Wildfire near here

[Kevinkris]

Your situation has made me look into renters insurance. It's something I've thought of, but never pulled the trigger. My luck will be seeing my home in ashes and thinking "should have probably got it".

every time ive bought renters insurance through the company i go through with my car, the total cost actually goes down. all of my friends got the same happy bonus. you really should have it though.

 

[GOG]

I checked our homeowners policy, and we're in good shape. But I hate to admit that I never even looked at it until today. I must be slipping.

 

[knuckle Head]

I hope everyone on here is reading this play by play unfortunate situation you are going through and are looking at their property and saying ok its to sh.t or get off the pot. I have helped a few property owners clean up their property and done the same to my own place both places I owned and rented. Simply mowing down an over grown field adjacent to your property a couple of times a year will help dramatically in reducing the risk.

Cleaning out brush on your property or adjacent properties even if the land owner or forest service does not know about it. I have helped others do this as well, just go and grab stuff and put in a little on your property and have a small controlled brush pile burn.

I have been contemplating buying a gas powered water pump, and pricing hoses and such. I think this fall I will be able to pull the trigger and get one, I have seen hoses for sale on craigslist, I think I will start buying some here and there until I get few hundred feet along with a couple of Y fittings and small hoses to set up a sprinkler system for fires and garden use.

 

[GOG]

Knuckle Head, that gas water pump is a good idea.

I figured there'd be some value in this thread, that folks here would offer their expertise and that it would get us all thinking. Even though I've been prepping for a while, real country living is new to me. Wells, pumps, septic systems and that stuff is all new to me. So I don't mind exposing my lack of knowledge for the good of us all.

Thankfully I'm handy and have enough skill to be dangerous in many areas.

 

[knuckle Head]

I am currently a city turd, but lived in the country for several year a couple different times, I cannot wait to get out of the city again and back to country living. Even though I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, I have had the advantage of serving in the Army, being an outdoor nut and having friends and family who live in the country. My advantage from being around people who had been in similar situations and learned from them and the rest, well like you said earlier, having to figure things out on the fly. Fortunately I have learned a lot over the years on what to do in a bad situation.

As I said I hate to see this happen to you guy, I am glad you getting it worked out. It sounds like you are figuring it out and doing what a man has to do, protect your home and family, my hat is off to ya guy.

The Pump I am looking at getting is a Honda, I like the Honda engines they cost a more than others but the engines will run forever. Here is the one I have decided to get Honda Pumps: WMP20 2" Ag/Chemical Pump

My plan is to buy a place like you with a year round stream or creek flowing by, where I can draw off water for a garden or fire fighting / prevention. I a rural area it can give a person a huge advantage. I have my eye on a couple of hundred feet of fire hose and regular pump hose listed near me on CL., I hope to get next month.

here are some tips <broken link removed>

Wildfire is Coming. Is Your Home Ready? - Fire Safe Landscaping

Fireproof Your Forest Home

 

[GOG]

Bad news. The fire isn't out at all and has grown. The ODF website originally had it listed as an acre and a half. That's a joke. Maybe it was that size when it started, but definitely not now. The neighbors and I have no idea how large it really is. There's much more ash in the air and the sky is yellow and dark.

I set the pump up in the creek and only got one foot wet. However, after a couple of trips down there, the pump is not pumping. It's a Flowmaster two speed "Hi-Flo" hot tub pump and it runs, but doesn't pump. That leads me to my next dumb question; does it need to be primed? How do I do that? Do I just pour water into the intake and then run it?

 

[GOG]

K.H. thanks for the links. I've got 'em bookmarked.

 

[rick benjamin]

Can you use a hand?
503.three one 0.3931

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Bad news. The fire isn't out at all and has grown. The ODF website originally had it listed as an acre and a half. That's a joke. Maybe it was that size when it started, but definitely not now. The neighbors and I have no idea how large it really is. There's much more ash in the air and the sky is yellow and dark.

I set the pump up in the creek and only got one foot wet. However, after a couple of trips down there, the pump is not pumping. It's a Flowmaster two speed "Hi-Flo" hot tub pump and it runs, but doesn't pump. That leads me to my next dumb question; does it need to be primed? How do I do that? Do I just pour water into the intake and then run it?

Hang in there buddy, the danged woods are mighty dry right now, but hope you will prevail! Bless your family!

