Fire Preparedness Discussion

[savingdogs]

With so much of our country currently burning, it has turned my thoughts to disaster preparedness at my own home, which is situated in the forest in the Pacific Northwest. While much of the year we have too much rain to worry about wildfire, there have historically been huge fires that wiped out entire forests .....just down the hill from us. So it can happen.

Since I'm a southern California native used to earthquakes, we have always kept our cars stocked with certain supplies, kept our important papers handy and had plans how to escape the house, where our family would meet, etc., the typical things you would think about in a city environment. Taking our family dog and cat with us would have been no issue, the dog would hop in the car and the cat would go into a kitty carrier.

However, I now own 46 animals of various types, rabbits, chickens, ducks, goats, dogs, cats.....

There is a local fairgrounds where I know people can go with livestock in the case of fires, there are people there NOW. But logistically, it would take at least two trips out of here in our vehicles to get all these animals out.

How does one manage this? I've collected animal cages and have many of them stacked outside for grabbing quickly in case of fire.

I cannot imagine being able to catch all the poultry quickly....and I'd have to put multiple rabbits in the same cage, which they are not used to.

Is this irresponsible animal ownership? What can I do to improve the situation? Is it that I have too many?

We do have two travel trailers that could be filled with animals, but only one vehicle that could pull it. And sometimes that particular vehicle is not here during the day.

I do not drive but in the case of an emergency I sure as heck have not forgotten how. I still have a driver's license so could legally drive them out of here.

But I was wondering what other people have planned for their animals in case of forest fire and having to leave quickly. I see some of my neighbors have large herds of cows and cannot imagine what truck could hold them all.

What is the best way to plan to evacuate your animals in the case of a natural disaster coming?

 

[TanksHill]

I would say in case of a fire a defensible border might be your best bet. I couldn't imagine trying to round up all those animals. That's assuming you have notice to evacuate.

 

[sufficientforme]

We just went through this, it was incredibly scary. We left our poultry, we did not have the cage space, so we set up a sprinkler on their roof and prayed for the best. Our horse and other animals went to a local riding stable (they were willing to take in all large livestock during the fire) Our three dogs were with us in the cars.

BIGGEST TIP I have is write your name on halters, leads, equipment (we got NONE of ours back) because you can't stay with them always in this situation.
I found wire kennels and cages sold out and the ones who did have them they were outrageous prices, so if you plan on total evac make sure you have enough.

Unfortunately what is comes down to is you do what you can and hope for the best, I cried as we drove (actually police escorted out) away but my kids and my hubby are the most important animals I have

Oh and the fire turned a block length from our house We never prayed so much and are so thankful to those firefighter!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

i think i've seen some articles on this... i'll have to look around and see if there are references.

as for us - we laughed that we'd never have to worry about a fire... until the state park not too far from us started to burn a couple summers ago.

so here is our plan:

* dogs and cats first - no discussion there. we have carriers that can, technically, hold all of the cats. dogs can be managed in the cab of the big truck
* goats next - in pickup truck with cap
* critical mass of layers (meaning as many as we can catch) - they'll be packed tight.
* turkey hens

then we open all the gates/coops/fences, turn off the electric, and everyone else is on their own.

we figure we can bug out in 10 mins or less. with more time we could take more. if we had a half a day's notice we could coordinate with the neighbors and get our goats in their stock trailer.

btw - Bourbon Red, if you are reading this we'll be at your place in about 3 hours after leaving this property.

a couple things that have actually helped us is our storm preparedness plan . around here tornadoes are probably our biggest threat - so just like fires, we normally have some warning that its coming. we rely on our routine to 'help' our animals understand what is going on. we do the same chores, the same time every night - so if we have threatening weather coming on - they kinda "get" that we are going thru our nighttime chores routine even tho its not the right time of day.

