Pack Creek Ranch, San Juan County, Utah
Peak fire season – hot, dry, windy, and smoky
The United Nations agencies estimate that there are at least 117.3 million refugees in the world – with the numbers rising daily. I could become one soon. Refugees flee disasters not of their own making: things like war, violence, plague, flood, tornadoes, hurricanes, famine, volcanoes, and fire – an almost infinite list.
Because of red flag high fire danger warnings, I’m currently assembling a “go” bag. When a recent fire burned through Pack Creek Valley, all I could do was panic and run for it. Now I’m asking: What’s valuable? Irreplaceable? How much can I carry? What am I going to be running from and running to and why? And how long?
GO
The fire I fled from two years ago was caused by human carelessness. The embers of a campfire were picked up by a strong wind, flung into the surrounding dry brush, and on down the valley.
The other side of that story is that my house and studio were saved by human carefulness – the heroic efforts of the Moab Volunteer Fire Fighters.
Human carelessness has not been canceled.
Nor has human carefulness.
It’s essential to keep those realities in mind.
I’m reminded of those facts every day when I walk between my still-standing house and studio through the forest of dead, burned trees.
In the days when I went on long backpacking trips, I knew what it would take to survive for two weeks in the wilderness and how much I could carry. The same is true for preparation for long travel trips.
Those experiences kicked in when I started packing my “go” bag in case I had to flee my home this time. But this time my mindset was that of a refugee.
What if I “lost everything?”
The first part of the exercise is straightforward.
Extra clothes, wallet, mobile phone, small computer.
Portable file with copies of essential documents.
Personal toiletries, truck gassed and ready to go.
The next part of the exercise was stressful.
I spent time in every room of my house and studio, carefully noticing my possessions – a nostalgic museum tour of my life.
It would take a semi-truck to haul away the keepsakes of a lifetime – my stuff. So, I held my treasures in my hands, engaged my memory of where and who, and how I came to have them. I put on some of the clothes I would leave behind.
And I took a lot of pictures and moved on.
But it felt like I had been to a one-man funeral service.
What kept me going was the knowledge that I would not be a homeless refugee. Not far away were the friends who took me in and cared for me the last time I had to run. The worst fear was in my mind, but the best reality was close by.
As for stuff – there’s an infinite amount of new stuff available – a new museum of memorabilia to accumulate – another chapter of the Book of Life to write.
Conclusion:
My essential “go” bag is invisible – carried in my mind.
As I write this, I know that my most reliable assets are intact. Health, friends, family, imagination, experience, and attitude – a relentless optimism that not only will I survive, but I will also have what it takes to prevail and live on.
I’m good to Go.