What's in Your Bug Out Bag & What Would Make it Better?

My heart goes out to everyone who has been displaced by the fire and those who are in danger of being displaced. Nothing can replace those who have died and the property that has been damaged or lost in this tragedy but there are things we can do to prepare for the worst.

Everyone probably has a bag or two packed and at the ready just in case an evacuation happens. There are obvious standard goods that you would want to pack:

Food
Water
Shelter
Clothes
Flashlights (more than one)
Battery powered radio
Extra batteries
Vital documents
Backups of your data from your PC(s)

What would you add to the list? I think a few nice additions/replacements would be:

Solar powered battery charger and rechargeable batteries
Power inverter with cigarette lighter adapter
Multi-fuel camp stove
Coffee pot & cups (don't forget to grab the coffee of the way out the door!)
Prepaid debit cards
Prepaid cell phone with important phone numbers programed into memory

We build BOT's
Bug Out Trailers, you put all the stuff needed for extended survival and preparedness, and you leave it in it, compartmentalized, high clearence and can add gun vaults etc.
So we have BOT's and a small BOB with personl crap to throw in.
No need to panic and runa around looking for stuff just grab your memories you want your wallet and go...

Good idea to think about this ahead of time. I have a general idea, but I think it would be a lot harder to do in a panic.

I did some yard cleaning today also, it is scary dry out here and the snow is gone.

Paperwork, pictures, computer, flash drives, clothes, motorcycle. Beer.

Martin Ent Inc wrote: We build BOT's
Bug Out Trailers, you put all the stuff needed for extended survival and preparedness, and you leave it in it, compartmentalized, high clearence and can add gun vaults etc.
So we have BOT's and a small BOB with personl crap to throw in.
No need to panic and runa around looking for stuff just grab your memories you want your wallet and go...

Martin, you jumped ahead to where I was going. My approach is to either have it all in one package on wheels or in a neutral physical location that isn't prone to fires and floods. I was going to ease into it and add hand guns, long guns, shot guns, pistols, knifes, booze and booze/beer making equipment and ingredients. Why not have some trade goods on hand that can double as an antiseptic and anesthetic if need be?

Our goal is to offer a basic BOT and then customize it to the clients needs. We have even contacted a tent manufacturer that we are researching a topside tent like is available for PU's.
Water coantainers, complete kitchen propane tank, solar panel etc. we can go as foar as someone wants.
Will soon have a prototype available locally.

It would be really cool if you could get your hands on some of the surplus current shelters the DoD is issuing, the current "tents" beat the hell out of what I knew to be a GP small or medium!

Such great suggestions. We tend to travel lighter so important papers are kept in a steel case and the computer is backed up more frequently so we can grab the hard drive and not worry about the computer and its components. Since we tend to plan for worst case scenario, being stranded or on our own, food, water, matches, tarp, jacket, change of clothes, knife, small medical kit and my climbing gear all in a backpack. Most of this comes from volunteering in foreign countries and the need to be prepared for anything. Obviously a bit sparse but thought I would mention it anyway.

For a fire such as the current one, close to a city, what would be the reasoning behind taking water, food, and shelter?

Major traffic jams on 285 and not being able to get out? A real possibility. Or the fire approaching sooner than expected and not being able to make it out to a road and you have to exit on foot or differently than planned. What about not so deeply buried natural gas lines exploding along the road? Hopefully none of this would happen, but being prepared for the possibility is better than relying on help that may not get there or you might not get to.

mtntrekker wrote: Such great suggestions. We tend to travel lighter so important papers are kept in a steel case and the computer is backed up more frequently so we can grab the hard drive and not worry about the computer and its components. Since we tend to plan for worst case scenario, being stranded or on our own, food, water, matches, tarp, jacket, change of clothes, knife , small medical kit and my climbing gear all in a backpack. Most of this comes from volunteering in foreign countries and the need to be prepared for anything. Obviously a bit sparse but thought I would mention it anyway.

For me a blade is like a wrist watch, I never leave home without one! How about some paracord and a magnesium bar with an embedded sparking bar to start fires when you need them? Fire is a wonderful thing, as long as you can control it; fire is an unforgiving (insert your favorite string of appropriate naughty words here) when she kills, destroys, and damages people and property.