we also took some time to prioritize our critters. we did this when we were not freaking out b/c a storm was bearing down and we stick with it. unfortunately, if you have to bug out with little or no warning - you need to decide what/who is at the top of the list. i dont see this as irresponsible at all. there are some things you just cant run from and if the only thing you can save is your family then that is no contest.

and....i think it would be irresponsible to try and get one duck who's hiding.... then getting the most amount of poultry you can. so take some time to figure it out now. make sure you always know where you carriers are (during peak storm times we line them up in the basement in the safest corner).

aside from having a good plan - probably the best thing you can do is be watchful. for instance we always have our weather radars up on our computers - and we get alerts automatically. if you know there are fires in your area see if the park system has some kind of alert system or 'area affected' map. to keep an eye on the goings on.

we also expect the worst - we dont see anything wrong with rushing everyone to safety even if there is a chance a storm wont get to us. same with the fires... make friends with someone in another county or within driving to take your livestock to - even if there is no "official" bug out/evac. we figure better safe than sorry.

dunno if that helps or not but good for you for getting your clucks in a row now.

 

[JRmom]

I agree about setting priorities. Family first, then pets, then whatever livestock you can manage without risking your life. It would be heartbreaking to lose animals, but your life (and your family) is more important than trying to get every last critter away to safety.

 

[abifae]

If you are in a fire prone area, cut a fire break and keep the dead trees and fallen branches and other burnables to a minimum.

Have your important paperwork ready to go. Birth certificates, SS cards, important records, in a fire proof safe tucked away that you can grab when you run. Or keep it in a safe deposit box so you don't have to worry about it

 

[savingdogs]

Well we have things cleared around the house except one giant hedge/tree. And then we are totally 100 percent surrounded by forest including the road out. Making a fire break isn't possible. I was told that if the Fire Dept arrived and did triage on our street, our house would be one they would not attempt to save because it would not be possible, the fire would jump to the roof and they would probably concentrate on the two closer neighbor's homes which are saveable. Our saving grace is this is almost rain forest. My firefighter nephew is probably appalled we picked this house.

We do have the animals prioritized, but the poor poultry and rabbits are pretty far down there on the list. I could release the hens or leave water sprinkling on their coop (what a great idea), but the rabbits are in steel cages that we just moved under a wonderful row of pine trees, releasing them would be certain death as well. While this solved the issue of them dying of the heat of the summer, I realize we set them up in a fire trap.

Our priorities would be people, dogs, cats, goats.....then whomever we could package up quickly if we had that much time.

Does anyone ever practice for this? We have one big empty old travel trailer we have tucked into a corner because it would house the livestock. We'd have to leave our nice travel trailer behind to do that, but it would be too slow to get that big old thing out of here in a hurry. I'm wondering just how long it would take to get everyone possible into that trailer and get it hitched up and down the hill out of the forest (15 minute drive minimum). I was considering loading the little old trailer with things we would need in case of this happening like a small amount of everyone's food, etc. and the cages. I have a huge collection of dog crates, but not 46!

The fires are not currently close enough to be a concern, the largest is across the Columbia river from us, so we are safe for now. But the potential for fire will be constant until we get some more rain back in here and we have to hope for no thunderstorms w/ lightening. But this mountain has NOT burned in recent history and is full of standing dead wood and would go up like a matchbox right now. And every evening this week we have been seeing deep pink sunsets, making for a beautiful sky but we know it is the Mt. Hood area burning that we are seeing in that evening sky.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

If you are in a fire prone area, and for that matter have a fire nearby, then I would first prep a few bags or tubs of emergency food for the animals. Keep them in a small shed that is easily accessed and away from all other structures and trees. Oh, and a couple bales of fresh hay.
This is in addition to your own bug out bag containing meds, papers and change of clothes and extra food.

We do have quite a few animals, but they would all fit in our truck. 50 or so chickens, 5 ducks and 2 goats.
We have plans to procure a two horse trailer someday, but for now, we keep things small enough to fit in the truck.
If a fire were nearby, I would already have all the animals in a tightly contained area, so packing them up would be simple.

