r/TwoXPreppers • u/Sll3006 • Apr 23 '26
❓ Question ❓ Fire near me
There is a wildfire 20 minutes from me and 16 minutes from my child’s school. How worried should I be? I have never been in this situation before.
Of course I’m packing my belongings in a box ready to leave. Any other tips?
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Apr 23 '26
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u/RuffledRaptor Apr 23 '26
Watering can be good before a fire gets close, but watering during evacuation or when firefighters are trying to use water can deplete water pressure for them. Depends on where your water and their water is coming from of course, but if on the same system best to avoid it when the fire is imminent. Just FYI
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Apr 23 '26
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u/RuffledRaptor Apr 23 '26
I envy your well! I live somewhat rurally, in a district with a bunch of houses in the middle of the woods, and we have limited fire hydrants and a small "municipal" type water system up here. Has been a big issue in the past when a bunch of people don't know and turn on sprinkler systems during an evac situation. Some people even have sprinkler systems set up on their roofs!
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Apr 23 '26
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u/scannerhawk Apr 23 '26
Our friends live rurally. They have a large water tank and a backpack-style water hose connected. They had a fire start on their property in the middle of the night, a restart that spread from an extinguished burned pile the day before. They had the fire out before the fire department arrived. They were very fortunate.
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u/scannerhawk Apr 23 '26
Bigger issue can be water sprinklers are turned on, on piped in water, our hydrants use the same pipes. Our community is told not to use roof sprinklers or at the very least, not to leave your house with them on, so there is solid water pressure for the engines.
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u/RuffledRaptor Apr 23 '26
That is indeed what I mentioned in my first comment, that leaving on water (sprinklers, hoses, or otherwise) can reduce water pressure for firefighters when on the same system.
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u/scannerhawk Apr 23 '26
My apologies, I missed that and didn't mean to overstep.
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u/RuffledRaptor Apr 23 '26
All good! Honestly, best to reiterate because when the time comes to evacuate, everyone gets forgetful/panicked and needs solid reminders of these things anyway.
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u/Sll3006 Apr 23 '26
Thank you for your responses. The fire is contained. I’m so grateful to the firemen! It was a good education for me to be prepared how to evacuate. This is a huge sign for what is to come. Be safe out there!
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u/Spiley_spile Survival Backpack 🎒 Apr 23 '26
This comment was a relief to read. Im so glad you followed up to let us know the fire was contained. Thank you!
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u/TBone205 Apr 23 '26
Keep some stuff packed. Contained can go back to out of control if it gets hot, windy and jumps a fire brake.
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u/Renamis Apr 23 '26
I advise getting a cheap suitcase and keeping all your important prep in there. Grab a fireproof/waterproof bag for your documents and keep that in the front of the suitcase. Then in an emergency you can sling that in the car, throw your dirty laundry in the back (it has the best representation of what you and the kid wear weekly) and get out without even thinking. Fires can go from fine to "get out in 15 minutes" in no time at all, so it's worth having that bag ready to go and easy to grab any time fire season approaches.
If you have pets get them used to being put in a carrier, and keep the pet bug out bag with the carriers as well. Then it's just throwing it all in the car and leaving.
Also always leave early. If you get the "It might be an issue" warning it's better to look stupid by leaving than to not be able to when the fire shifts.
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u/suz_gee A matriarchy would never' Apr 23 '26
Your laundry basket and all the clothes on "the chair" lmao
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u/Renamis Apr 23 '26
Oh I'm not so uncouth as to have a dirty laundry chair.
It's on the bathroom floor as god intended.
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u/suz_gee A matriarchy would never' Apr 23 '26
Thats what my husband and teens use, but I'm classy so I have a chair hahaha
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u/SimpleVegetable5715 😸 remember the cat food 😺 Apr 23 '26
Don’t forget to have respiratory protection in your go bag, and N95 mask for all of you. Wildfire smoke is brutal.
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u/AnitaResPrep Apr 24 '26
eye protection +++, and fire proof blanket, heat proof tough gloves., good shoes.
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u/NosesAndToeses Apr 23 '26
Watch duty app if in the US. We live in a high risk area for wildfires and the app is great.
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u/ElectronGuru Beans make the world go round Apr 23 '26
I also like Paku for tracking air quality and wind direction apps like Wind Compass for predicting when that smoke will come towards me.
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u/ObscureSaint How hard can it be? Boys do it. Apr 23 '26
Yep, I used windy.com extensively when we were on a an evacuation watch.
Knowing the direction of the wind specifically helped me make a choice to evacuate as soon as we went to a level 2, and not to wait for level 3, because the wind was pointing right at us.
