Recent California Fires and Mudslides to come

In the Face of Disaster, Architects Are Redesigning Their Role

The recent Camp Fire Disaster in California has been simply devastating to watch unfold.  Reports of people able to flee with only the clothes on their backs have really hammered home the need for a better warning system in Fire Emergencies.  Please donate to local charities to help those affected and grieving over lost and missing loved ones.  If you are looking for family members, please be patient with local services, they were not prepared for devastation on this scale and have never faced a situation such as this.  They are learning on the job how to best help those in their care.

After writing "Disaster Prepping for Procrastinators", it makes me very sad to see people now living in campsites without adequate supplies to see them through until new housing arrangements are made.  Many of them have lost everything, not able to take as much as a family picture with them.

The time to prepare for an Emergency is before it happens.  These fires are now almost a weekly occurrence in California, which is suffering from a prolonged drought of over 7 years.

I would encourage those in California not to take it for granted that in case of a fire you will have enough time to gather ANYTHING to evacuate.  Please keep your vehicle stocked with the items we have set out in months 1-3, so you have food, water, clothing, medical supplies, important papers and family keepsakes already in your car.  That way, you only have to gather your family and flee.

Please also make a list of people you need to contact to say you are safe.  If you have to wonder if loved ones who are Seniors or Differently Abled will be safe if fires were to reach them, err on the side of caution and pick them up for a few days until you can see if containment measures are working.

Keep an eye on the television, have your local radio station on and every half an hour, go take a look outside.  You don't have to wait to feel the heat and see the flames within a mile, to evacuate.  Fire moves unbelievably fast through dry brush and the fuel of homes and their belongings makes it move even faster.

We have the main book available in Black and White, after Seniors asked for a lower cost version.  Please get motivated to put your house in order, gather your important papers, and prepare for Disaster while your home and life are intact.

I've already have had a customer ask me, "Why don't you just sell me what I need?"  Sigh.  I can do that, but the whole premise of 'Disaster Prepping for Procrastinators' is to stop ourselves from procrastinating when preparing for disaster.  There are a ton of different options available online for anything from a 1-day Survival Backpack or 72 Hour Bucket, to full-scale Armageddon preparation available.

However, NONE of those prepping ideas will help you clean and prepare your house to store your Emergency Supplies.  None of them will change your tendency to put important tasks off until tomorrow, rather than tackle things today.

Its important for ALL of us to prepare for disaster.  You will make your life go smoother if you have copies of important papers in one spot so you can contact the bank, insurance companies, and loved ones if your phone is lost or damaged.

Family pictures, heirlooms, and children's keepsakes may not seem a necessity for saving in case of an evacuation order, but having grown up in the military, to children, they are important.  They help you feel grounded, safe and important. 

Each time we rotated to a new base, our keepsakes gained from the new place we lived were by and large tossed out.  We grew into adults without any underpinning of the past.  We didn't have past treasures we could hold and look upon to remember good times, accomplishments and hopes we had penned for our future.  Don't let your procrastination and apathy rob your children of the underpinning hopes of memories and treasured keepsakes.