Opening caveat: A lot of what I describe below is highly illegal in normal times. It might even be frowned upon during semi-normal times. Only you, as a logical and thinking adult, can make a decision to take actions that could result in potential prison time.
But this article is for those bad times, a true WWOTROL (World Without The Rule Of Law) scenario.
Like many here, I’m an older gentleman, having retired almost 20 years ago after a 25 year law enforcement career. I’ve also been a faithful Survival Blog reader from almost the beginning.
And like many here, the days of grabbing my Go Bag and heading for the hills have come and gone; for the last couple decade I’ve made extensive preparations to hunker down at home when the time comes.
Obviously, this is a personal decision and everyone needs to construct a viable plan that works for them and their loved ones. In my case, age, some health issues, adult children working locally and young grandchildren have dictated that hardening our property and abode is the best decision for us.
First, echoing Ol’ Remus and Commander Zero, avoid crowds and get out of the city now. The subject matter I’m about to share won’t be successful in a high rise apartment or a crowded city. But a move to a lightly populated suburb, even living in a neighborhood of tract homes, will allow one to develop the ability to defend themselves and stay alive.
Quick look at my background: I worked as a police officer in the San Francisco Bay Area, specifically in the East Bay. My journey into becoming a prepper came after the 1989 Bay Bridge World Series earthquake, or the Loma Prieta earthquake.
One of the dirty little secrets about the aftermath of the quake was the decision of off-duty police officers and firefighters to either not answer their phones or refuse to voluntarily respond to their duty stations after the quake. I was one of these public safety officers to make such a decision; with young children at home and aftershocks coming one after another, the danger of fires or looting and other factors made this an easy decision for me to ignore my phone when it rang. Also, like many public safety officers at the time in the Bay Area, I lived outside the city I worked in.
Criticize me all you want, but I wasn’t going to leave my family on their own to drive over 30 miles to report for work; I’d make this decision again without guilt.
Later, I found I wasn’t alone. Although cities and counties did not release any information about this lack of response, in my own department and other agencies in which I have friends, virtually every police officer with a family chose to stay home to protect them. The single guys in my department were about the only off-duty personnel to respond.
Thus, decades before the saying, “Nobody is coming to save you,” became popular in prepper jargon, I realized this, indeed, was the case and began my self-sufficiency journey soon after.
I’ll spare our readers the mistakes, wrong turns, and ill-advised purchases I made over the decades – we’ve all been there – but I’ll share what eventually became my plan, utilizing strategies I learned here, through various other websites and books, and just plain experience.
Regarding firearms, food and water storage and medical care (Beans, Band-Aids and Bullets, as we like to say) I’ll leave that for others. My goal in this article is to help others develop their ability to think outside the box. After all, one is only limited by their imagination!
As I mentioned earlier, I was a commuter, living in a small Ag town in California’s Central Valley while working in the Bay Area. Living in such a small town opened a myriad of possibilities, from forming a dependable, tight-knitted neighborhood group to having the ability to become acquainted with small town businesses and their owners, as well as some of the local farmers in the area.
Strategy: The Golden Horde
I think this problem, the migration of hundreds or even thousands of people, is what worries most of us who live in residential neighborhoods. Maybe you’re fortunate, with little or no gang activity or crime in your particular community. But draw a 15 mile circle around your house on a map and take another look; this is a day’s walk for most people.
In a grid down situation where cars and trucks are still running, most of the horde will be leaving the inner city suburbs for the outer suburbs and rural areas. Where automobile transportation is down, however, you might have a group of normally nice people turn feral and band together, looking for food and water.
My home and neighborhood was about eight miles off of California State Highway 99, a freeway that runs the length of the Central Valley. While I was in a somewhat rural area that was transitioning to a suburb, this is a heavily traveled route and my community was between two larger cities, both about 20 miles away in opposite directions.
My fear was the inevitable horde that would make their way down this route. While I wasn’t too worried about vehicle traffic so much – there were much better targets of opportunity for those with wheels – what did concern me was people on foot in a grid down situation.
My solution? I’ll give you a hint with the reaction my wife had when she saw me making large stencils one afternoon in my garage.
“That’s just evil,” she said. But she had a slight grin when she said it.
I had made a large, official looking stencil, even copying the CalTrans symbol on it, that said “FOOD, WATER AND AID AHEAD, 18 MILES.”
CalTrans, of course, is the California Department of Transportation.
I had also purchased the appropriate blue, green and black paint to use with my stencils, and drove my bride to the freeway interchange that led to our small town.
Pointing out a large flat area on the overpass that would allow me to apply my stencils that would fit in a 4’x8’ space, I told her my plan to apply them to the overpass in a grid down situation. This was walkable from my residence, and I was confident I would be able to install my sign within a day or two of a grid down event. As we had a rather nice community, the overpass was one of the few at the time that was graffiti-free.
On the opposite side of the overpass, I had an additional stencil to go above my original one. It stated, “GO BACK.”
Evil? Perhaps. But better this than being confronted by thirsty, starving hoards, right?
As for thinking outside the box even further?
It was rather easy to obtain a CalTrans ball cap and windbreaker, helping ensure people might not question my actions if they witnessed me installing this sign.
