@kirk

Some years ago in the San Francisco, wildfires filled our sky with orange acrid smoke. The noonday sun was a sickly dim purple disk at times.

We kept our house closed tight, inside air filters constantly running. We stayed inside the whole time.

My family wore N95 masks outside.

I wore a cartridge respirator outside.

Our cars have A/C HEPA filters.

Wildfire smoke comes from burning trees, brush, poison oak, structures, cars. It's toxic. Don't breathe it in.

Sorry you face this!

@kirk Looks like you're already getting some good responses but I'll add on my own personal situation.

It's all about how much time I think I have (or I'm told that I have).

If it's days, I'm loading up our wine cellar in the truck along with all of the artwork, the family photos, the digital devices, the pets, clothes, paperwork, documents, and anything else of value that I can haul with me.

If it's hours, I'm grabbing a subset of that.

If the house is on fire or about to be, I'm running out with shoes, keys, wallet, and a small pre-filled backpack with some clothes and copies of important documents. And I'll leave the door open so the pets can hopefully find their own way to safety because trying to catch two cats in a high stress time critical situation is not realistic.

I do have the carriers for the cats easily accessible near the front door so if I do have the time, I can grab the cats, stuff them in their carriers, and leave with them. I also have some food for the cats so I can get by for a few days during an evacuation until I need to go to the pet store for more.

Getting away from the fire is also tricky. Roadways will quickly be jammed as we've seen with many fires here in California. I have a truck with an aftermarket steel bumper that I could use to push disabled vehicles off the road or go on the shoulder of the road. But I would try very hard to not need to go across a field or other non-road places because even though it's a 4x4 and I am an experienced 4x4er, I know that the chances of getting hopelessly stuck rapidly increase in a high stakes situation. And there's more likely to be help if I stay on a well-traveled roadway. I do have bicycles as well that could be quite handy depending on the situation but they're not at my front door (they're in a garage a small distance away).

One thing that you might want to look at is where there might be a "safety zone" nearby to your apartment that you can run to. So for instance where my parents live in the mountains in California, the wet meadow in front of their house is a designated safety zone for the wildland firefighters when there is a forest fire in the area. If the fire fighters are worried that they are going to be trapped and the fire will burn over them, they will retreat to the wet meadow where their chances of survival are much higher.

Normal people can take advantage of the concept of safety zones, too. In the Camp Fire that burned Paradise, California and killed 85 people, many people found refuge in a large parking lot in the middle of town.

It might be something to ask the officials at your local Commune to see if there are designated spaces (or if they could identify spaces to designate) as "safety zones" where people can flee to in the event of a fast wildfire.

Oh and one other thing... I have all of my important data and files backed up offsite. If I lose al of my digital devices, it will be difficult but I can recover everything in a few days from offsite backups once I get a new phone and laptop.

https://www.nwcg.gov/6mfs/operational-engagement/safety-zones-1-lces

https://www.nwcg.gov/6mfs/operational-engagement/safety-zones-2-lces

I've attached a few images of wildfires that came close to me or my family over the last few years.

@kirk Other people have posted great info about dealing with fire close to your home-- go bag, evacuation plans, property prep, etc.

It's worth thinking about the smoke, too. Less urgent but happens more often. CR box is great. For masks think about P99s (instead of n95s) to filter the nasty chemicals from burning buildings. Some way to cool the home with the windows closed. And I stock up on "sore throat" herbal teas

@kirk I know that @ai6yr had a post on wildfire prep recently. You could check out his timeline and his blog. He's got good solid info.

@kirk -Keep storage sheds and other outbuildings away from your home. I guess they start creeping close to be near your.
-Mow the grass, cut back thick vegetation, and thin out dense trees.
-Prune overhanging trees.
Scatter plants and bushes to create a fuel break.
Keep fuel (flammable stuff) at least 30 feet from all flammable structures.
Hydrate surrounding plants, grass, and vegetation, and use noncombustible mulch.
Have a 100-foot garden hose.
Ensure crews can find your address and driveway.

@kirk Things I haven't heard mentioned - make sure everything you need is in working order as the fire approaches. Put air in your tires, fill up your car, things like that.

I also always stored several days worth of water for the household. Just anything I could store in any form, just in case.

@kirk I live in California, and here’s what I do:
1. I have a set of items, similar to what Ben linked, for sheltering in place (consider: power, water, food, medication, pet stuff, etc). 2. I additionally have a “go” bag - I evacuated at without one at 3 am once and many items were missed 😖. For anything that isn’t practical to keep in my go bag, I have a last minute packing list - just a FEW items.

@kirk Promoting to #WildfirePrevention #FireWx @ai6yr

@kirk
Already having an air purifier, you might have this next piece - stash of N95s. In Southern California we have a government run air quality app (SCAQMD), I use that and Purple Air to determine when I put my mask on. Don’t wait till you can smell the fire or see ash. When COVID started my then toddler was already well practiced with masks because of wildfires. Have all important docs in a fireproof case.

Par contre - if climate change brings tornadoes to France - I'll feel like I'm at home in the Midwest. But then I suppose we'd risk fire tornadoes 😔