Hello my friend and welcome back! In today’s post we are going to discuss how to protect yourself and your preps from a Forest Fire. This is something that I have been thinking a lot about lately as I plan to have a lot of trees on my retreat in Idaho, so grab a cup of coffee and have a seat while we visit.
Forest fires are a real threat to many retreats and can quickly destroy your retreat and take your life if you’re not properly prepared. Depending on where you live, you probably already know a little about how to protect yourself. The sad part is that many well-meaning Preppers just never get around to actually being proactive in preparing to protect their preps from forest fires, even though they know that there is a chance that they could one day have to face one. This sadly, could cost them their life either by heat or loss of their preps when they need them the most.
If you can, the best thing to do when threatened by a forest fire is to leave the area with what you can carry. Sometimes however, this just isn’t an option and you need to be able to weather it out. Some forest fires are so intense that they will suck all of the oxygen out of the air and burn your lungs when you try to breathe. Trust me when I say that metal buildings are not the answer as they will quickly become nothing more than a large oven and if the fire is intense enough the metal could actually melt. Wooden structures offer even less protection and are quickly destroyed by the fire as well. So what is the solution? You need something that will divert the heat and insulate you rather than just trying to block it. You need to either go underground or into a dirt covered structure that is completely surrounded by at least 3 feet of soil. In a previous Video Monday post, I supplied some information on concrete structures that can be easily built and have a rounded top that just screams to be covered with soil forming a secure place to store your preps and to survive a forest fire. While many other types could be used, they must be completely covered with lots of dirt. The dirt acts as an insulator and the rounded top serves deflect the hot air and heat away from the structure and providing you a place of safety.
As I mentioned above, there are other factors that need to be addressed and should be taken into consideration when preparing for such an event. Smoke will be one of the biggest challenges you will face inside the structure. The super-heated air and gas getting into your ventilation system could easily suffocate you if you are not prepared for it. For clues on how best to do this, let’s look at how Fireman overcome it on a daily basis. You will need to be able to close off your ventilation system when the time comes and use mask that will provide you with oxygen for breathing. Large tanks of oxygen can be purchased from Medical and welding supply centers. I would go with the Medical supply for this if you can as it would probably be a better grade of oxygen if that’s possible. Otherwise you may want to discuss what you want the oxygen for with a person from a welding supply to see if they have something that would be suitable for your needs. CAUTION! If you decide to go with this setup, please discuss the best way to do it with a qualified medical professional beforehand. Inhalation of pure oxygen can cause serious injury if used for a prolonged period of time and you should take the time to learn how to do it correctly. It is like a gun or a parachute, if you need it once and either don’t have it or don’t know how to use it properly, the chances are that you will never need it again!
Be sure to store plenty of fresh water in your safety building because even with the soil between you and the fire, it will still get pretty warm in there. You should keep almost all of your preps in such a building so as to protect them as well even if you’re not home when the fire comes through. As I said earlier, the best option is to leave the area if possible. Knowing your preps are safe and will be there when you get back will make leaving much easier. If you have livestock that you cannot bring with you then you may want to consider putting them in another building of this type to at least give them some chance of survival if need be. Just remember that waiting to prepare for a forest fire until you have to is the same as not preparing at all and the price you pay may be your life. Well that is it for today’s post and I hope you have enjoyed it and maybe even learned a thing or two. Until next time, stay safe, stay strong and stay prepared!
-The Sargent-
Good post Sargent. I prefur an underground shelter my self as it also doubles as a root celar .