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  • McNadoMDmcnado
    Jun 30, 2026, 10:38 PM

    If you recently moved to somewhere where a wildfire can get to your home, some advice:
    Have a fireproof box with your passport, mortgage docs, birth certificates, etc. so you can grab them in a hurry, but hopefully won’t lose them if you must leave them behind.

    Have a go bag with a change of clothes, basic toiletries, and if possible, a few days of any key medicines you need.

    Decide now that you are OK leaving everything to burn, because you don’t want to confront that as the house goes up.

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Replies

  • McNadoMDmcnado
    Jun 30, 2026, 10:41 PM

    If you aren’t aware, when you evacuate for a fire in the US, sometimes you are out of your home for days. The power will usually go out during that time. You may not know if you have a home for days. If you left livestock behind, you won’t know where they are. You won’t know if you have fences or water or barns.

    Plan now for those possibilities. If you don’t have a trailer, what’s your evac plan for animals? Can you cut fences or open gates? Plan now. It is hard when ash is raining on you.

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  • McNadoMDmcnado
    Jun 30, 2026, 10:45 PM

    If you have to leave your home for a fire, don’t waste time trying to set up sprinklers or hoses if your home is on a pump. As soon as the power goes out, so does your water. Even without a pump, if everyone leaves hoses open, water pressure drops so much that even hydrants won’t produce adequate flow.

    If a fire is moving fast, just leave. People have died driving out of fire zones in multiple recent fires in the us. Cars are not fire proof, and when wind drives smoke and embers, you can’t see

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  • Paul_IPv6paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange
    Jun 30, 2026, 10:55 PM

    @mcnado

    indeed. at some point, roads get hot, car tires melt. traffic jams also happen quickly.

    get out fast. if you're in a fire prone area, have a "go box" with irreplaceable papers and stuff to get you through a few days ready at all times. when you get the alert, grab medicines, go box, pets, family, pet food and *RUN*. if it's a false alarm later, no biggie. but not getting out while you can get out can be fatal.

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  • Delta Sierranotthatdelta@furry.engineer
    Jun 30, 2026, 11:07 PM

    @mcnado All good info! Having been in this situation I'd also suggest:

    Bottled water. Don't fool around with 12 or 20oz bottles, get a couple gallon jugs. Moving around in the middle of the night with smoke rolling in is thirsty work.

    Face masks. Anything is preferable to nothing. Smoke arrives before fire; even if you get clear there's a risk of issues related to smoke inhalation (especially if you have breathing issues already).

    Cash. Stick a hundred bucks in your go bag. Enough to grab some food/fuel if needed. There will be power outages; 50 miles away you may find businesses with no power (and no card reader).

    Keep your vehicle in good repair. Tires aired up, washer fluid, good wipers, tank over half-full.

    If you're really remote, get some dehydrated food. Throw a couple packs in the car. They last for decades and all you need is some of that water to have a quick (albeit very high sodium) snack.

    Remember nothing you own is worth asphyxiating over (the most likely cause of death in this scenario).

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  • BlueDotBlueDot@left-bank.net
    Jun 30, 2026, 11:13 PM

    @mcnado

    I keep my will in the freezer. It can be expected to survive a house fire, at least long enough for the fire department to respond. I'm curious to know what happens in a wildfire, where one can't expect firefighters will necessarily show up. Does frozen food burn to ash with the house? (Idle curiosity. I am not in a fire zone.)

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  • ericmericm@infosec.exchange
    Jun 30, 2026, 11:23 PM

    @BlueDot @mcnado Look for videos of people combing through the remains of their wildfire-burned house. There's not much left except concrete, ashes and thicker steel or iron pieces. Often aluminum is melted.

    Fridges are a thin skin of sheet steel around a bunch of plastic. If the entire house burns, plus the heat of neighboring houses burning, it's going to burn.

    Even a consumer level fire proof box is not really fire proof, just resistant. Stash it in a corner of the house so there's less stuff around it to burn.

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  • Sarasarae@ecoevo.social
    Jul 1, 2026, 12:04 AM

    @ericm @BlueDot @mcnado having done post-fire recovery in urban areas, no, your fridge will not survive

    your fridge will explode

    this creates a particularly heinous recovery situation when you have left your mom's ashes on top of and two chicken carcasses inside the fridge

    so: bury your ancestors (as appropriate)

    buy a fuckin fire safe

    put it next to an exterior wall

    that, we should be able to find for you

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  • Sarasarae@ecoevo.social
    Jul 1, 2026, 2:40 AM

    @drpatois I don't doubt it

    this is why I've got things like my kids' baby pictures on multiple off-site disks

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  • AI6YR Benai6yr@m.ai6yr.org
    Jul 1, 2026, 3:24 AM

    @sarae @ericm @BlueDot @mcnado I once ran into someone's grandmother/uncle/aunt (I think) on a shelf with a bunch of trash and books and whatnot at an estate sale. That sale (pre-pandemic) was unpleasant. 😬 At least I did not OPEN the container.

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  • AI6YR Benai6yr@m.ai6yr.org
    Jul 1, 2026, 3:39 AM

    @sarae @ericm @BlueDot @mcnado It was a bad scene, made worse by the stench of death in the house (I backed out of there VERY quick, not my idea of fun). Unsure if it's because they let the fridge get away from them, or if it was related to the former owner's demise....

