Fire evacuations teach lessons

Last month, hundreds of Sisters families evacuated their homes. Many had to grab precious belongings on short notice and pack what they could in their cars and trailers.

Now that the smoke has settled, some people have reflected on the experience and plan to do things differently in the case of another forest fire or other disaster.

Before an evacuation, most people anticipate taking papers and photos, along with clothes, toiletries, medicines and prescriptions. But having gone through the experience, local people are fine-tuning their emergency plans to fit their family's needs.

Joyce and Don Boyd are prepared. They didn't need to leave their home this summer, but many years ago, a quick-developing fire near Tollgate forced them to leave.

Joyce said that experience really got her thinking.

"We now have a plan and it's typed and posted inside the kitchen cupboard ready for an emergency. It is arranged room by room. There are two copies so you can hand out a copy to someone else helping you," she said.

In addition to "typical" items, Boyd's list includes her calendar with appointments and birthdays, cookbooks and quilts she has made.

"You need to decide what really would comfort you if you lost everything else," said Boyd.

She keeps important papers at her bank's safe deposit box along with a video of each room of her house.

"After this summer's fire season, I went around the house and took photos of each room to update the video," said Boyd.

Wendy Vernon, who was evacuated from her home in Crossroads, said once she had her three-year-old daughter, husband, cat and parents' art collection, she knew she had the most important things. However, when she got back home, she got more organized. Vernon made a document box and organized important photos and art.

"I made up a list of the things I wanted to make sure made it in my car," said Vernon.

In addition to household items, the couple each runs a business from home. So Vernon's list includes her computer and the tools that she, as a jewelry designer, and Dominic DeBari, as a tile contractor, need to continue their livelihoods.

Vernon said the experience brought the awareness "to recognize that everything is transient."

When the evacuation horn sounded in Tollgate, Bobbi McGinn grabbed important papers including passports, boxes of photos, her jewelry and new skis and boots that she hadn't used yet.

"Basically I just filled two cars," said McGinn.

McGinn learned a few things from her experience. Because Tollgate had a couple days notice before evacuation, McGinn would have moved some larger items to storage. Also, she said it's good to have a safe place to park your second car, because it could be hard to drive around if it's loaded with belongings. Also, next time she would have taken advantage of the offer by the Humane Society to house pets, because her dog was stressed in their temporary home.

Once the Black Crater Fire was contained and McGinn and husband Irv Weston could return home, she said the combination of stress and lingering smoke made her want to "get out of town."

The couple took a relaxing trip north which really helped get past the disaster.

"It was wonderful - it was such a relief," said McGinn.

Other residents suggested posting an evacuation list in a prominent place so that a friend could gather items if you are on vacation. Another suggestion is to label storage boxes of memorabilia with bright "evacuation" labels. That way, people aren't searching through a dark attic at the last minute to find grandma's quilt and old wedding albums.

Having an evacuation plan might not give complete peace of mind but can help ease the stress.

"The biggest reason for me to have a plan is to keep me calm and focused while my heart is going a thousand beats a minute," added Joyce Boyd.