January 2008 Newsletter - United Burmese Cat Fanciers

Lessons Learned From The Grand Prix Fire
I knew we were in trouble as soon as I pulled onto
our street late Friday afternoon. At the end of a nearby
cul-de-sac two county firefighters stood looking out over
Cucamonga Canyon at what the news people were now
calling the Grand Prix Fire. Clouds the color of crankcase
oil boiled in the foothills beyond the wash, far thicker than
they had been that morning when I left for work. “We’re
making a structure protection and evacuation plan,” one of
them said. That’s all I needed to hear.
As soon as I hit our driveway I began loading essential
items into my car— I unplugged Rose’s and my own computer
towers and set them in the back floorboard, and in 20
minutes all our important documents, including insurance
policies and pedigrees of generations of Burmese cats, were
safely ready for evacuation.
The evacuation order came late next morning. We were
prepared, because two years before, right after 9/11, we
had written our own home evacuation plan. Rose had cat
carriers stationed in each room where our cats lived. It was
a simple matter to round them up in the carriers when the
time came (including Vinny, the garage cat). Our evacuation
was orderly and uneventful. Carrying what worldly
possessions we could, we caravanned our car and SUV
down the freeway to the home of a friend who, in an act
of uncommon kindness, took us all in. We set the cats up
in big tents in the same social groupings they had been accustomed
to at our house. Everyone got along fine, and it
turned out to be a big feline slumber party. Rose and I were
again blessed to find our home still standing when we got
back into our neighborhood two days later.
Natural and sometimes manmade disasters can happen
to any of us, no matter where we live. A brief reflection on
the last 15 years turns up memories of Hurricanes Hugo and
Katrina, the Los Angeles Riots, floods in Texas, and wildfires
in several western states. The terrorist attacks of 9/11
put us all on notice, if we needed it, that we are responsible
for our own safety and that of our family. Fear and stress
during times like these make thoughtful planning difficult,
if not impossible. When the adrenaline is flowing and time
is precious, a simple and well-rehearsed evacuation plan
can be lifesaving. The time for thinking and planning is
well in advance of the fire, or flood, or riot. The time for
action is when it all comes down.
Here is the plan Rose and I had in place when the Grand
Prix Fire threatened our home in October 2003. All we had
By Tim Wheeler
to do was read it and execute the steps. We made minor
revisions after the fire, learning from the experience:
1. Get all cats out free in the house. Put them in carriers
(they might hide if we don’t get them first). Use carriers,
show cages, four tents (in box on wheels in garage),
and Nylabone transport cage. They are all in downstairs
storage room. Then get the caged cats and their litters. Put
them all in the cars.
2. Downstairs, empty one big green plastic box with
Christmas decorations into a plastic garbage bag and take
the empty box upstairs.
3. Upstairs in the kitchen, fill one green box with
canned and dry foods, can openers, bottles of ibuprofen and
Tylenol, the two drawers with cat meds, plastic utensils,
and the block of kitchen knives. Also get the cat food and
dishes in the kitchen cabinets by trash can, and the cat food
in the laundry room. Get the 5-gallon emergency kit in the
laundry room.
4. Go into office. Get both computer CPUs. In file
cabinet get documents, archives of insured goods, and stuff
in file cabinets that looks important.
5. Upstairs, load all bottles of water into the two
vehicles.
6. While upstairs, get some garbage bags and go to
the back of the house. Get all Rx meds for Tim and Rose,
Tim’s travel kit, Rose’s travel bag, blankets from the linen
closet, clean cat bedding from guest room closet, toilet
paper and paper towels. Get both cell phones and chargers,
keys, cash, and Rose’s purse.
7. Downstairs, fill the other green plastic box where
tents are now stored with cat food, paper and plastic cat
food dishes, and garbage bags. Look in the garage cat
cabinet by the cages. Get the can opener there and rubber
gloves, too.
8. Downstairs, grab a 40-lb. bag of cat litter
and the box of cardboard litter boxes in the storage room
(back corner to your right as you enter).
Page 20 UBCF January 2008