Wildfire Story, Part 2

This is the second installment in our recapping of one man’s real-life experience staying behind during a wildfire evacuation in Alberta in May.  If you like his information, head over to Twitter and give him a follow – his handle is @Bestiuk1.

To recap, he initially packed up his vehicle in case he was forced to leave.  The first thing he packed were his firearms, because he didn’t want to leave them unsecured and risk either theft or government confiscation (also theft).  His evacuation routes were cut off and he conducted an area recon to see what was happening around him.  He let his network know where he was and offered a safe house for anyone else who wanted it.  By day 3 (72 Hour Theory), looting activity was happening in the evacuation zone and a good guy had to fight off the looters.

Our friend had the situation well in hand as he had a room full of dry goods and half a pig & a quarter of a cow in his freezer.  Have food supplies you can count on for a while.  14 days is a minimum, and enough to live through a full growing season should be a goal.

On the fourth day, he woke up to no gas.  After trying to relight the pilot unsuccessfully, he went through the process that both Dr. David Perrodin and I suggest called a “member check”.  He called people in the town to see if they were experiencing the same thing.  On a side note, check out Dr Perrodin’s book with contributions by yours truly by clicking the link below.   When his network reported having gas in the town, he checked with the gas company and learned that they had indeed turned it off to prevent fire issues.  This illustrates a point I made in Perrodin’s book, The Velocity of Information; when in doubt, CHECK YOURSELF, rather than make an assumption.

Our friend was fine, because he also has an induction stove and a camp stove with propane if needed.  Don’t rely on gas power.  As I frequently point out, if the power goes out, you will lose pressure in both the gas and water lines.  Have a plan to deal with that.

He didn’t have to worry about water, as he has his own flowing well (so do I, it’s a superpower).  For the internet, he has Starlink, so he isn’t reliant on ground networks that could burn.  The only danger was loss of electricity.  I HIGHLY recommend preparing for that FIRST as nearly every scenario involves the loss of power at some point.

The fifth day began with still no gas.  While our man is fine with cold showers, flowing wells in the north are RIDICULOUSLY cold (ask me how I know) and could actually lead to cold injuries.  Bucket baths are a good solution; they worked for thousands of years before the hot water heater.  Another great solution is a good supply of bath wipes/baby wipes.  Hygiene is vital and poor hygiene leads to illness and infection.  Stay clean. 

An important note is that our friend was monitoring local Facebook groups – a VITAL piece of your local intelligence/Area Study plan.  He noted that the disagreement among folks online was getting heated in the area.  Those who trust blindly in the government and those who chose to remain fiercely self-sufficient were arguing more and getting heated.  The stress was pushing people FARTHER into their pre-conceived sides, rather than bringing them together to get through it as a community.  This is an important learning.  Again, check out Dr Perrodin’s book above for his discussion of “crowding-in” behaviors under stress.

Also, an alert went out from the nearest Reservation about a dangerous individual, with a shelter in place order.  Again, more VITAL local intelligence.  Our partner armed up and raised his awareness level, until the alert was lifted. Here’s some Tactical Wisdom that applies:

Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,
    so that none shall march to and fro;
no oppressor shall again march over them,
    for now I see with my own eyes.

Zechariah 9:8

On day 6, the local gas company showed up to relight the pilot.  This signaled a reduced risk.  After the gas company left, he noticed a large flashy truck that was clearly not from the area rolling slow through the neighborhood.  While they could have been looking for an address, it was enough to raise his awareness.  He was worried about returning to work and leaving his property unguarded, but his employer told him to work from home.  This is vital, don’t just disregard these types of incidents during an evacuation or emergency.  Unusual vehicles traveling slowly could be looking for unattended houses to loot – they had already run into this.  He took note of the vehicle and raised his awareness and security posture – outstanding work.

We’ll leave it here for now; we have a couple of more installments.  Key takeaways:

1. Plan for utility outages – have a way to cook food, even if it’s just MRE heaters.
2. Be obsessive about security.  The threat level is high and getting worse.
3. Take nothing for granted.
4. Gather information from every possible source.  Police scanners are a good source.
5. Have a network and stay in touch with them.
6. Be self-sufficient in every way; especially security.  The police cannot and will not protect your property as well as you can.

For more exclusive content, follow our YouTube page and sign up as a supporter at tacticalwisdom.locals.com for training and intelligence briefs.

If you’d like to support us, click the affiliate links (we make a few pennies at no cost to you if you make a purchase) or donate below.  Remember, you can support us and save 25% at BattlBox by using code JOE-D-25 at www.battlbox.com.