I've dis-assembled my BOB,& Placed the Essentials in Various places,at home & elsewhere.Logistically,Bugging Out from my Home,After a Disaster,Would place my Family,Under the Whip with about a Few million others,That is Not Acceptable!There are many Places I could Go If I Had Fair Warning,But in Reality,there is No Fair Anything,When Disaster Happens,Therefore I'll be Bugging In! I have a GHB in My Truck,Should I be Out& About Somewhere,& Have to Abandon the vehicle!

Richlacal, what about a house fire or windblown neighborhood fire?

Sue

I hate to admit that my Bug Out Bag is currently unpacked. I'm "in between" at the moment. In other words, I'm replacing, updating, experimenting, etc. The gear is all over my office floor. I have a lot of other life stuff going on that's more pressing at the moment.

you must have more faith and/or money than me. unless you vehicle is prepped, what are you going to do if your neighbours get burned out too? what if you're out more than a few hours? where are you going go? what are you going to wear? i can't imagine being comfy in jammies, coats and boots for vey long. how many house fires have we heard about, even just this month, where houses are evac'd? it's not always one house and the people rarely get back in quickly. do as you will, but i don't want my family to have to rely on anyone else for the basics if that ever happened. complaining that the aid wasn't there won't make it happen - that's my job.

i agree that bugging-in is very often the best strategy, and doing so comfortably is one of our family's priorities.

i need my family to be prepped for the alternative too though. there aren't many scenarios where i'd consider it, but denying that a fire, toxic train derailment or nuclear accident could happen around here would just be dumb and irresponsible.

As you can tell, I am a bug-in, home lovin' guy, but twice I have had the vehicles loaded up with our important stuff, ready to leave as wildfire bore down on our street. We are susceptible to another one, as the chaparral is getting higher.

We operate off of a posted check list. Both times, it took about fifteen minutes. What we would have to do in this case really doesn't fit the classical bugging out scenario, because we would go only as far as a reasonably situated cheap motel and watch the flames from there. I would be sure to bring my laptop so I could post to ETS

Great idea hikermor. We've got a bunch of stuff around to help the kids, and whatever adult is here with them at the time, to deal with a crisis, but we don't have a checklist for them. on the other hand, maybe that would make it more difficult? grabbing a comprehensive bob might be easier, at least that's the way we've been thinking until this moment.

I'm in the same situation as hikermor and have had the truck loaded and ready to go within minutes. It took more than a couple minutes to pack the truck -- prioritizing what goes and what stays, but where I am located I usually have days to pack the truck for a wildfire. It stays packed until the fire is out and we have an all clear.

The rain we've had lately is making for lots of fuel for the next wildfire.

while I have a 72 hour kit in the Explorer... my hurricane supplies are located in a central 3 shelf cabinet...over the years I've accumulated a variety of gear, that hopefully never gets used as intended... central location helps keep track of it, and save for a trip to the gun safe for a carbine, bandoleer and extra cash, grab the prescription meds, clean out the pantry of canned goods, and a stop in the garage for an extra propane cylinder I'm out the door...

I have Important Documents copied,& stored with Friends/relatives in other states.I have Fire Insurance.I have a Small GOP(Get Out Pack),I have a Steel Shed with Camping/Survival Gear located well away from The Bldgs,I have a Concrete Cache that I'm Presently working on.I Have Survival stuff in a Storage Facility,Located a few miles from Home.I have 2-50gpm Sump Pumps,hoses&accesories,7500W-Generator/Fuel/Cords,400 gal.Water Tank.If No one is Home,of course I can't use this stuff but there are 2- Hydrants within 100' of my Home,4 Engine Co. within a Mile of Home.I'm More worried about Flood,Namely a Large Tsunami that would Come up The Ballona Creek,& Overflow into my Neighborhood.Geographically Speaking,my home is in The L.A. Basin,Basin Meaning -Water in/Water out,Theoretically It is Quite possible as,That is how the Basin was Formed,To begin with!