Ready, set, go!
Does everyone have to-go bags packed and a place to go in case of an emergency?
I think it’s safe to say most of us don’t.
And we don’t have a clue of where we’d even go if an earthquake destroyed our home, if a tsunami was coming or a forest fire was heading our way.
The good news is we still have time to prepare, or to learn how to “survive and thrive” as Jamye Wisecup, program coordinator for Clallam County’s Emergency Management Team, likes to say.
She spoke at a recent meeting of the Peninsula Chapter of Backcountry Horsemen about the high likelihood of a major earthquake and/or tsunami hitting our region, which is situated alongside the Cascadia Fault Zone, and what our residents can do now to hopefully save our lives, along with our horses and family pets.
“I hope you’re not going to tell us the plan is for everyone to get on the highway to leave as soon as we hear the tsunami warning sirens go off, because that’s not going to happen,” Cate Bendock said, referring to the tsunami warning signs and signals dotted along the Peninsula’s coastal beaches.
Her home sits on a coastal bluff 130 feet above sea level.
With a smile and a shake of her head to say, “No,” Wisecup said access on and off of the Peninsula would be blocked either by a landslide and/or by one or several of Clallam County’s 180 bridges collapsing.
Due to Bendock’s location overlooking the water, she stressed how Bendock needs to find a “sister farm” or a friend’s place inland and on higher ground.
Wisecup said to plan now where to go without wasting precious moments having to think about where to go, which could be the difference between life or death for her and her animals.
“I teach people to get out quick,” Wisecup said.
“It’s so important for each individual to set their plans in place now, so they don’t have to even think about it when disaster strikes.”
Occasionally someone will say to her, “I don’t need to prepare; I’m ready to die.”
“I tell them that’s going to be a real bearcat if you live and don’t have food or water for the next 30 days or more while you wait in your home for help,” Wisecup said.
“It’s so key to make sure you have enough food, water and the knowledge of what it takes for you and your household to survive at least 30 days out.”
She’s hoping members of Backcountry Horsemen can help by riding their horses to deliver food, medicine and other supplies during the aftermath and recovery phase of disaster.
“You guys could probably write the book on disaster preparedness because your thinking is geared toward surviving in the wilderness,” she said.
“You know what to do and that’s why you’re such a valuable resource for us.”
There’s not enough space here for me to share all that’s involved in preparing for a disaster, so I’m just going to share some of the main points Wisecup shared.
She’s promising to meet with the club sometime soon to share more about what Clallam County is doing to prepare, such as setting up at least 15 rally or command points in areas that will be more or less isolated islands after losing roads and rivers to disaster.
In the meantime she encourages individuals to “map their neighborhood,” by noting who lives where and what animals may need saving.
In addition we need to practice loading our horses when they are under duress.
Bendock learned during a recent fire in California that a CERT team in place to only rescue horses was told they were only allowed five minutes per animal to load in the horse trailer.
If it refused or balked, the team was told to go on to the next one.
Many horse owners don’t have a horse trailer, or might have three horses but only a two-horse trailer.
In that case, all horses should be trained to be led by someone driving a vehicle or tied to the rear of the trailer.
And if you have to turn your animal lose? Keep permanent markers in black, white and silver on hand to write your name, phone number and address on the horse’s hoofs or coats.
Where can or should you go if you have to flee your home and the way to your sister farm is blocked?
“Try a commercial building’s parking lot, such as Walmart, or better yet in a lot by a store that sells horse feed and/or fencing, because you could be there for quite some time,” Wisecup said.
She also suggests keeping a water bottle on hand with a filtering system so you can drink water from a local stream without worrying about getting giardia, and plan in advance to have an out-of-state contact that family and friends know in advance to call to share their status and situation, as local phone lines are frequently saturated whereas less people use the long distance.
“And often times you can still text if you can’t get through by phone,” she said.
For more information and tips during regular office hours, contact Wisecup at 360-417-2525 or jwisecup@co.clallam.wa.us.
In Jefferson County, contact director Bob Hamlin at 360-385-9368 or bhamlin@co.jefferson.wa.us.
For Backcountry
Horsemen Peninsula Chapter, contact Bendock at 541-761-1849.
In Jefferson County, contact Buckhorn Range Chapter’s Jeff Chapman at 360-385-6364 or bbbranch@olympus.net.
Kudos to Backcountry Horsemen Peninsula Chapter members for logging 3,000 hours to date performing trail maintenance (including weed control).
That’s 1,401 hours more than last year.
Five members were recognized for putting in more than 400 hours each.
Of those, 1,159 hours were dedicated toward building the newly completed Miller Peninsula parking lot and trail.
________
Karen Griffiths’ column, Peninsula Horseplay, appears every other Sunday.
If you have a horse event, clinic or seminar you would like listed, please email Griffiths at kbg@olympus.net at least two weeks in advance. You can also write Griffiths at PDN, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362