Sad but true

With all the fires and such going on. You can see what neighbors you can count on and who is "the sky is falling" help me types.
We have been here many years and lived through alot of disasters. We have helped friends and neighbors and then some we did not know.
Maybe this will make some realize they don't need to be here and maybe alot will move.
It is odd to be reading some posts from those that are realatively new to mtn living and are not prepared for any type of emergency.
They want the government to take care of them and blame those working to protect them for not moving fast enough, yada, yada.

Many years ago we had no internet, we depended on our "neighbors" for help and info. We helped each other.
Hopefully we don't have to go through what those are going through in the current fire zones.
But bitching about what if, what of, helps no one and if you can't get your bug out crap together then think about moving to a metropolitan area.

Everyone prepares, and deals with, disaster in their own way. Being prepared is good...obsessing over stuff, and what to take, or what to leave behind is not so good. As long as your family and your critters are prepared to leave at a moments notice....everything else really isn't all that important.

Yes arch, this is what I am talking about. But I read other sites and to a degree most are panicked for no reason, and cause alot of grief to their neighbors when it is not needed.

I smell smoke.
I saw this car. Lets shoot any person not familiar to my area...
I need to get my horses, llamas, etc out but don't have a trailer Blah Blah.
Hoe did you get them there in the first place???

You can see where I am coming from.
Panic, the solution for all catastrophies.

Over the years it seems to me that I have had great neighbors who want to get together and have occasional parties and gatherings just for fun. Taking care of each others homes, property, and pets is just a matter of returning the favor when a neighbor is away (and I have a lot of favors to return!).

Then there are the folks who move in during the summer, suffer through all of the inconvenient facts of life in the foothills and move out a year later. The later group is the type that would otherwise live in an apartment or condo in an urban center and not even know the names of their next door neighbors and find that entirely acceptable.

I'm here for all of my neighbors and I'm still willing to stop to help out someone who has broken down on the side of the road. I have a more difficult time with those who are not paying attention to the situations around them; if the fire danger is high and there is a fire ban then you CAN NOT HAVE A BONFIRE. Why common sense doesn't register with some people is beyond me.

For me it is simple, car is kept at 1/2 full or more, needed items are in the car, papers etc are in a box ready to go. Food is ready also. (Simple food). I will be helping neighbors before I leave if it comes to that. I can carry a few extra if needed.

Our personal and financial documents are kept in our safe deposit at the bank. We rent a storage in Boulder for our antique autos, extra furniture, memorabalia, etc. We compute on the cloud. Losing our home in a fire would be terrible, but not devastating.