Many of you probably saw the news this week about the fires in California. Those flames came within 3 miles of my home. I wasn't in danger but I had numerous friends that needed to evacuate. We had a houseful of them Wed night as we were lucky to maintain power in our neighborhood due to buried power lines. All our friends were lucky in that their homes were unscathed (although one was looted). A few are still without all their utilities though.
This speed of wildfires is absolutely crazy. We had steady winds of 60 mph with gusts up to 80 mph. That means the embers are advancing at over a mile a minute. There is no time to prepare. You have mere minutes to be fully evacuated. You better know where your important documents, photos and heirlooms are and have a means to load them quickly. Pet carriers are also critical. I know many that don't have these, especially people with cats, rodents and reptiles. At least dog owners have leashes. Cats can be particularly skittish and are good at hiding. You won't have much time to find them. Keep your pets chipped just in case.
Power companies now shut down sections of the grid as a precaution during high wind events. That means you could lose TV and internet. This fire burned some cell towers so some people lost all means of communication. Make sure you have a battery powered radio or battery backup for your internet router. In some cases the fiber was still working even though power was out. If you have backup power on the router, you may be able to maintain internet access from your PC.
Finally, don't delay your estate planning, insurance upgrades, and other such essentials. We had one friend that made huge home improvements but didn't disclose them because she didn't want her tax base reassessed. Had her house burned, she would have been screwed. Her insurance probably wouldn't have covered the improvements.
This speed of wildfires is absolutely crazy. We had steady winds of 60 mph with gusts up to 80 mph. That means the embers are advancing at over a mile a minute. There is no time to prepare. You have mere minutes to be fully evacuated. You better know where your important documents, photos and heirlooms are and have a means to load them quickly. Pet carriers are also critical. I know many that don't have these, especially people with cats, rodents and reptiles. At least dog owners have leashes. Cats can be particularly skittish and are good at hiding. You won't have much time to find them. Keep your pets chipped just in case.
Power companies now shut down sections of the grid as a precaution during high wind events. That means you could lose TV and internet. This fire burned some cell towers so some people lost all means of communication. Make sure you have a battery powered radio or battery backup for your internet router. In some cases the fiber was still working even though power was out. If you have backup power on the router, you may be able to maintain internet access from your PC.
Finally, don't delay your estate planning, insurance upgrades, and other such essentials. We had one friend that made huge home improvements but didn't disclose them because she didn't want her tax base reassessed. Had her house burned, she would have been screwed. Her insurance probably wouldn't have covered the improvements.
