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My farm was sandwiched between wildfires yesterday when a mandatory evac order was issued a few minutes up the road. I paused packing essentials and took 10min to walk around and record video of all of the books, art, heirlooms, and memories I was preparing to leave behind. https://twitter.com/mikamckinnon/status/1298669517254475776
As emergency managers we have a complex relationship with evacuations. I encourage you to listen to members of your community and their views on this issue, not everyone shares the same values. I would have drained my well defending my land and animals if I thought it would help.
Instead, my wife (also an emergency manager) and I loaded our animals into travel crates and filled the remaining space in our vehicles with suitcases and backpacks. We identified an emergency crashpad should we need it. I cooked what we both hoped wouldn't be our final meal here
We spent a restless night monitoring the scanner, social media, and texting with wildland fire colleagues. We heard mutual aid from our neighboring counties arrive. We heard dispatch relay that the northern fire was encroaching on 2x 500gal propane tanks. We pored over maps.
We heard county EM establish the family reunification center at the elementary school. We heard dispatch reassign assets to the second fire. We listened to the airboss demob the helitack and water tankers. By morning, one fire was fully contained and the other mostly contained.
We've since worked a full day, attended school and an advisory board meeting. As of this evening, fire crews are still out tracking down hotspots. We're currently decompressing on the couch with homemade pad see ew and cats on our laps. We still have not told our families.
Our relationship with disasters are deeply personal; viewed through the lens of a lifetime of cumulative experiences, distilled through cultural values, and vetted with those we hold dear. Every single person has their own unique set of lenses, no set is the same.
Absolutism will never fully address the complexities that come from our diverse perceptions of risk. So please, listen to the communities you serve, challenge your own biases, and empathize with those facing disaster. You never know when you turn will come.
