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Old 08-18-2014, 12:17 AM   #13
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It sounds to me like your life is about to take a turn for the better.

This might be an interesting opportunity to pick out a decal or emblem to decorate your new bug-out vehicle with. It will keep your mind busy now, and make for good laughs when the fires finally die off:

I vote for Keep Calm and Bug Out
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Old 08-18-2014, 05:02 AM   #14
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Quote:
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I vote for Keep Calm and Bug Out
"When in doubt, bug out!" It even rhymes.
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Old 08-18-2014, 05:08 AM   #15
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Idroba - We are all keeping you in our thoughts.

I had the conversation with my husband this past spring about using the Airstream as an emergency shelter if needed and I don't think it really sank in. Being in the midwest, we are more prone to tornados, but it is nice knowing that we can prepare the Airstream for any other emergency situation.

I'll be sure to look for the previous Bug Out thread.
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Old 08-18-2014, 05:21 AM   #16
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The thing that struck us was that we could be traveling and find ourselves in a natural disaster, where we had to leave the Interstate to shelter in the event of a flood or tornado......or, find ourselves in an earthquake like we did several years ago in Virginia.

No warnings for those, and the thing same could happen at home.

Thus, the Bug Out Bag thread.....a bag that carried the essentials for at least several days of life for us and the dog. Grab and go to a shelter, drive away with it, or hopefully retrieve it in the event of an earthquake,

We don't get up each day with disaster on our radar, but it happens to people every day.

You can't prepare for all things, but there is some sense of security in a level of preparedness, that you have done what you could.


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Old 08-18-2014, 12:57 PM   #17
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Update on the fire:

I am allowed into my home, but my two guys and fire truck are here. I am letting them do the worry and watching. There are over 650 on the fire total. When it gets nasty, I leave for the AS, up at a FS campground 25 miles away. I am watching flames and smoke on the forest face on the other side of the river, probably 1000 ft from me. Very light winds, ideal for a slow burn with no flame wall to endanger us. But still, seeing flames in the trees is a bit scary. Well, more than a bit. They may set some backfire from choppers anytime now. I will see how it is, I might want to leave then.

Unless something unexpected happens with the winds, I look to be safe, that is my property. The Airstream and Argosy are safe, and I can leave very rapidly, as needed. I only came back today to see what was happening.

I am glad this thread has helped people to think about a "bug out" kit and vehicle like the AS to give them a safe haven (other than tornado's and hurricanes). I have learned too, don't procrastinate, leave before you think you should, something I did not do.
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Old 08-18-2014, 01:14 PM   #18
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Full timing creates it's own problems. It's not about loading your stuff, it's about being ready to drive down the road.

I guess I've accidentally gotten fairly good at being semi-ready. Anything moveable on the dinette, on the floor, hassocks under the table. Broom stick behind the EB table legs to keep everything under the dinette & benches stationary. Teapot, spices, spoon caddy all dump into sink. All my shower supplies are in a plastic carryall. They're put on the floor of the shower nestled over the drain. Bathroom. In a hurry, everything goes on the floor. Make sure the medicine cabinet is closed and the shower door is locked. Laundry cart, flat on it's back on the rug.

A/C off, water heater off, water pump off, lights out. TV's are always locked in place anyway but check. Antenna down, fans off & lids closed. Water, sewer, electric cords stowed, door locked, steps folded.

.......................................And then there's hitching up to the Hensley.

It either takes one flawless backup and thump, or like this morning it takes 17 tries to get it right. If there was an alert for a possible evacuation, that sucka would be done first. One thing I have learned is that after several fails, it's well worth it to drive away for two to three minutes, completely readjust the trailer height and hitch angle with the torsion adjustment, pour a bucket of cold water on myself, and try again.
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Old 08-18-2014, 01:31 PM   #19
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I learned about "bugout" volunteering with the Red Cross after Katrena. While distributing food, we came across a REALLY nice Rolls Royce completely trashed by the flood. Could you imagine making that decision to leave it! I guess that's what insurance is for.

I'm not much for "prepping", but I guess I should be. I'm in Ohio. Tornado's and bad winter storms are our biggest threats. Not much s far as "bug out" ability.

My greatest concerns are either electrical grid failure, financial failure, H2O failure, pandemic, or nuclear terrorism. Just little stuff like that.

I can make the Canadian border in under two hours and make a serious run for the wilderness. The question is how do you haul 300 gallons of gas and 100 days of MREs?
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Old 08-18-2014, 01:45 PM   #20
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I'm not much for "prepping", but I guess I should be. I'm in Ohio. Tornado's and bad winter storms are our biggest threats. Not much s far as "bug out" ability.
I actually have two kits: a bug-out kit as we've been discussing, for evacuation-worthy hurricanes, and a "hunker-down" kit for milder storms that aren't bad enough to evacuate for, but that will still cause power outages and other interruptions in essential services. Sounds like a hunker-down kit is right up your alley.

I don't consider myself a "prepper." I'm not expecting the end of the World as we know it (TEOTWAWKI™) or the Zombie Apocalypse. Being prepared for a week-long power outage is nowhere near the same as so-called prepping. Besides, as a diabetic who takes insulin, preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse is pointless; I'm more likely to end up one of the zombies than one of the survivors.
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