But remember, you don’t need a freeway overpass to accomplish something similar to this. Recall some of the photos and video from the Great Depression; one I vividly recall was a sign on a railway car that stated, “Single men move along, we can’t even take care of our own.”
In a collapse, most will ignore such a sign. Realize you have to provide the Horde with information they will act on for their own needs. For example, a wooden sign on a railway trestle directing people to the next town down the road for food and aid. An official looking sign outside your neighborhood, directing people to a community center in a nearby town for help.
Again, you’re only limited by your imagination.
Strategy: If on city water and sewer, prepare to shut off your sewer valve
I had water barrels, a Berkey-type water filtration system and various small portable water filter bottles at the time. We had a small river/creek within a mile that I could access. Not the best situation, but doable as far as a water supply.
I then had a conversation with a co-worker who lived in a new home in a neighborhood in a nearby city. Apparently, either the builder or the city made a major construction error, and about a month after moving in my co-worker and a few of his neighbors on the bottom of a sloped street woke up to raw sewage coming up through their first floor showers.
I never did learn the cause, but what I did discover was that in a grid down situation, once the city sewer facility quits functioning, raw sewage will back up into homes, especially those at a lower street elevation.
Think about it; you plan, stockpile those items you need to survive a collapse, but then are driven from your home by raw sewage.
The solution, after a bit of research, is easy and inexpensive. Amazon and many plumbing supply stores stock T-handle valve turnkeys that will allow you to shut off the sewer line for your home, preventing a backup. For older neighborhoods that might not have such features, you can purchase inflatable or rubber pipe plugs that will also block this problem.
Obviously, plan for alternative sewage disposal.
Strategy: Ignore the big box stores in favor of small businesses
We did most of our grocery shopping at a locally owned grocery store. I purchased virtually all my tools, nails, screws and gadgets and such at the local hardware store. I purchased dog food at the local feed store. I only used in-town plumbers and electricians for projects beyond my expertise.
Most importantly, all my local shopping was paid for in cash. Why?
The business owners and their employees learned that I was a faithful customer, and come a grid down scenario, I was very confident I would be able to continue to purchase items with cash well into the future. My hope was long after they stopped accepting credit cards, and until their inventory was gone or they shut down their shop, they would continue to allow me to shop in my usual manner. And even then, being a small town and the relationships I had developed, I was confident I could continue to make purchases after these business owners had closed up shop.
I also frequently visited the one local farmer who sold produce from a stand, again paying cash. I purchased virtually all our meat from a local rancher, who would occasionally offer 1/4 of a cow when butchering.
The idea was to establish a pattern over time that these folks recognized; I did my best to establish a routine that would not change in the event of a grid down scenario or collapse for as long as possible.
Neighbors? Obviously, observe OPSEC, but get to know them. When appropriate, develop friendships. I was pretty comfortable after a couple years who I might reach out to and who I’d shun if an event happened.
Foolproof? Of course not. But belonging to a cohesive group will lead to a better chance of success than adapting a lone wolf game plan.
Other preps for desperate situations
I won’t go into details here, as most of us are beyond the beginner stages. But having a box full of empty sandbags and other ways to harden your home to having a plan to strew items and junk around your home to give it an already looted look, remember there are numerous ways to survive a grid down situation.
Do the following when you have some free time; write down every conceivable problem and issue that will affect you in your decision to hunker down.
But do it with a lively imagination!
Not everyone will have the ability or the funds to install steel shutters over their windows. But a couple rolls of barbed wire purchased from your local hardware store? Very doable. Put ‘em in your shed, but plan where you will unroll them. Get enough to circle your home. Come up with a plan to either do this immediately after a collapse or weeks later if you’re concerned about bringing unwanted attention to your house soon after a collapse. There is no right answer, but remember; you are your own property and area expert. Game plan, strategize, and think of ways to harden your home.
Caltrops? They have their uses, but realize you want potential looters to have the option of driving away from your neighborhood. But in the right situation, these and other passive weapons such as punji stakes made from 2×4 pieces of lumber and nails, barbed wire stretched a few inches off the ground and other actions might partially disable those on foot who are determined to do you harm, helping them in their decision to move onto greener pastures.
Lastly, harden your heart.
Fortunately (with loving disapproval from my bride) I’m a bitter, cynical retired police officer who expects the worst from people. As you might have deduced, I will not have any hesitation, guilt, or regret in dealing with feral members of The Golden Horde.
But you might be built different, and that’s ok. But mentally rehearse what you might be forced to do in a grid down situation. Mentally and physically, as much as you are able, prepare to do harm to others if the situation call for it.
A few years ago we followed family to a Southeastern state. It wasn’t a hard decision, what with the issues in California. And as a bonus, the difference in the price of property as well as having equity in a California home allowed us to purchase a rural home and property and immediately harden it.
I’ve been able to up my prepper game. But if I hadn’t, I still have full confidence I would be able to get myself and my loved ones safely to the other side when the Schumer hits the fan, all while living in a quiet little neighborhood in California.
Think outside the box and prepare, and you’ll also be able to survive.