Fort McMurray burns

[The Larch]

I need to have a better mental plan on what to pack if I need to leave in an emergency. 

First priority will be things that I absolutely need for immediate survival.  Things like mobile phone, home keys, car keys, wet towel, wallet and passport. 

Second priority will be valuable stuff and things that are difficult to replace, like cash, (wife's) jewels, credit and ATM cards, stash of foreign currency, ID documents, digital music files and anime subtitle files. 

Third priority will be stuff that I use everyday.  Ulcer and other kinds of drugs, some bottled water, some biscuits, toilet paper, some clothing etc.

You have some pretty weird priorities. A wet towel is essential for immediate survival? Music and anime get a higher priority that drugs you need to take?

[Monoriu]

I need to have a better mental plan on what to pack if I need to leave in an emergency. 

First priority will be things that I absolutely need for immediate survival.  Things like mobile phone, home keys, car keys, wet towel, wallet and passport. 

Second priority will be valuable stuff and things that are difficult to replace, like cash, (wife's) jewels, credit and ATM cards, stash of foreign currency, ID documents, digital music files and anime subtitle files. 

Third priority will be stuff that I use everyday.  Ulcer and other kinds of drugs, some bottled water, some biscuits, toilet paper, some clothing etc.

You have some pretty weird priorities. A wet towel is essential for immediate survival? Music and anime get a higher priority that drugs you need to take?

If I am trying to escape a situation with lots of smoke and fire, I imagine that a wet towel will help my survival chances substantially.  At least that's the advice of our own fire department.  It helps filter smoke. 

I can buy and replace ulcer drugs easily.  Just some generic drugs available at every drug store.  Not getting them means some pain, but it isn't intolerable.  Music files on the other hand represent a decade-old effort, with thousands of man hours invested into them.  It is like 55GB, so just a USB thumb drive.  The anime subtitle files are on the same device.  So it is just "remember to take that thumb drive."

[celedhring]

From last night - a picture of people leaving Ft Mac.

That's absolutely terrifying. I'd have a hard time not losing my shit.

[The Larch]

From last night - a picture of people leaving Ft Mac.

That's absolutely terrifying. I'd have a hard time not losing my shit.

Back in the summer of 2006 we had some horrendous forest fires over here. One weekend I went away and, when going back, we had to drive through one of the areas where the fires were taking place (although it was safe to drive, and the fires were not as close to the road, although you could see them through the smoke). The landscape looked straight out of hell, huge clouds of smoke reflecting in crimson and red from the fires, ash raining on us for long stretches, really terrifying.

[Josephus]

That picture is really impressive. Shame it's so tragic. Sometimes we need to be humbled by the awesome power of nature.

[Barrister]

Apparently yesterday was more damaging than Tuesday, but with almost nobody left in Ft Mac except emergency personnel (who are too busy fighting fires to take pictures) there's no flashy photographs to show off.

Big concern now is saving essential infrastructure like the water plant and the airport.

[celedhring]

Back in the summer of 2006 we had some horrendous forest fires over here. One weekend I went away and, when going back, we had to drive through one of the areas where the fires were taking place (although it was safe to drive, and the fires were not as close to the road, although you could see them through the smoke). The landscape looked straight out of hell, huge clouds of smoke reflecting in crimson and red from the fires, ash raining on us for long stretches, really terrifying.

The closest experience I have to that is back in the summer of 1994, which was the worst year in recent memory for wildfires in Catalonia. A big fire broke out in the Barcelona area and got to the outskirts of my hometown before it was put out. I remember playing in a soccer pitch with some friends, and stopping to watch in awe the flames and smoke coming off a nearby hill. It was a couple miles away from our position, but it was visible from all the neighborhood.

[Barrister]

So the weather in Edmonton at least has finally broken.  Instead of the insane +30c temps we've had the last few days, it's a more normal +12c and overcast.  That's got to help with the fire in Ft Mac.

Bad news though is it is still pretty breezy.

[Barrister]

Ft Mac fire could cost insurers up to $9 billion dollars, and would be the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/fort-mcmurray-insurance-cost-1.3568113

[viper37]

I need to have a better mental plan on what to pack if I need to leave in an emergency. 

First priority will be things that I absolutely need for immediate survival.  Things like mobile phone, home keys, car keys, wet towel, wallet and passport. 

Second priority will be valuable stuff and things that are difficult to replace, like cash, (wife's) jewels, credit and ATM cards, stash of foreign currency, ID documents, digital music files and anime subtitle files. 

Third priority will be stuff that I use everyday.  Ulcer and other kinds of drugs, some bottled water, some biscuits, toilet paper, some clothing etc.

You would need a server rack with removable hard drives.

[Barrister]

[Maximus]

A series of dash-cam videos of the evacuation of Beacon Hill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQZxcSRGqlo

[Monoriu]

I need to have a better mental plan on what to pack if I need to leave in an emergency. 

First priority will be things that I absolutely need for immediate survival.  Things like mobile phone, home keys, car keys, wet towel, wallet and passport. 

Second priority will be valuable stuff and things that are difficult to replace, like cash, (wife's) jewels, credit and ATM cards, stash of foreign currency, ID documents, digital music files and anime subtitle files. 

Third priority will be stuff that I use everyday.  Ulcer and other kinds of drugs, some bottled water, some biscuits, toilet paper, some clothing etc.

You would need a server rack with removable hard drives.

Subtitle files are tiny.  About 50k each.  Even 10,000 files only take 600MB.　

[Jacob]

Subtitle files are tiny.  About 50k each.  Even 10,000 files only take 600MB.　

If that really is on your second tier of "must save in case of emergency" it seems to me that you should maintain a few physical backups and possibly some remote backup as well.

[dps]

You have some pretty weird priorities. A wet towel is essential for immediate survival? Music and anime get a higher priority that drugs you need to take?

If I am trying to escape a situation with lots of smoke and fire, I imagine that a wet towel will help my survival chances substantially.  At least that's the advice of our own fire department.  It helps filter smoke. 

I can buy and replace ulcer drugs easily.  Just some generic drugs available at every drug store.  Not getting them means some pain, but it isn't intolerable.  Music files on the other hand represent a decade-old effort, with thousands of man hours invested into them.  It is like 55GB, so just a USB thumb drive.  The anime subtitle files are on the same device.  So it is just "remember to take that thumb drive."

Your list makes a decent amount of sense in the case of a fire in your building, but not in a more widespread disaster in which there might not be any drugstores open (or even standing).