FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | FEBRUARY 2019 25
Emergency Preparedness Committee
"Death comes like a thief in the night" but Cal Fire can come
anytime. They come to announce mandatory evacuations that
become necessary during a fire or potential flood. Over the past five
years, mega-fires, which would only occur once every decade or two,
now seem to happen almost every year. Where would you go if you
were told to leave your home? You could go to a vacation home or
to stay with family or friends. The Red Cross usually has shelters
available, but they are underutilized because of pet restrictions and
uncomfortable accommodations. Who wants to sleep on a cot?
An ideal location would have four directions to leave like the points
on a compass. The San Bernardino Mountains to the north limit
Four Seasons residents to only three escape routes. You may use the
10 Freeway westbound to Redlands, or eastbound to Palm Springs.
The San Jacinto Valley lies to the south through Lamb's Canyon. If the
10 freeway is damaged, you are left with going south to Hemet as your
only choice unless you want to chance the mountains.
It is because of these transportation difficulties that emergency
agencies encourage people to maintain at least one half a tank of gas
in your car at all times. A routine trip of two hours may easily extend
to four to six hours during an emergency. Your escape route may be
in the opposite direction that you want to travel. If your family is in
Redlands and you can only go east to Palm Springs you will need to
find suitable accommodations there.
The time to find suitable accommodations is before an emergency
or disaster. You need to find out if they can accommodate disabled
family members. Do they offer hospital beds and handicapped
access? Because of their great popularity pets become important
also. You cannot leave them behind. You need to find a pet-friendly
motel.
Planning alleviates the stress of leaving home. If you have plenty
of options a mandatory evacuation could be an unscheduled holiday.
If you are forced to evacuate for a week maybe a trip to Las Vegas or
the Grand Canyon is in your future.
The Emergency Preparedness Committee (EPC) meets the third
Tuesday of the month at 10 am in the RCN Conference Room. ~
Michael A. Mendoza, EPC Chairman, srmendoza@verizon.net