Here in Alaska, they do ask that every home have all combustible trees cleared back to a certain point.
Not that anyone does that but it is advisable to not have any spruce too near your home.
We only have birch on our 1 acre, but that does not mean to much, when the neighbors keep theirs.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Well we have things cleared around the house except one giant hedge/tree. And then we are totally 100 percent surrounded by forest including the road out. Making a fire break isn't possible. I was told that if the Fire Dept arrived and did triage on our street, our house would be one they would not attempt to save because it would not be possible, the fire would jump to the roof and they would probably concentrate on the two closer neighbor's homes which are saveable. Our saving grace is this is almost rain forest. My firefighter nephew is probably appalled we picked this house.

We do have the animals prioritized, but the poor poultry and rabbits are pretty far down there on the list. I could release the hens or leave water sprinkling on their coop (what a great idea), but the rabbits are in steel cages that we just moved under a wonderful row of pine trees, releasing them would be certain death as well. While this solved the issue of them dying of the heat of the summer, I realize we set them up in a fire trap.

Our priorities would be people, dogs, cats, goats.....then whomever we could package up quickly if we had that much time.

Does anyone ever practice for this? We have one big empty old travel trailer we have tucked into a corner because it would house the livestock. We'd have to leave our nice travel trailer behind to do that, but it would be too slow to get that big old thing out of here in a hurry. I'm wondering just how long it would take to get everyone possible into that trailer and get it hitched up and down the hill out of the forest (15 minute drive minimum). I was considering loading the little old trailer with things we would need in case of this happening like a small amount of everyone's food, etc. and the cages. I have a huge collection of dog crates, but not 46!

The fires are not currently close enough to be a concern, the largest is across the Columbia river from us, so we are safe for now. But the potential for fire will be constant until we get some more rain back in here and we have to hope for no thunderstorms w/ lightening. But this mountain has NOT burned in recent history and is full of standing dead wood and would go up like a matchbox right now. And every evening this week we have been seeing deep pink sunsets, making for a beautiful sky but we know it is the Mt. Hood area burning that we are seeing in that evening sky.

Are you allowed to cull out dead standing trees for firewood?
This practice is highly encouraged on state land up here.

It could be a money maker

 

[savingdogs]

Sure, we can cut all the wood we want as long as it isn't for commercial use, it is part of our loan agreement (owner carrying). lol
So we can cut firewood but not take out major blocks of trees. She wrote that into the loan because some properties around here were devalued by clear-cutting. We could cut "the tree" but .......I'd have to take a picture of it........ It was a huge giant stump that sprouted nine trees, so it is like a hedge and it twice the height of the house and wide as a shed. Getting it out of there would be really tricky without ruining the front of our home or landing on the garden, the woodshed or the porch. The prior owner let it grow out of control because, actually, it is a thing of beauty and hides our ugly house. I'm not sure what it is, but I think Western Hemlock. We have talked about removing it, but remember that BPA is most likely buying this place in one year? So we are waiting on major projects such as remodeling the front of the house, replacing floors, fixing HOLES in the roof and certainly removing the tree.

As far as property value assessment, our home is only worth about 2,000 dollars, probably less than the WOOD just here in the front yard especially that tree. We have the property insured of course but we are actually more concerned about the live creatures than this structure. So ......the tree stands there, creating a fire hazard. Other than that one tree there is a good clearing all around the house.

I am thinking of using the old trailer just as you suggested BB. I think that would give us a little time if we should need to bug out. I'd have to throw all nine rabbits into one cage and the poultry into another, but they could survive. I'd also have to fit some dogs in there because remember we have six large dogs so that fills the car up quickly, and my small goat herd. I believe we could fit all that and some food and our bug out bags in that trailer. I perhaps should not let my chickens free range on these hot summer days so they can be gathered up. It isn't like this season will last long.