Will you ever be ready? Or “Don’t Let This Happen to you”

Here at SurviveAndLive.com our motto is “Be Prepared”. Why is it that when you have to change a flat tire it is ALWAYS in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard? On a recent trip to Sacramento CA this past Christmas we came face to face with the un-expected! We keep our Jeep equipped with all the basic (and then some) survival gear.  We have our spare tire, jack, jack handles, shovel and survival kit in an out of the way compartment in the back of the Jeep. Now this is all well and good, and for the past 5 years we have made the trip to Sacramento in an un-eventful fashion. This year, however, we were in for an unexpected surprise.

We left our home in Evergreen Colorado the Sunday before Christmas. The temperature was hovering around 0 degrees as we made our way up Interstate 25 heading for Wyoming and the I 80 route we planned to take all the way to Sacramento. We drove along icy roads with the wind blowing 75 to 80 miles an hour and made great time arriving in Battle Mountain Nevada before 6 that night.

We checked the weather and knew that we would be driving into snow as we crossed the Sierra’s. As predicted, snow was falling as we made our way up Interstate 80 through Reno Nevada and started up the mountain. As we drove along we talked about all the semi’s that were making their way up the mountain and starting to stop to put on the required chains. Now our Jeep is no ordinary Jeep. It is a Jeep Cherokee Overland, which is the high-end deluxe model. We believe it has a brain. So we were unconcerned about the weather and knew we would have a slow drive ahead.  We had no sooner passed the sign welcoming us to California when the road became a rutted, bumpy, slushy, icy, “could it get any worse”, road. We laughed and said “Well some things just don’t change” as California, for as long as we have been traveling, has always had horrible roads. The weather just made it that much worse.

We were slowly moving along when all of a sudden our Jeep indicated we had a problem. Our computer readout on top of our rear view mirror was telling us we were losing air pressure in our passenger rear tire. (Now here is where it gets scary). We are crawling along a four lane highway in the westbound two lanes with bumper to bumper huge semis on the right, and all other kind of cars and trucks in our lane.  We watch our tire pressure drop further.  Jim said if it gets down to 15 we will have to pull over. By this time I am half out of the passenger side window and can see the tire going flat. It did not take long for the pressure to drop to 15 so we squeezed over to the side of that snowy icy road. We knew we had some of that aerosol tire repair in our arsenal of emergency equipment but sadly it was under ALL the Christmas gifts, luggage and my containers of Christmas cookies. All of that stuff had to be moved to get to that hidden compartment where the can of spray was waiting.

Jim got out and screwed the can onto the valve, but with the freezing temperatures he had no sooner gotten started screwing the can on the tire when it started to unload its contents. He pushed hard in hope of getting as much of the goop into the tire as possible. When Jim climbed back into the Jeep I asked, “Well”?  He said he did not get much in but the pressure held at 16 psi till me could make it to the chain up station. We thought if we could get there we could hire a “chain monkey” to change the tire for us.  Well again the laugh was on us as they sneered and said “No way!” So it was either call an emergency tow service or do it ourselves. The traffic was so bad it would have taken hours for someone to have come to our aid so Jim said “I’ll just do it.”

Now my husband can do most anything but he is what I call at that in between age category; the not so old to be considered old and not so young to be considered young, on top of that we add in his back issues. That being said we started hauling all the stuff in the back into the front of the car to reach the spare and jack, once that was done we had to move the stuff in the middle of the car to reach the shovel and the jack handle.  What we had packed in oh so nicely was now in just a huge big messy pile. Once Jim had all the stuff he needed to change the tire it was time to get down and get dirty; blowing snow and a icy road had to be cleared away before we could jack up the car and, oh wait what are we going to put behind the front wheels so the Jeep doesn’t roll back. Improvise Improvise…., we did… and got the tire changed. Spare tire on, flat tire put away in the back. We climbed into the jeep and were on our way again. As we pulled back into the flow of cars Jim wet and cold; me in  my white down coat covered in black tire marks and with  the back of the car just a mess of stuff, I glared at the chain monkey and wished them "I hate you; Merry Christmas”.

So from Jim and I at Survive and Live we suggest you 1)check your spare; 2)freshen your aerosol can of tire repair; 3)have a shovel and something to put behind your tire; and 4)have it all where you can get to it… because believe us this could happen to you and we hope you all will be prepared.

Are you and your loved ones prepared to survive next year's disasters or will you be caught unprepared?  Where will you be during the next big wildfire, hurricaine, terrorist act or earthquake?  If it's a large event, it may take days for rescuers and aid to reach you.

Every responsible person should prepare in advance for their own survival as well as the survival of those they are responsible for.  Sooner or later, most of us will face a medical emergency or be affected by either a natural or a man-made disaster.  We rely on calling 911 for help but during a large event resuers may not be available to respond to you for days."

FEMA supports this view and further states "Assemble a Disaster Supplies kit.  You may need to survive on your own after a disaster. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours, or it might take days."
Utilities and transportaton may also be cut off for days.  You may not be able to shop for items you need.  Stores will run out of items in hours or within days.  Additionally, you may need to evacuate your home.  Evacuations are more common than most of realize.  There are hundreds of evacuations each year resulting from industrial and transportation accidents releasing hazardous chemicals as well as fires, floods, and hurricaines.  These events force thousands to leave their homes often for days; sometimes for weeks.

The most important first step is developing awareness and a "self survival mind-set."  Start thinking and planning now for possible future events you're at risk for, then prepare your survival kits and evacuation plan.  Do home fire drills.  Plan where to meet.  Choose your primary evacuation route as well as an alternate.  Add additional items to your kit for family members with "special needs" including medicines.  Don't forget your pets.
Implement your plan by either assembling your survival kit or purchasing a "pre-assembled kit" and then adding to it.

Even small events can interrupt local transportation resulting in shortages at your neighborhood grocery or hardware stores.  A minimum of 3 days supply of food and water is like any other insurance policy.  Increase these amounts if you live in a rural area.  Start now and you'll be prepared for your survival of 2009 disasters and beyond.

Jim German is a certified Colorado Firefighter 1 and 2 and a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician/ IV licensed in Conifer, Colorado.