Do Not Cross

David and Kartina Baudek  of Mayer, Arizona loaded their two children into a pickup truck to drive their six-year-old son, Jacob, to a hospital because he was ill. A powerful winter storm was raging as they headed toward Phoenix, 70 miles distant, following a desert road they had traveled many times before. But on this day tributaries of the nearby Agua Fria River had already reached flood stage, and the normally dry dirt road was inundated. 

After crossing one section of flooded road, David decided that it was too dangerous to continue, so he turned the truck around to head back. Before them was a 50-foot-wide wash that was now quickly filling with swift-moving water. The truck made it 40 feet across before it was overwhelmed by the current and carried 20 feet downstream. 

Katrina managed to escape to high ground while David moved the children into the relative safety of the truck's bed. A bystander tossed the end of a rope to David, and another witness called for help. Trapped in the truck bed, David was helpless as the floodwaters rose until they covered the roof of the truck. Rescuers arrived, but were unable to reach David and the children. All they could do was stand by and watch the scene unfold. What was really needed was a helicopter, but the weather was too violent for that. 

For two hours, David fought to hold onto his children and to the end of the rope, while the current raged around them. Finally, losing the battle to stay with the truck, David and the children dove toward the nearest shoreline. By some miracle, the little girl, Desiree, made it to shore, where she was snatched to safety by her mother. David and Jacob were swept into a tree downstream, where the father clung to his son against the mighty force of the water. 

Eventually, David lost his grip on Jacob, and his son was swept away to his death. Remarkably, rescuers were separated from the family by the raging torrent until the next day when the water subsided. 

This is a stark and tragic example of the consequences of underestimating the power of moving water. Here are some startling statistics to remember:

• As little as 6 inches of fast-moving water can sweep a person off his or her feet.
• One foot of flowing water can move most vehicles off the road.
• Most flood-related deaths happen at night and are vehicular. 
• Small stream floods, and those happening in urban areas, often occur in less than one hour. 

Never attempt to drive across a flooded road. It's impossible to determine the condition of the road surface while it is covered by water, and the pavement might already be ripped away, leaving a hole that will swallow your vehicle. The rule is, if you cannot see the road surface or its line markings, do not drive through the water. 

A Test — A Challenge

Have you ever wondered whether or not you are prepared to survive a disaster?  Are you up for a little test? If you find your head nodding in the affirmative, then I challenge you to do the following role play as a make-believe survivor. This is as close to the real thing as you will be able to come without actually plunging into a real-life disaster. I hope that will never happen to you, but to be on the safe side, it's a good idea to test your ability to survive.

Let me warn you up front that, if you decide to accept the challenge, life will be inconvenient for a while. Things you had planned for today and tomorrow will be left undone. Sorry about that, but in all fairness, disasters strike without advance warning, so you must enter this challenge in the same way, with no warning. If you're not already prepared, you'll find that out almost immediately. This is a test that will reveal to you the weak spots in your emergency preparation. Trust me, this is a huge favor to you, even though you who accept the challenge will be cussing me before it's over. Suck it up and tough it out. I'm trying to save your life.

Okay, so here's the test. Let's pretend that right now, right this very instant, some kind of catastrophe hits your area. I don't care what it is — a tornado rips up your town, a massive earthquake makes rubble out of your community, a hurricane blows your region to shreds. Miraculously (because I am going to be kind and gentle with this first test), your home is still intact. However, beginning right this very minute, there is:

• no electricity
• no community water supply to your house
• no natural gas
• no sewer system
• no telephone
• no grocery stores
• no restaurants
• no gas stations
• and all the roads are impassable, so you can't leave the area

Okay, that's your scenario. Remember, I've gone easy on you this time, because I didn't factor in that your home or apartment was destroyed. You can still live there in perfect comfort and safety. This is a test of how well you are prepared to survive without outside services. If you are bold enough to take me up on this challenge, you must live for the next 48 hours (again, I am being exceedingly kind and gentle to limit the challenge to such a short time frame) using only those supplies that you already have on your property. But remember that you cannot use any municipally-delivered water, nor anything that uses electricity (this means you have to unplug your refrigerator, freezer, electric stove, microwave, TV, etc.), nor natural gas (no furnace, no gas stove), and you can't use the telephone. You are allowed to use any battery-powered or solar-powered items you have. And you can also use a power generator, if you have one, but are restricted to using only the fuel you have now on your property. 

Sound fair enough? This is Disaster Role Play 101. It gets harder later on when I factor in the total destruction of your home and your vehicles. So for now, kick back and be comfortable and see what you can do with the scenario I've outlined. 

At the end of the challenge, I would like to hear back from you who are courageous enough to actually take me up on this little test. Leave your comments and I will publish those that are appropriate. Let me know how it all went, what you discovered about your existing level of emergency preparedness, and how you creatively solved the challenges of living totally "off the grid" as it were for a short time. Give it your best shot for 48 hours. Make notes about deficiencies that you will correct later. Have fun.

Good luck.  

Predators 1 vs Human 0

Alaska school teacher, 32-year-old Candice Berner was, by all reports, in good physical condition. Although she stood less than 5 feet tall, she was a boxer, a gymnast, and a distance runner.

Yesterday, while she was out for a run along a road near the small village of Chignik Bay on the Alaska Peninsula, something horrible happened.

When authorities found her body, she had been dragged off the road to a spot near the village lagoon. In the snow were imprints of wolf tracks. Alaska State Trooper Colonel Audie Holloway reported that, from the number of tracks around the body, there could possibly have been as many as 4 wolves involved.

I refer you back to my post of February 25, 2010 as a review of how to handle a confrontation with wolves. My condolences to the family of Candice Berner.

