It is less than a mile away from Cathedral Grove which is full of giant, old growth Douglas Fir:
I can see the smoke clearly from my back yard and, if you drive a minute down the road to the clearing, you can see actual flames on the mountain side. People are stuck on either side of it because the road is full of debris. Small planes, regular and water, have been flying back and forth over my house all day trying to get people home. One of my friends decided last night to drive around it using logging roads and it took her 12 hours. It’s really terrible.
I don’t have personal experience with forest fires, so I don’t know when to run. But, is getting the fuck out of there an option? Even if it takes 12 hours?
Better to leave when you can, taking people and pets and essential papers with you, even if you find yourself able to go back to an untouched home later, than to wait and see and discover your line of retreat’s cut off and the fire’s racing toward you. One bad wind shift and what seemed like a safe distance can evaporate incredibly fast.
ETA: Very glad, FloatyGimpy, that you have the luxury of waiting it out! Hopefully you’ll get a lot of rain ASAP to help douse the fire.
May I suggest that you start packing now? Also…if everyone has to evacuate, only the lucky few who thought to make hotel reservations will have a quiet place to sleep in the chaos. Emergency shelters tend to be bright and noisy.
If we get an alert I’ll get the trailer hooked up to my truck, pack in mom and pets and leave. The trailer is full of food, the battery is charged, propane and water tank full.
Get your pets lined up with carriers. Pack a go bag.
Here is a list from an area that gets fires every year: Go Bag
If the fire gets close enough, there will be NO TIME TO PACK. Pack your car now. I know people who got five minutes notice to evacuate. I’m from California where it is now fire season all year round. I’ve evacuated before (the best time is before the fire crew comes around and tells you to.) Luckily they got it stopped about 7 miles from my house. I’ll never forget it. Horse breeder in my little valley spent the whole night hauling all his and all his neighbors’ horses to safety, I could hear the horses calling the trucks coming and going all night. The sky was bright orange. Scary as fuck.
Oh, yes, getting horses out of harm’s way is brutal. I’ve seen video of past fires where people were driving to safety with someone leaning out a window holding lead ropes as the horses trotted alongside the car. Sometimes people have had to just attach identifying info to halters and turn the horses loose in hopes the animals can somehow find a safe(r) place to flee to.
God only knows what folks with herds of cattle, sheep, goats, llamas do.
ETA: People who own minis and small ponies have evacuated with the critters inside their cars.
I can see & smell smoke in my yard, too & I don’t even live in a state that borders CA. Stay safe!
& this…
While you have time & are not panicked look around at the sentimental things that you might want to take - baby pictures, PC or hard drive with digital pics, diplomas, a loved one’s ashes sitting on the mantle, that special souvenir you bought on your honeymoon, etc.