Wildfire Story, Part 3

We’re going to pick right up on Day 7 of the ordeal. For anyone who is new to this tale, our hero has decided to stay behind during a wildfire evacuation. There was some heavy smoke, but no fire in the area yet. After about 72 hours, there was some looting.

Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain…

James 5:18

It rained overnight from Day 6 to Day 7, which helped with the fire as well as preventing more fires. By now, the natives are restless. People in the area are getting upset at the lack of communication and the fact that it seems that the police are turning away civilians who offer to help with the fires. Our resident decided to break into his survival stocks and bake a loaf of bread from his supplies. Apparently, it was the best loaf of bread he’d ever made, despite the butter having been frozen. I can’t confirm this, because he never sent me a sample (seems rude, doesn’t it?). What this did though, was give him CONFIDENCE that he could use his supplies and still eat well. That’s important.

As I’ve said before – you need to try out and practice using your supplies so that it’s not a failure when the big day comes. Try making complete meals using only emergency supplies. Have fun with it.

On Day 8, the neighbor (also into preparedness) headed into the city for resupply while our man decided to shop local and support the local shop that stayed open. Prices were a little higher than normal, but they weren’t gouging. Stock levels were low, and after he asked, the shop owner said that trucks were having an issue getting through the road closures.

This is one area where our hero made a great decision: He decided to shop here more often rather than supporting the big chains in town. He knew that he could gather information better with a local shopkeeper and he was building a relationship he might need later on. For example, in a full collapse, a shopkeeper is less likely to open the door for or sell his limited stock to someone he doesn’t already know and trust. You need to build this beyond mere acquaintance.

Up by our family cabin is a local store and butcher shop. I’ve been going there my whole life, and the entire family up there knows me, because their grandparents knew mine, their parents knew mine, and so on. I stop in every time I pass through, just to chat and keep that channel open. As I said a few weeks ago, if you plan on going into a different area to bug out, go and spend a lot of time there, building community and becoming a known quantity. Otherwise, you’re just another sketchy dude from downstate.

Day 9 was pretty uneventful with a little smoke seen, and our guy spent the day working from home. The weather was forecast to be hot and dry for the next two weeks, so the risk went up. Good point here: Pay attention to the weather.

On Day 10, the wind shifted, again increasing the local risk. He checked in with his network, some of whom had evacuated. The evacuation center was in Edmonton at an Expo Center. One of the big issues and red flags was that the government wanted everyone to sign up for the Provincial Digital ID in order to get evacuation benefits or reimbursement for evacuation expenses (like hotels and food). Many people resisted and demanded an alternate form of payment.

I’ve put this in my books and said it on here – the government (any government) wants you WHOLLY dependent on them. They want to be able to control you by controlling your money and food supply. I will NEVER go into an evacuation center (I’ll camp under a tarp in the cold if I have to) and you should resist this if at all possible. Remember, they tried forced relocation during Katrina, too. Ask yourself why they are so adamant that you make yourself dependent on them.

Good on them for resisting the Digital ID. It’s a draconian control scheme designed to give them insight into every aspect of your life. And before you say “well, if you aren’t doing anything wrong….”; that’s not the point. They should not have that level of control, full stop.

On Day 11, there was quite a bit of smoke, but the wind shifted again, moving the risk away from our guy’s town. On that same day, the government started letting “essential workers” back in the area. I hate that phrase because it implies that everyone else is non-essential. They’ve created a new language, which is meant to control you, but I digress.

Our guy made another trip to the local shop and the stock situation had gotten worse. He was only able to get half of what he was looking for (just potatoes, not onions, we were on a vital stew mission). Almost all of the fresh produce was gone. That’s a good note, plan on perishables vanishing quickly without resupply.

On Day 12, the evacuation order was lifted. They did a staggered re-entry with odd numbered addresses allowed in at 2 PM, and even at 4 PM. This wasn’t enforced, but it’s solid plan to avoid the traffic snarls they had when everyone left.

All in all, our guy toughed it out quite well by being well-prepared and the government wasn’t overly difficult in enforcing their evacuation. There were some good lessons learned and these types of situations are far more likely than a full collapse.

I hope these diary entries help you produce a good plan and I thank Twitter user @Bestiuk1 for his hard work in documenting his experiences. It takes a big man to list out everything and tell their story, knowing that the rest of the judgmental internet was going to see it. I think he did a great job and handled it well. Give him a follow on the Bird App.

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