Wildfire Preparation

Moving back to the farm has taken up almost all my time, leaving very little for creative endeavour. So, here I am, trying to squeeze past the 'hungry ghost' and start working on my blog once again.

Summer started early here in British Columbia and now our forest are tinder dry. At present there are more than 184 wildfires burning across the province and the last announcement from those in charge of fighting the fires say that we can expect up to 30 more fires every day! The provincial government has requested help from Australia and New Zealand. More fires in Alberta and 13,000 people out of their homes in Saskatchewan. The land is burning. Climate change is real.

We are a rural folk nestled in the dry forest and the smell of smoke has prompted me to began gathering those things that are most important should we be faced with an evacuation here. Prescriptions, spare eyeglasses, cash, debit & credit cards, insurance papers, photos, laptops, and whatever other valuables that come to mind that can be moved quickly.  The province provides a good list that can be downloaded from the BC government site and I strongly recommend every home have a copy. The list would be basically the same regardless of the emergency be it fires, storms, or floods .

At the top of my list are our three cats and one small dog. Plans for their safety are foremost in my preparations for a possible evacuation. In any evacuation anxiety is high and it is vitally important to remain calm. The stress, fear and confusion can transfer to your pets, making it more difficult to secure them and move them to safety.  Better to be prepared and hope that you may never need to put your plans into action.

I have a closed in porch and in the corner I have stacked three pet carriers with the doors open. I have place a can of cat food and dog food in each carrier and I have tossed kitty treats and fresh catnip everyday in the carriers. Our son's old cat has claimed the middle one as her own and the other two boys have taken turns trying out the top and the bottom ones. If and when we have a fire locally my hope is that they have already become so accustomed to the boxes there should be little trouble getting them into the carriers. Mr. Rutgar, our dog who is so used to going on 'car rides' would sit beside us in the vehicle.

Please be safe out there. Climate change is real and we've been warned that these events will continue to get worse.