NATIONAL MUSHROOM MONTH

Did you know that September is National Mushroom Month? Well, I just brought that up for trivia, but it is also NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH. This has got me thinking a little bit. On a hot day in May 2014, 9 separate fires were burning in San Diego County. I remember looking out of my window at a very large plume of smoke thinking it was very close. It was. We thought we better voluntarily evacuate, so I packed my 6 kids, 1 dog, enough clothes for overnight, all my finished quilts, a box of vital documents, 1 gallon of milk, a box of Cheerios, and as many photographs as would fit in my Toyota minivan. We headed to a friend's in San Marcos and spent the day there while my husband was home monitoring the fire. We returned later that night when that particular fire had quieted down. Later I realized that where we lived was actually under mandatory evacuation. I didn't know because we don't have a home land line and no one knew our phone numbers to tell us. The next day, I registered our phone numbers with the reverse 911 service. If you do not have a home land line, I encourage you to register your cell phones and/or VOIP service so you can be notified and receive instructions in case of an emergency. (The important button is at the bottom of the article). http://safetyinformed.org/blog/what-federal-wireless-emergency-alerts-cant-tell-you-your-local-reverse-911-can/ Here in San Diego, our biggest natural disaster threats are fire and earthquake. Do you have a plan for your family? This Week for Family Home Evening, I challenge you to talk with your family about where to go and what to do in case of an emergency. Please tailor this to your specific family needs and location. Always assume phone coverage is not available. Some questions to consider are: Where do we meet if we cannot get home or our home is not safe? What items do we need to take quickly in case of an evacuation? Where would we go for an extended evacuation (2-5 days). What food and WATER would we need if we need to leave home? What food and WATER would we need if we need to shelter in place (stay home)? What would our pets need? How fast would it take us to get everything we need to get out? Half the battle is preparedness. Having a plan can save time, property, and lives. A sample of family disaster plan outline can be found at: http://www.readysandiego.org/Resources/Family-Disaster-Plan-English.pdf