swakyaby
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Yes, I agree. Important electronic data would be best stored off-site or in the cloud.
Suggestions for California residents facing power and evacuation issues
- Thread starter MichaelB
- Start date
Yes, I agree. Important electronic data would be best stored off-site or in the cloud.
folivier
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2009
- Messages
- 2,018
Fireproof safes typically have a gypsum lining and rely on the moisture given off to protect the contents. I'm not sure this moisture would be good for a hard drive. Might protect paper if the fire and temperatures aren't too high and long a duration. Most probably wouldn't survive a house burning down. Yes, best to keep them off sight. Maybe in your car you'll evacuate in? Or mail them to someone out of the affected area?
suggestions from a prepper who had to evacuate:
* keep the vehicle gas tank topped off and some gas cans filled.
stopping to fill up on the way out of town during an evacuation is not a good idea: long lines, power might be out, etc.
* cash in hand gives a lot more flexibility when the power is off for much of the surrounding area
hitting an ATM won't be any easier than getting gas.
* app for a smart phone:
*Nixle sends txt and email updates from local public safety dept
where the power is out, which roads are closed (Waze might be handy for closed roads too), etc.
* Weather apps
* Nextdoor: as much as its despised, it gives visibility to whats going on in your neighborhood, who needs help,
The comments on the post suggested apps such as Scanner Radio Pro to listen to police/fire/rescue, First Aid apps, general prepper stuff like knot tying how-to apps, etc.
* Social media: One post to FB letting friends and family know where you are saves a lot of time reaching them 1 by 1, frees you up to focus on other things.
* Radio streaming apps (TuneIn): local stations got together to report on the crisis. Streaming lets you hear local info when reception is poor or you've evac'd out of signal range.
* Streaming TV apps to view local stations remotely.
* Batteries, phone chargers, solar phone chargers
* Take a video tour of your home documenting possessions for a potential insurance claim.
The prior posting mentioned things like:
* evac earlier rather than later. At the rate the fires moved 45minutes delay meant the difference between getting out and staying. It also meant getting on the road before the traffic jammed.
* be flexible. improvise. you might have a evac route and destination planned only to find the road closed.
* when things get tight, the only thing that really matters is people and pets.
* keep the vehicle gas tank topped off and some gas cans filled.
stopping to fill up on the way out of town during an evacuation is not a good idea: long lines, power might be out, etc.
* cash in hand gives a lot more flexibility when the power is off for much of the surrounding area
hitting an ATM won't be any easier than getting gas.
* app for a smart phone:
*Nixle sends txt and email updates from local public safety dept
where the power is out, which roads are closed (Waze might be handy for closed roads too), etc.
* Weather apps
* Nextdoor: as much as its despised, it gives visibility to whats going on in your neighborhood, who needs help,
The comments on the post suggested apps such as Scanner Radio Pro to listen to police/fire/rescue, First Aid apps, general prepper stuff like knot tying how-to apps, etc.
* Social media: One post to FB letting friends and family know where you are saves a lot of time reaching them 1 by 1, frees you up to focus on other things.
* Radio streaming apps (TuneIn): local stations got together to report on the crisis. Streaming lets you hear local info when reception is poor or you've evac'd out of signal range.
* Streaming TV apps to view local stations remotely.
* Batteries, phone chargers, solar phone chargers
* Take a video tour of your home documenting possessions for a potential insurance claim.
The prior posting mentioned things like:
* evac earlier rather than later. At the rate the fires moved 45minutes delay meant the difference between getting out and staying. It also meant getting on the road before the traffic jammed.
* be flexible. improvise. you might have a evac route and destination planned only to find the road closed.
* when things get tight, the only thing that really matters is people and pets.
Last edited:
gayl
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
My sisters are affected and have boxes at the door to put in their cars if evacuated. My daughter has been evacuated 3× and has power turned off each time it goes off (rural area). Dtr thinks right .... sisters don't IMHO.
1. Upload video of home & belongings / important papers to USAA (insurance of choice)
2. Grab kids and pets and run if evacuated
3. Everything (except lives) is replaceable
Power outage: Coleman lamp. 14 lb ice block in freezer. Pretend you're camping and break out those board games. They don't take power
If more than 3 days, party at Grandma's [emoji33]
1. Upload video of home & belongings / important papers to USAA (insurance of choice)
2. Grab kids and pets and run if evacuated
3. Everything (except lives) is replaceable
Power outage: Coleman lamp. 14 lb ice block in freezer. Pretend you're camping and break out those board games. They don't take power
If more than 3 days, party at Grandma's [emoji33]
Last edited:
meierlde
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Actually here the right sized screens on the roof vents help by keeping the embers from entering the roof. Of course retrofiting might cost a lot. Another factor would be to have aluminum soffit and fasia so that no wood is exposed on the outside of the house.
Actually a major risk as demonstrated a couple of years ago when fires hit anaheim is ordinary windows, heat will break them and then the fire gets in, There do exist fire rated windows but again lots of $ . Some are rated up to three hours as well. Of course this also means that outside doors should be solid metal, with metal door frames. (The grenfell towers in London had windows that broke to let the fire in also, so perhaps all high rises should have such windows) Down in San Diego some houses build recently have been able to withstand fires with these measures.
Of course you should have both drinking and toilet flushing water if the water goes out. Note that if on sewer systems they could back up whereas ordinary septic (not aerobic) will just keep on trucking. (The water and food backup as well as a good fireplace could handle a bad blizzard also.
As to backup with up to 1 tb flash drives and larger ssds, you could keep a backup drive offsite or in the car. Scan all important documents also and keep those images on the backup drives.
