Discussion on another thread brought this to mind.

Nearly every region in the US is subject to some form of natural disaster such as recent flooding in the mid-west and wildfires in California.

If you know how to respond ahead of time, coping with a disaster can make a huge difference in your survival, and that of your team.

I highly recommend you put together a written disaster / evacuation plan for your kennel. Post it some place handy (I keep mine posted in the feeding room). To help you get started, here's what mine looks like:

[b]Emergency Evacuation Plan:[/b]

The most likely circumstance requiring emergency evacuation would be forest fire. In most cases fire fighting officials will call for an evacuation well in advance. This isn’t always the case, however and we must be prepared to evacuate the premises on short notice.

1. Stuff can be replaced. Lives can not. Safety of humans and dogs is the primary consideration.

2. Prep and load dogs and related stuff first.
- Start truck and let it idle
- Load dogs into boxes so they are immediately ready to transport.
- From the feeding room, load the following into the truck:
i. Food & supplements
ii. Water in cooler

- Load “mushing bag” into empty box or into truck, as it contains picket line, dishes, first aid kit and other items that may be needed to house and care for dogs.

3. Pack meds and shaving kit, toss into truck.

4. Pack computer and business records into truck.

5. Grab clothing appropriate for season and toss into truck.

6. Hitch trailer to truck.

7. Load file cabinet from office into trailer, cover with tarpaulin to protect from weather.

8. Load tent and camping gear into trailer, for emergency housing.

9. Bug out to safe location.
- Mike Green’s place, if safe to do so (if my place is in danger, his is likely in danger as well.)
- Tim France’s home in North Pole
- Fairgrounds in Fairbanks.
- As directed by “authorities”.