brnsvllyjohn
Active member
This is the second time in 4 years we have had to go through this. We returned to find everything in good shape both times. 3 years ago we were not home so we could not gather any possessions. What we had in her car is what we had. This time we were home when the fires 35 miles from us made a run down the canyons towards Oroville. We got as ready as we could and we did OK. We started prepping before noon. We were not evacuated until 2 am but we had everything packed and all we had to do was drive away. We had not gone to bed we were just up and paying attention.
Things we did correctly (in my opinion).
We had both her car and my truck loaded with 95% of the items we valued. I had my pickup hooked to my travel trailer and parked so I could get out quickly.
We did not hesitate when we heard the sirens go off. We have the sheriffs car on trail camera driving into our driveway 30 minutes after we were gone.
We decided on a meeting place in the local town and we both made it there without any issues. I got stuck in traffic but it wasn't a big deal. We got to our meeting place at 3:30 am.
We could have done a few things a little better but nothing major.
We did not pack any food, just a few drinks. She went into a store the next morning and purchased some food items because the trailer only has canned goods.
Until that night we did not have an agreed upon meeting place. We do now no matter what time we get evacuated we will both go to the same location we did this time.
We might change a couple of things or how we pack but that is really determined by how much time you have.
I was not comfortable staying in any public place so we drove to a piece of private property 3 hours away since we felt it would be days before we allowed back home. Parking a truck and travel trailer and her car in someone's driveway is not practical. We spent one night away in the trailer before returning home to find everything in good condition. The smoke is still horrible but we stay inside with the AC on and we purchased the best filters we could so the air in the house isn't too bad.
Just something to think about since it appears non of us are immune to these things.
Things we did correctly (in my opinion).
We had both her car and my truck loaded with 95% of the items we valued. I had my pickup hooked to my travel trailer and parked so I could get out quickly.
We did not hesitate when we heard the sirens go off. We have the sheriffs car on trail camera driving into our driveway 30 minutes after we were gone.
We decided on a meeting place in the local town and we both made it there without any issues. I got stuck in traffic but it wasn't a big deal. We got to our meeting place at 3:30 am.
We could have done a few things a little better but nothing major.
We did not pack any food, just a few drinks. She went into a store the next morning and purchased some food items because the trailer only has canned goods.
Until that night we did not have an agreed upon meeting place. We do now no matter what time we get evacuated we will both go to the same location we did this time.
We might change a couple of things or how we pack but that is really determined by how much time you have.
I was not comfortable staying in any public place so we drove to a piece of private property 3 hours away since we felt it would be days before we allowed back home. Parking a truck and travel trailer and her car in someone's driveway is not practical. We spent one night away in the trailer before returning home to find everything in good condition. The smoke is still horrible but we stay inside with the AC on and we purchased the best filters we could so the air in the house isn't too bad.
Just something to think about since it appears non of us are immune to these things.
