Evergreen Meadows Homeowners Association

Dodging The Bullet

Jul 11, 2000

Well, we certainly were lucky! It was a very scary time and I know that our hearts go out to all those who suffered losses. We are, I'm sure, very grateful to all those brave fire fighters.
While my husband and I were living on the gulf coast, we experienced tornadoes, tropical storms and hurricanes. In discussing the recent fires in our area, we learned that many people had not given much thought to and evacuation plan. In times of emergencies, most humans tend to panic. Steve Priest, our Forestry Committee Chairman, has two very informative articles in this issue, but I would like to give you a guideline that we have found very helpful.
We keep a small duffel type bag packed at all times containing enough clothes for a few days. Our list of things to take, time permitting, include:
?· Keepsakes, e.g. photo albums, family heirlooms
?· Important documents, such as insurance papers, household inventory list, birth and marriage certificates.
?· Valuables, e.g. jewelry, silver, etc.
?· Back up computer disks
?· Extra medications
?· Toiletries
?· Pet 'stuff'
We certainly hope that we never have to put our evacuation plan in place, but having a strategy certainly helps keep at least a little order in an otherwise chaotic time.