Some good advice here! Thought I'd add a few ideas:
Computer backup - I have an external HDD backup, but also use Backblaze cloud backup.
Valuables - bank safe deposit boxes are great for this. They are built with much thicker walls than home fire safes. There is a story about one in Japan which withstood a nuclear blast.
Solar panel USB charger - I don't see the point of this if you have a vehicle which can provide 12v power. Get a USB power bank or two and top those off from your car if you consume them.
Generator - I'm a big fan of the inexpensive clones of the Honda inverter generators. I got an Energizer branded one from Amazon for $350-ish. I also got a transfer switch with a power input for my gas furnace and some extension cords of various lengths. In the event of a winter power outage, I can run the furnace, the whole-house humidifier (connected to the furnace), my refrigerator, and my Internet gateway, router, and access point. I can also shuffle the plugs around to run the microwave or toaster oven to heat up food.
I live in a medium sized city and it's unlikely I would face a prolonged power outage, but during the last ice storm, one of my coworkers had her power go out for about 24 hours, so my setup would definitely minimize the inconvenience for that time period.
Summer power outage - same as above, except I have a window unit A/C stored in my attic, which I can mount in my bedroom. Got to test it out this past summer (with no power outage) when the 29 year old A/C unit for the main floor of my house crapped the bed on one of the hottest days of the year. I have a mini-split in the small third bedroom upstairs, which I set to its lowest temperature. That plus the window unit in my first floor bedroom kept the entire house at a tolerable temperature (and the bedroom where I slept was completely comfortable--my poor dog quickly figured out what was up and plopped herself on the bed right in front of the A/C). In the event of an outage, the mini-split wouldn't be helping to cool the house, but the window unit would at least keep my bedroom cool.
Computer backup - I have an external HDD backup, but also use Backblaze cloud backup.
Valuables - bank safe deposit boxes are great for this. They are built with much thicker walls than home fire safes. There is a story about one in Japan which withstood a nuclear blast.
Solar panel USB charger - I don't see the point of this if you have a vehicle which can provide 12v power. Get a USB power bank or two and top those off from your car if you consume them.
Generator - I'm a big fan of the inexpensive clones of the Honda inverter generators. I got an Energizer branded one from Amazon for $350-ish. I also got a transfer switch with a power input for my gas furnace and some extension cords of various lengths. In the event of a winter power outage, I can run the furnace, the whole-house humidifier (connected to the furnace), my refrigerator, and my Internet gateway, router, and access point. I can also shuffle the plugs around to run the microwave or toaster oven to heat up food.
I live in a medium sized city and it's unlikely I would face a prolonged power outage, but during the last ice storm, one of my coworkers had her power go out for about 24 hours, so my setup would definitely minimize the inconvenience for that time period.
Summer power outage - same as above, except I have a window unit A/C stored in my attic, which I can mount in my bedroom. Got to test it out this past summer (with no power outage) when the 29 year old A/C unit for the main floor of my house crapped the bed on one of the hottest days of the year. I have a mini-split in the small third bedroom upstairs, which I set to its lowest temperature. That plus the window unit in my first floor bedroom kept the entire house at a tolerable temperature (and the bedroom where I slept was completely comfortable--my poor dog quickly figured out what was up and plopped herself on the bed right in front of the A/C). In the event of an outage, the mini-split wouldn't be helping to cool the house, but the window unit would at least keep my bedroom cool.
JackJester
Recycles dryer sheets
Everything mentioned earlier is great. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are constantly coached about a major earthquake. And, we often get major wind storms in the fall/winter that knock out power. Our house is in the Cascade foothills with lots of big trees and we once lost power for 11 days (3-4 days without power every fall is usual). Here is what gets us through (although it’s more of a long term plan vs getting through your immediate emergency):
1) A generator. We have a 7000 watt generator that plugs into our circuit breaker. We can then switch on/off what ever appliances we need to to get things cold or power the lights, pressure the water lines, etc.
2) We have a 300 gallon water holding tank. We can live a long time on 300 gallons, even though we might not have constant flow from the community well (for us), or even a city water supply (for others).
Our long term plan is to add solar panels and a small wind generator, but with everything, its all about cost vs benefit. If fire is not an immediate danger, then you need water, shelter, food. In many cases, those 3 things require power.
1) A generator. We have a 7000 watt generator that plugs into our circuit breaker. We can then switch on/off what ever appliances we need to to get things cold or power the lights, pressure the water lines, etc.
2) We have a 300 gallon water holding tank. We can live a long time on 300 gallons, even though we might not have constant flow from the community well (for us), or even a city water supply (for others).
Our long term plan is to add solar panels and a small wind generator, but with everything, its all about cost vs benefit. If fire is not an immediate danger, then you need water, shelter, food. In many cases, those 3 things require power.
Freedom56
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
We were impacted by the Socal Edison power shutdown (last week) and one day this week. We have several 280W/67500mAh power banks that can be charged by solar or wall plugs. Our home has about 12 emergency lights that power-on when the power fails. They last about 18 hours on a charge. We also have about 12 LED (500 Lumen) camping lanterns. All of that worked and helped but on Thursday (10/24/19) night at about 9:00 the police came around announcing a mandatory evacuation. So we left and found that nearby hotels/motels were gouging people charging $300 - $400 a night for a room. So we decided to get away and stay at a hotel in Glendale at the executive center Hilton and then we decided to go to Del Mar (north of San Diego) far away from the commotion. They let people back into their homes late Friday night but we stayed away for two nights and came back Saturday afternoon. With the winds that were so strong and the dry warm air, the fire officials were and are being extra cautious and evacuating entire neighborhoods instead just of the hillside homes near brush. This October and now November has been unusually warm.
