8/14/2015

How to survive a forest fire

How to survive a forest fire

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How to survive a forest fire

It finally happens; the disaster you’ve been waiting for… you’vegot to grab your family and your bug out bag and get out. You’llbe safe once you make it to the woods. Nobody will be able to findyou, and you’ll be able to make it to that broken-down cabin youspotted. A little work and it will be as good as new. The mainthing is that you’re safe.

Then you see it. High up on the ridge opposite you, you see a forestfire. Now the woods aren’t safe anymore. In fact, they’ve turnedinto a death trap. Can you survive?

Every year, literally thousands of forest fires burn millions of acres offorest; at times, trapping and killing people whose only crime was tobe in the wrong place at the wrong time. They got in the path of thatwildfire and they couldn’t find a way out.

Dangers from a Forest Fire

Forest fires aren’t limited to only one way of killing you, theyactually have several. If one way doesn’t get you out, another could.In most cases, it’s actually a combination of these different dangers

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that kill people. For example, they could pass out from lack of oxygenand then be burned to death while unconscious.

A forest fire can create temperatures in excess of 1000° F. Thattemperature is sufficient to burn the skin, without contact, causesevere dehydration and induce heatstroke (damaging organs). Loss ofwater from the body can bring on heart attacks. Lungs can becomescorched by the high temperature, keeping them from absorbing life-giving oxygen.

The burning of the fire produces smoke, which is a combination ofcarbon dioxide and ash. The ash can clog the lungs, burning the tissueas well. Carbon dioxide prevents absorption of oxygen into thelungs, leaving the body without oxygen. This affects the brain, morethan any other part of the body.

Finally, the fire itself can burn the body, destroying cells and killingthe individual. Usually, before that happens, the person is either deaddue to smoke inhalation or has passed out due to the high temperature.If anything, that would probably be a mercy over being burned todeath.

Plan A – Get out of there

The best thing to do is avoid the fire all together, getting out ofthere as fast as possible. As soon as you have warning about the fire,you should start moving, getting out of there before it is too late. Ifyou can’t strike camp and go in five minutes, leave your gear there.

Your first notice of the fire will probably not be seeing it, buthearing or smelling it. The smell of the smoke and the crackle of thefire can give you an indication much farther than the flamesthemselves. Perversely enough, you can actually see the flame or glowfrom the fire farther at night, than you can in the daytime; increasingyour warning time. You should also keep an eye on the wildlife. Ifbirds and animals are running away, there’s a reason. It could be avery strong indication of a fire.

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Before leaving, determine the direction of the wind and the directionof the fire. You don’t want to end up running towards the fire. In mostcases, the fire will be blown along by the wind, rather than moving inany other direction. Nevertheless, forest fires can affect wind patternsand at times this will affect the direction they are blowing.

If the fire is close, move directly away from it, in the direction thewind is blowing. Avoid going uphill, as the fire will move faster goinguphill and you will move slower. Also avoid being

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