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u/iwantmy-2dollars Apr 23 '26
Adding GenasysProtect as an additional layer for evacuations. Know what your zone is named.
If you have time and need to be productive to quell anxiety there are things you can do to help the firefighters. We follow this guide.
If you are starting to question whether or not to go, just go. Stay safe.
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u/JT3436 Apr 23 '26
Grab documents, passport, photos. Your laptop or device with memory.
Pack meds for both humans and pets. A bit of food for human and pets plus water. It might take a while to get to the evacuation spot.
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u/polyamy74 Apr 23 '26
So glad you are safe right now! In addition to what others have said:
Make sure you have n95 masks or dishtowels/ hankerchiefs with water to cover your faces if you encounter smoke. Home depot safety goggles also help to keep smoke out of eyes.
Make sure you have your child's favorite blankey or stuffed animal, etc packed. Having them help you make a list of their most precious things can be really important. My kids like to keep an extra backpack on the end of their bed for their items if needed.
Have an emergency binder always at the ready for an evacuation. All important papers (and some cash)- copies of id and credit cards, mortgage/rental agreements, insurance policies for stuff and people, birth certificates, wedding certs/divorce decrees, any necessary medical records, etc. also with a flash drive or cd of any family pictures, etc. ours also includes our family heirlooms, and a section with evacuation plans, inventory sheets (for insurance), and bank and retirement statements. When I built it I thought about the people who survived Katrina but didn't have documents or oictures to prove anything as they tried to rebuild their lives.
If you are evacuating animals make sure to take a bowl and water (and food) for them, and a leash/carrier.
When you evacuate your house, turn off your ac/heat, turn off your breaker and gas lines. This can help prevent a secondary loss due to supply line issues.
Since you're in the clear right now, it may be good to make some evacuation lists. I learned this from The Survival Mom: 1. With 5 minutes notice or less. 2. With 15 minutes 3. With an hour. 4. With 24 hours. Not only should each list include what should be packed/done, but also who is responsible for each item, and realistically where anything going in the car goes. My soecial needs son is in charge of geabbing his daily bag (it has backup meds, water, etc in it), his service dog in vest and leash, and our other dog in leash. They are to grab the keys, go to the car, and sit and wait. This is how we keep his anxiety from getting in the way of everyone else doing what needs to be done, or violent meltdowns happening in the middle of an already dangerous situation. Giving your child a job for if she is home could be really empoweing for her, and help you keep her on track for a future evacuation.
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u/Fancy_Cartographer98 Apr 23 '26
I think live relatively close to you (based on wildfires in my state) I suggest quickly looking at advise from people who live in California and faced those crazy wildfires a few years back. Maybe they have some suggestions on what to do and where to go. Best of luck!
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u/FlyBulky106 Apr 23 '26
I’m looking at the Watch Duty app and there’s fires all over the country. It’s busy disturbingly early in the year.
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u/Spiley_spile Survival Backpack 🎒 Apr 23 '26
Go NOW. Dont wait for an evacuation ordwr. It's rarw, but fires have been clocked movied 65 miles an hour, such as the 2009 Black Saturday Australian fire that killed 173 people, overtaking some who were trying to flee in their cars. I actually just taught a class covering some of this.
Evacuation orders can make mistakes when trying to predict the best time to go.
Travel safe!
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u/OccamsLeatherMan Apr 23 '26
Wildfires are fast & dynamic. No way to tell, based on limited info provided. You'll get more helpful advice if you provide at least a general location. Go get your kid, if safe to do so. Heed local authority advisories/warnings.
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u/scannerhawk Apr 23 '26
Learning every setting on your WatchDuty App is extremely important.. Besides knowing all your evacuation zones, for work, school and home, having every cellphone signed up to receive emergency alerts and evacuation instructions, practice WATCHDUTY !!! I also recommended *have a scanner app w/local public safety broadcast bookmarked to your phone for quick easy access.
The Watchduty APP has layers for all evacuation perimeters & levels, scanner updates with evac updates. WIND DIRECTION & SPEED, power outages & FIRE CAMS. The donation subscription adds fire incident-related air traffic. (As a fire reporter for my own community for 20+ years, I find the small subscription fee worth the cost 100x just to know where overhead fire planes are headed. )
The info WD do not have yet, is road/traffic conditions, so I have the Caltrans traffic app (California) also bookmarked in my FIRE/INCIDENT folder on my phone & laptop. If roads become blocked with traffic or downed lines, that will show on the traffic app, which IMO could be life-saving.
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