By LizAnne Jensen
I am a board member of the Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County. My husband and I were part of the evacuation due to the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. It was the third time we had to evacuate from our beloved home in Bonny Doon.
As you might expect, we’ve learned a few things. As we continue through this historic fire season and look ahead to next year, I want to share my story.
LizAnne Jensen
I made a 2020 New Year’s resolution to take detailed photos of our entire property, since insurers typically will not reimburse you for lost items unless you have proof you really had them.
I went into every room, opened every drawer, and photographed everything I saw. The process took me about two months. Using the photos, I documented everything we have, including every book, every plant in our garden, every tool in our tool shed, and everything in each of our cars. I put copies of the photos on two thumb drives and sent them to two relatives who live outside our area.
After I finished the photo project, I took a notepad and made a list of everything I would want to take with me if I had time and space. I used one page for each part of the house.
Then I prioritized the items on each page, with the most important items at the top. I colored in red all the things at the top of each page that I would not want to live without.
Next, I spread out the lists and looked at the red items, made a master page that contained those, and then ranked them in order of importance.
Finally, I printed out the pages and put them in a red binder. It was a relief to have a “grab and go” evacuation plan written out with my master list at the front, and the individual pages following.
About three months later, I needed that binder. When we evacuated on evening of Aug. 18, I pulled it out and started staging things to go in two piles:
- What we needed to keep but were not likely to use while we were evacuated. This pile included original artwork, photos, tax documents, deeds, etc.
- What we were likely to use as soon as we got settled. This included computers and electronic gear, clothing, pet needs, medications, etc.
We loaded into the car first the stuff we weren’t planning to use, and then piled on top the stuff we knew we would need most. Packing your car to evacuate can be a complicated and frustrating task.
Homes in a neighborhood destroyed by fire. • Photo courtesy of Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
Based on our experience with three evacuations, I recommend using cloth bags to pack the car, like the ones you take to the grocery store. You can stuff things in them, particularly documents.
Once you tie off the handles, they will wedge in just about anywhere.
Fortunately, this time around, we had about eight hours before we had to leave. It was incredibly helpful and calming to know in advance what to grab.
Just before leaving at 3 a.m., we reviewed the pages in our “grab and go” binder and confirmed we had gathered up everything we had marked on our checklist.
Though we’re well into fall now, the danger of wildfires remains.
If you were lucky enough not to be affected by the terrible CZU Fire, now is a good time to work on an evacuation plan.
Preparing for an evacuation is a lot of hard work. Even if you only take the time to document all your spaces with photos, imagine how important this would be if you are faced with the unimaginable loss that hundreds of our friends and neighbors experienced in August.
Believe me, when the time comes, you will be so glad you did it.
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LizAnne Jensen is a board member of the Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County.