I have been a prepper most of my life. Growing up in a foreign country is a relatively rural area everybody was a prepper by definition. Limited services, almost no government, many subsistence farmers. I also spent a fair amount of time in the Navy doing bad things to bad people. Enough said.
When we lost power out here in San Diego County I was almost happy! Finally I would get to put into use some the plans that many of us have been making. Maybe that sounds bad but after lugging my bug out/bug home bag for years I actually was looking forward to using it. Initially they said the power would be out for several days and for most areas it turned out to be much shorter.
My government job required me to stay at work long after the outage occurred but eventually I headed home. I live near a small town in the mountains in the eastern part of San Diego County so my plan was a bug in style. I don’t have a concrete bunker with hidden escape tunnels and a gun at every window, but I do have a secluded house with excellent fields of fire, on four acres of land with an orchard and the start of a garden. I have a good 870 shotgun, an MP5 9mm and my faithful SIG [9mm pistol]. We have a large pantry with lots of canned food and various freeze dried items.
My journey home went smoothly, I used a non-highway route that avoided heavy population areas and traffic lights, so I never got to pull out my bag (d**n it!), the small handgun sat next to me the whole way home. This small emergency was a good lesson learned and trial run for what may come further down the line.
Lessons from the blackout:
*Maintain your gas tank a half or better. With no electricity, no gas, and no ATM. I was able to cruise home while many had to sleep in offices and in their cars because they had no gas to get home, and no way to get any. People with bug out bags were looking very smart at that point.
*The big box stores that had generators were immediately swamped. With people looking for everything, ice, batteries, flashlights, canned food, etc.
*The more rural it got the more I witnessed people willing to help others. In some areas outside the city, people actually pulled their barbeques into their front yards and turned the blackout in to blackout parties. Once outside San Diego the tension in the air was almost gone.
*Most people became almost catatonic when their cell phones stopped working. Many had no idea how to leave once their primary route became a parking lot and their Smartphone could give them alternate directions. Plan those routes now! Don’t wait until after TSHTF.
*Sometimes the bugout bag gets in the way and it ends up in the garage. Don’t make that mistake! Keep it in your car. I didn’t use it but knowing that it was there was almost as comforting as the small inexpensive 9mm on the passenger seat.
*Prepare your family well. Whenever I start talking about prepping, food storage and the like my daughter would usually roll her I eyes and give me an “Oh dad!” comment. However when I did get home my daughter had turned to kitchen table into a command post! She had candles, multiple flashlights, the crank radio and the Remington shotgun (although she couldn’t tell me what kind of shells she had loaded it with) all doors were locked and both of our large dogs were with her.
Although my preps don’t reach the level of many who read this blog, I continue to improve my condition. I’m not moving! This is my home! I will defend it and I think that within my means I’ve got a good plan so far and it will improve it as I can. I will continue to read this site and gleam whatever nuggets are printed. This blog helped make a potentially long weekend into an event free ride home.
In passing, I’ll add that with things under control at home I visited several people in the area to check on them and actually ran into several people on their way to check on my family. I stopped in the small town below my mountain and our local brewery/pub was doing a great business. The lights were out but with an abundance of preppers in the area, there were a lot of lights and lamps and the owner was taking IOUs. This was a good test for me. I found areas that I will improve and met some like minded people. Spending a couple of hours discussing the cause of the blackout with fellow preppers over a beverage, instead of sitting in a dark car or office proves that this stuff works. – Smokecheck