 

[GOG]

Thanks Sarge.

 

[bruzer]

Sent you a PM. I'm in Grants Pass and if I can help I will try my best.
May God bless us all,
Mike

 

[GOG]

Thanks Mike, I responded via PM.

Thank you everyone. I think things are going to be okay. So I'm off to bed and hopefully a good night's sleep. I'll check in in the AM.

 

[knuckle Head]

GOG, each pump is different I have had a couple of different types of pumps that would not pump and I poured in the type of liquid I was using them for and they started pumping. If it is not pumping I would try priming it, if it is not pumping, at this what do you have to lose. Just be extra careful with electricity and water.

I am too far a way to offer to help or would,

 

[GOG]

It looks like the worst is over. ODF doesn't even have our fire on the website anymore. They're concentrating on some very large fires elsewhere.

I was talking with a friend this morning and he suggested a sump pump. That's the next purchase on the first. The neighbors who gave me the pump use their pump in the creek for watering their property. That's an idea I hadn't thought of and it makes great sense. I've let things brown up because I didn't want to run the house pump. The house pump doesn't put out much pressure, so I've avoided using it. I guess low water pressure and a large power bill are worth it if it means keeping the property a bit more fire safe.

Thanks everyone for your help, input and prayers.

 

[U201491]

It looks like the worst is over. ODF doesn't even have our fire on the website anymore. They're concentrating on some very large fires elsewhere.

I was talking with a friend this morning and he suggested a sump pump. That's the next purchase on the first. The neighbors who gave me the pump use their pump in the creek for watering their property. That's an idea I hadn't thought of and it makes great sense. I've let things brown up because I didn't want to run the house pump. The house pump doesn't put out much pressure, so I've avoided using it. I guess low water pressure and a large power bill are worth it if it means keeping the property a bit more fire safe.

Thanks everyone for your help, input and prayers.

Saw some cabins over by sisters that had big mounted water canons on posts around their property but they need it.
That area burns up every year.

 

[GOG]

I'd just like to have a cannon.

 

[GOG]

There's still a huge amount of ash falling and the air is thick with smoke. At this point unless the ash starts something burning, it looks like we're going to be okay. Thanks again to everyone.

So, I've learned quite a few things, the first being that I was not prepared for fire at all. One of the main reasons we bought this place was because of the year round creek. However, I only thought of it in terms of a water source for drinking, etc. I now realize that I didn't factor fire into the equation at all. While I am constantly aware of fire danger because of our location, I never thought of the creek in terms of firefighting, or even irrigation. My focus was on water for drinking and hygiene.

This Thursday I'll go to town and buy a sump pump and get it set up for fire suppression and irrigation. Thanks to the information provided, the next purchase after the sump pump will be a gas powered pump. I'll also pick up a few more lengths of hose.

Thankfully, (so far) we've come out of this scare safely and a bit wiser. I hope some other folks here can use our experience to positively prepare for similar situations.

God bless this place and all of you that helped us.

 

[Kevinkris]

maybe you should consider solar power for the pumps. it will cost more in the beginning but you wont have to continuously pay for an energy source. all the same im glad things are working out for you.

 

[GOG]

Thanks Kevin. I have been thinking about a solar pump for the well, but there's other priorities right now and money's tight. We have spring water and two holding tanks with an electric pump and U.V. filter for now. The spring originates across the creek and on forest land and it's piped to our tanks. The terms of our home loan required an independent water source on the property, so we now have a well on the place that's just capped off. It's 300' deep and water pressure is poor, 3-5 GPM, but it's a well. My thinking was to install a solar pump on it at a later date.

 

[unklekippy]

The skies in my territory have been smoky for 3 days now. We are surrounded by fire, but the closest one seems to be at least 50-60 miles away. Thank God. Sprague River Highway separates my property and the Sprague River. I have a well and my pump for that is strong. Good pressure, lots of water. I have a pump and hose that in an emergency I would stick in the river and run across the highway to give a second water source. Does anybody know a standard garden hose will take being run over at 40-50 mph? I don't care if it doesn't survive the emergency, as long as my family and home are safe. I can replace the hose 20 times if necessary. We are so vulnerable to fire here that our insurer that insures our cars and our Portland rental will not cover us for fire. Scary stuff.