Low-buck Home Security System (a little humor)

• Go to a secondhand store and buy a pair of men's used size 14-16 work boots.
• Place them on your front porch, along with a copy of Guns & Ammo Magazine.
• Put a few giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazines.
• Leave a note on your door that reads:

Bubba,

Big Jake, Duke, Slim, & I went for more ammo and beer. Be back in an hour. Don't mess with the pit bulls - they attacked the mailman this morning and messed him up bad.I don't think Killer took part, but it was hard to tell from all the blood. Anyway, I locked all four of 'em in the house. Better wait outside.

Cooter

Survive Forest Fire

Every year, wildfires burn thousands of acres, incinerating everything and everyone unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Temperatures can exceed 1000 degrees F. Heaven help you, if you’re trapped in the path of something like that. As the blaze closes in around you, terror is follow by nearly instantaneous death as you inhale super-heated air that literally melts the lungs.

How do you survive a forest fire? Here are rules to help you survive.

• The first rule is to be somewhere else. That means leave the area; don't wait around to see how things develop. If you can’t follow rule #1, life might become a literal Hell on earth. Fortunately, there are ways to survive Hell on earth — but only if you’re very lucky and do everything exactly right. Wildfires are so powerful, unpredictable and destructive, that even well equipped and trained professional fire fighters die when their luck runs out and they become trapped by an onrushing blaze that overruns their position. 
• In the game of life, prevention always beats cure. Before leaving home, watch the news, listen to the radio, and check with the Forest Service (or other administrative agency) about the fire hazard. If possible, stay out of areas that are presenting a high fire hazard. 
• Maintain situational awareness. At all times, be aware of what's going on around you. 
• Plan escape routes and safe zones where you could take shelter if a fire came roaring through the area. Safe zones include rivers, lakes (get in the water), or large level spots out in the open away from combustible material. Heat rises, so the safest zones are those that are downhill of the fire. 
• If you are trapped above a fire, get out as fast as you can. Don’t try to save any of your gear. Gear is replaceable, lives are not. 
• Look for an escape route that leads downhill, but do not follow canyons, chutes or draws, as these act as chimneys that funnel deadly heat up the hill toward you.  
• If the flames are upon you, seek low ground — in a ditch or the notch in a forest road that will allow the superheated convective current to pass overhead. 
• Breathe inside your clothing next to your body to protect your respiratory tract so you don’t inhale hot gasses. 
• If you can find an area that has already burned over, leaving no residual fuel to reignite, that might be a safe place. But the ambient temperature of the scorched earth, rocks and timber will feel like an oven. Watch overhead to avoid snags and standing dead trees that might fall on you. 
• If you are above the fire, but close enough to a ridge to scramble over before the fire reaches you, you might find safety on the lee side of the mountain. Although a fire will race uphill, it will makes slower progress downhill on the other side of the ridge. Watch for smoke coming from beyond the ridge, because a secondary fire on the lee side of the mountain might be coming uphill toward you.
• For the best chance of survival, carry what firefighters use — a fire shelter, a domed foil covering to hide under as the fire passes over, as a last resort, when escape is no longer an option. The shelter claims to reflect 95% of radiant heat. It’s fairly compact and lightweight, measuring only 8.5”x5.5”x4” and weighing about 5 pounds in its pack. The cost is around $340 to $400, depending on size (from www.firecache.com). But when a wall of fire is roaring toward you at 70 miles per hour, sounding like Hell’s freight train, and live embers are raining down like flaming hailstones, 400 bucks might not seem like a lot. Of course, proper training in the shelter’s use is a must. Download “The New Generation Fire Shelter” publication from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group from www.nwcg.gov/teams/pmswt/pms.htm. 

Urban Security

Home invasion and burglary are on the rise. Unless you're dealing with a crackhead or some other type of lunatic, most of these crimes are committed by thugs who don't want to be seen or heard. They tend to operate under the cover of darkness, or during the day when they are sure nobody is at home. To ensure success, they will often case the target house beforehand, trying to figure out the best time and the approach that offers the most concealment. 

Watch for people going door-to-door, because this is a favored method for burglars to determine if someone is home. Call 9-1-1 and report any door-to-door activity in your neighborhood. Also, call to report any unknown or unfamiliar vehicles traveling slowly or parked in your neighborhood. Burglars look for a residence with easy access and low visibility to keep them from being seen when entering through a window or when kicking in the door.

There are steps you can take to make your house less attractive to a burglar.

• Take a good look at your home and identify vulnerabilities. Stand across the street and think to yourself, "How could I break in?" Look for structural or landscaping designs that visually block the entrances to your home, making it easy for a burglar to approach without being seen.
• Trim back trees, shrubs, or bushes that are near windows or doors where a burglar could hide.
• Solid fences provide privacy for everyone, including the person breaking into your house. If you have a fence or are thinking about building one, consider styles such as wrought iron, chain link, or separated board that allows visual access to your property.
• Some burglars prefer to work in the dark. If you are away from home for an evening, leave a light on inside the house. If you are away for an extended period, make arrangements for your lights to come on periodically (automatic timers, etc.). 
• Use motion sensor exterior lights to illuminate your porch, sidewalks, and other access routes. Properly placed and functioning lights remove shadows and illuminate the potential suspect.
• Alarm systems that switch on lights and make loud noise will often frighten away intruders.

Police departments rely on private citizens to act as eyes and ears, so you should call anytime, 24 hours a day 7 days a week, if you see suspicious or criminal activity.  Get to know your neighbors and start a Block Watch program in your neighborhood. Block Watch is a commitment between you and your neighbors to watch out for and report suspicious or criminal activity to the police. The overall goal is for the entire neighborhood to become unattractive to burglars.

Between having an active Block Watch (with signs posted), and making simple changes such as additional lighting, shrub removal and fence design, you can go can go a long way toward making your home and neighborhood safer.