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  • M.S. Bellows, Jr.msbellows@c.im
    Jul 1, 2026, 3:44 AM

    @sarae @ericm @BlueDot @mcnado Also too? Please don't put your will in your safe deposit box. The will names the executor, and the executor is who... can get access to the safe deposit box

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  • Jim HubbellDougfir@m.ai6yr.org
    Jul 1, 2026, 4:07 AM

    @msbellows @sarae @ericm @BlueDot @mcnado
    One of the best planning moves we did with my mom was make me co-owner of her checking and savings accounts and co-trustee on the trust. That way, when she died, I had continued access to all accounts, could pay her final expenses, etc.

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  • McNadoMDmcnado
    Jul 1, 2026, 3:54 AM

    @BlueDot I haven’t lost a house yet, but we lost everything else on my mom’s property, and when I combed through the barn ashes, the only recognizable things were steel tool heads and large bolts. Cinder blocks turned to powder, aluminum was puddles, glass tiles exploded, and windows were just gone.

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  • David J. Atkinsonmeltedcheese@c.im
    Jul 1, 2026, 4:49 AM

    @mcnado @BlueDot This happened to friends in the Altadena fire. They had virtually no time to leave and when they finally returned, only ash was left. We know many families with similar experience. You cannot expect anything to survive a wildfire of that scale.

    It is important to point out that house/structure fires leave behind a lot of toxic waste that has to be cleared out properly. If you are in this situation, please protect yourself with appropriate hazmat equipment.

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  • Elyse M GrassoElyseMGrasso@wandering.shop
    Jul 1, 2026, 11:33 PM

    @BlueDot @mcnado If it is a wildfire, affecting a largish area the firefighters may not arrive before the house is burned to the ground. After the Marshall Fire burned my house there was nothing left of the appliances and nothing non-metallic survived in my big safe. Don't expect anything left behind to survive a wild fire

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  • MsMeropeMsMerope@sfba.social
    Jun 30, 2026, 11:32 PM

    @mcnado so much this - during the Caldor fire we were deployed to help at the call center for animal control to help take phone calls.

    The number of people wanting animal control to come up and help evacuate their animals
    O
    M
    G

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  • paculinopaculino@tech.lgbt
    Jul 1, 2026, 12:55 AM

    @MsMerope @mcnado knowing how easily/well escaped large animals are rounded up by authorities when there is no fire or flood or sny sort of disaster, I don't see how anyone thought that would be a realistic option even without the chaos.

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  • McNadoMDmcnado
    Jul 1, 2026, 2:11 AM

    @paculino @MsMerope I have evacuated animals and helped others, and it is a goat rodeo. Doing it with active fire nearby is a bitch. Ash in the air, hotter than hell, animals sense the fear and won’t trailer. Folks chasing chickens around. Mess. If you cut them loose, the large animals usually find a way out. The chickens and so forth are screwed, so trying to get them may be worth it, but it is hard to do in a hurry.

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  • T. J. Bombadilc_dan4th
    Jun 30, 2026, 11:41 PM

    @mcnado As someone who had to do this, I second the recommendation. I was fortunate enough to have time to grab the safe, the wedding photos, the backup hard drive, and the pets. I also threw in the laundry basket since that’s what I’d worn in the last couple days already sorted.

    Fortunately we didn’t lose the house, but it was a good exercise.

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  • SomeVeganCheeseIsOkSomeVeganCheeseIsOk@mastodon.social
    Jun 30, 2026, 11:58 PM

    @mcnado HAVE A PET PLAN. Have escape routes planned for fire coming from various directions. Know your water locations which are likely to be safe in an emergency - paddling out onto the water IS a survival option, if not a great one.

    Our dogs are trained to go to the front door where the leashes are when the smoke detector goes off. They get treats there every time we burn popcorn in the microwave. We can throw them in the truck in less than a minute.

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  • The Turtlethe_turtle@mastodon.sdf.org
    Jul 1, 2026, 12:18 AM

    @mcnado side note: "metal lockbox" in no way means "fireproof" or even "fire-resistant." The real deal is thick and heavy. If the walls of your box aren't at least as thick as your finger, or if it's just heat-conducting metal no matter how thick, get another one. Tomorrow.

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  • Flaming CheetoPizzaDemon@mastodon.online
    Jul 1, 2026, 3:20 AM

    @mcnado safe deposit box for passport, birth cert, car title, estate doc etc.

    The 4 P's used to be

    People
    Pills
    Pets
    Pictures

    Now sub Phones for Pictures.

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  • diana 🏳️‍⚧️🦋🌱dianea@lgbtqia.space
    Jul 1, 2026, 3:22 AM

    @mcnado

    Something to consider about house fires. Carbon monoxide is produced in oxygen deprived environments, like a smoldering closet where it started. You can't see it and you might not be aware that you died. When you see smoke, just leave unless you have proper equipment including a calibrated air monitor to work a fire. And training.

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  • InvisibleShoeInvisibleShoe@mastodon.social
    Jul 1, 2026, 4:12 AM

    @mcnado An alternative to the fireproof box that I have used in a couple of evacuations, is to have important documents in a filing cabinet drawer that can be removed quickly and easily, then throw the whole drawer in the back of the car.

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