We don’t know what happened to our structures up on the land, but Andy is continuing to design electronics for our solar heating system up there. Also both our county and the state are urging us to be prepared to evacuate if need be. The guess is we won’t be forced out from down here because of this fire, but there will be plenty more popping up in the future.
READY, SET, GO!
Wildfire destroys thousands of acres and threatens hundreds of homes across New Mexico each year. The Ready, Set, Go! (RSG) program helps residents be Ready with preparedness understanding, be Set with situational awareness when fire threatens, and to Go, acting early when a wildfire starts. The RSG is managed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and seeks to make a difference in communities faced with wildland fire threats, saving lives and property.
GET READY:Being “Ready” for wildfire starts with maintaining an adequate defensible space around your home. Clear dry brush and vegetation away from the outside of your home starting in the 5-foot zone and working your way out to the 100–200-foot zone. Without this buffer, the fire will quickly spread through surrounding vegetation to your home. Consider fire resistant landscaping and hardening your home with fire-resistant building materials. Flying embers from a wildfire can destroy homes up to a mile away.
GET SET:Prepare yourself and your home for the possibility of evacuation BEFORE wildfire arrives. Follow these simple steps to get “Set”:
Create a Wildfire Action Plan that includes evacuation planning for your home, family and pets
Assemble an Emergency Supply Kit for each person in your household
Fill out a Family Communication Plan that includes important evacuation and contact information
Stay informed by following local media, local fire alerts, and county emergency notifications.GO!
If there is an active wildfire in your area, be prepared before it’s time to Go!
If time allows, review your Wildfire Action Plan and complete the Pre-Evacuation Preparation Steps in the RSG guide. Load your emergency supply kit and evacuation bags (including pet kits) into your vehicle and park facing the road for a quick exit. You don’t need to wait for an evacuation order. If you feel threatened, then evacuate early. When an evacuation order is issued, there is no time to waste. Ensure your bags and kit are in your vehicle, locate and load your pets, wear clothing that will protect you against heat and flying embers, and GO!
We live in an apartment down here so don’t have to worry about defensible space, but Andy and I are leisurely starting to think about an evacuation kit. We also faced up to upgrading our old 3G flip phones to 4G before our old phones stop working at the end of the year. We bought Andy a new flip phone, which I think is a lot easier to use than our old ones. He’s having trouble with it so now is the ideal time to practice a little bit each day before it becomes second nature.
Things are going well. I’m enjoying his company, we chat and laugh a lot.
I hope things are going well with all of you.
May 3, 2022
The new phone is important when it might literally become a life-line in an emergency evacuation.
We usually have them off when we’re down here, but we get alerts via email and our landline.
Sounds like a sound, easy-to-follow plan. Even for those at risk in the path of a hurricane. A number of years ago my h.s. friend shared an account how, in 2000, she and her family waited ’til the last minute and barely escaped (the Cerro Grande fire) with their lives. Reading about the fast-moving wall of fire was like something out of a horror movie. Hope and pray you and Andy never have to face a similar situation!
We didn’t have problems leaving because we’re up on the hill and had plenty of warning. But that was scary for a lot of people!
I’m glad you are upgrading your phones!
If you have to evacuate will you go to your daughters home.
I hope you don’t have to leave your home!
xoxoxo
Probably not, it’s a long drive. We would probably stay in a hotel somewhere. For our first evacuation we drove to Montana to take Andy’s mother out to dinner for her 91st birthday. The second one we drove to see my sister in CA. Those are longer drives than we would like now.
It is a good idea to upgrade your phones, then you will be able to get alerts. And good to know there are things people can do. Glad to hear all is still well.
We get alerts via our land line and the internet, but we have to upgrade our phones before they cut 3G service.
We just ordered Judy a new phone and should get it tomorrow. Ach! The learning curve. I’ve been thinking about you two a lot today and wondering what was happening with “your” fire and your house and greenhouse on the mountain top. Hopefully they will both survive.
Thanks, fingers crossed. We’re curious now, but the 2011 fire was traumatic for Andy.
Glad to hear you’re okay as had wondered if you were having to evacuate from your apt. I do hope your structures, especially the greenhouse and plants survive. Stay safe and well, avoiding Covid and variants, too.
Thanks. 🙂
With the way technology is always changing it’s a good idea to have the phones updated.
Still thinking of you both and hoping for the best
Thanks. 🙂
I checked in here late yesterday for updates and found none. So, first thing this morning I came by. Really glad you posted. We go through the evacuation preparedness as you two are now for hurricane threats. The wait and see can be stressful. Hope you both continue to be safe.
Do consider 5G instead of 4G!!!!
I’m pretty sure they don’t have 5G here. a lot of the time Andy can’t even text me from the land.
just take care 🙂
Thanks. 🙂
I am always happy to see your post in my feedly list, it means another day has passed in safety if you are where you can post. I don’t know if a flip phone will get alerts, do you have a smart phone for yourself? continued prayers for both of you and your neighbors. wish we had a drones view to see your mountain top
Flip phones will get alerts if we keep them turned on. But more important to us, we get alerted by our landline and by email if there’s a threat down here.
I was almost afraid to open this…I am so glad you have not had to evacuate there. I hope and pray that you don’t have to and that your place survives. I do think new phones are in order. We had just had simple trackphones before Roger’s stroke. After it, after he came home, I went and got the phone of my dreams. I wanted to have a way to communicate no matter where we were. If he ended up in ER, etc.
Please don’t worry, we aren’t. Andy has decided he doesn’t want a phone that would let him connect to the internet. It’s unlikely he would, but he presses buttons randomly at times and wants to be safe. I spent a lot of time trying to get good information about our plan today. I had been told if we use the internet if we had to evacuate they wouldn’t charge $15 per GB, it would be $1.99 per MB. It pays to ask the same question more than once. Too funny.
Sounds a lot like our earthquake preparedness plans.
We’ve also been encouraged to get a battery recharging device, in order to extend cell phone usage in case of an extended power outage. That may apply more to us here on the island than to you there?
You’re cheerful, yay! and I’m keeping my fingers firmly crossed.
AE
Thank you for the great suggestion. Andy says our 20,000 mAh car jump starter/air compressor has two USB ports for charging electronics. It’s in the car we would use to evacuate.
p.s. we have an Anker powersource 10000 for cell phone recharging.
Thank you!
at last! official word from you. and they are calm and Good.
and prepared!
I’m so late getting on here this morning.
holding you both in my thoughts. Always. xoxo
Please don’t worry. We’re not.
Glad you are still OK and making plans just in case. As part of our plan, we have picked out an extended stay hotel that has a small kitchen right in the room in case we need to evacuate. Putting their number in our phones means we can call to make a reservation quickly if we need it before everyone else gets there to take all the rooms. That hotel room also has both a table and a desk so we can continue computing using either their wifi or our phone hotspots depending on what is working at the time. I hope we never have to use it but it is comforting to know the plan is in place.
That is a great idea! When we evacuated twice before Andy had me make reservations for places in Albuquerque and I phoned before we left. He figured Albuquerque would be far enough away there would be no problem. Now he’s thinking of Santa Fe, which is a lot closer. we’re gradually thinking of possibilities but don’t feel in any rush.