With current events going on at the Oroville dam, it seems like stuff could go south really, really fast.

Last night, officials ordered an emergency evacuation saying that the "dam could fail in the next 60 minutes". While this turned out to be an inaccurate statement, it does point out some things to consider.

First, if you knew your time limit was an hour, how long would you spend packing?
Second, would you pack valuables, keepsakes, etc. in case the dam does indeed burst and your house is destroyed? Or, grab just enough stuff to go somewhere for a few days and hope the house is still there when you return?
Third, what would be your load out, in what order? This would be dependent on things like how many family members you have that can drive a vehicle, how many vehicles you have, and what kind they are (and, how much crap can you put in them).
Fourth, I haven't seen anything that indicates there is a Chief Engineer at that site that knows his/her stuff about dams in general and this one in particular and how to deal with the issues at hand. Ergo, a lot of political appointees are providing excuses instead of information and the local LEOs are having to make calls to evac based on incomplete, misleading, or just plain wrong information. If this is a common problem, how does one discern when the information and directions from "authorities" are full of crap? How does one make one's own decisions on when to bug out (whether it's a beat the crowd out / first one to panic or stay put until more hard evidence of need is presented/available)?

I don't have a lot of ready answers, but this brewing catastrophe got me thinking about my own bug-out plans (or, should I say, lack thereof )

Thoughts?

1. If I had an hour to pack, I'd use the whole time allotted. Rushing quicker than necessary brings forgetfulness.
2. All documents are in a portable lockbox or computer(s) so those are coming. After that, depends on the situation. Eventually, I'll scan everything onto a Gorilla jump drive.
3. Situation dependent. Sidearm is always with me so thats easy. After that depends on if I expect to return or what I may face in the future.
4. Forget the 4th question.

I have to admit the same lack of thought about having to leave my home in a certain amount of time. I guess that I would simply grab everything in the safes, pack as much real gear as possible then if I had room and it family keepsake stuff would be tossed in. For myself getting my wife and myself out of harms way with enough cash and firepower to handle anything that we can handle is the only real priority. If my family doesn't life all the stuff in the world is worthless, so I could give two craps about memories, all of those are between your ears anyhow. This situation does make one think about actually prepping instead of just talking about it doesn't it?

Where are you bugging out to.
Which way is the spillway....evac routes..terrain.
That's Intel you need for that kind of event.
Iirc the evacuation route is in the middle of where it would flow.
Good planning lol.

This is why when you move to a location you need to self map your area.
All your routes to and from. By pass routes and back ups.
Have your basic bag ready to go..cash..documents ..protection.

Also key is researching the area before moving there. Lets move two miles from a nuke plant and then worry about problems. Lol.

After moving away from the city. I've had to learn by memory(not pdf..map..phone..gps) routes.
Even then..there is a few I have driven out on (4+4 needed) but can still be walked. These of course are their tier routes. Forest roads..pose lines...etc.

Sherrif of that area is doing what he can with the piss poor Intel he is getting. Wait to long you lose your population..to soon you get bitched at.
Or be like nola and just wait till homes and bodies are floating down stream.

tough, tough. 

I guess I would have put a lot more thought into such an event if I found myself living in the path of that eventual disaster. One more benefit of where I live . 

I would mirror what others have said: empty the documents safe and have enough cash and cards to get a place to stay. This isn't mad max, you likely won't be shooting your way out, so a sidearm and perhaps an AR and a "grab" ammo can would be fine. For Kalifornistanians, check local laws regulating the movement of that star wars death ray, its seems they get worse by the day....

that's why my Go bag is already packed. for something like this (local emergency) I have food and water for 8 hours, some cash, a few mags, pistol, diapers, caffeine candy, car keys, and copies of documents, copies of pictures. That's enough to get my wife and baby to a hotel room within 100 miles. I would be one to go quickly, beat the rush and avoid (hopefully) the idiots. I can be packed in maybe 5 minutes and out the door.

Granted there's already back up to most of that in the truck, plus warmer shelter, tools, and whatnot.

The rest is just stuff. That's why I have insurance. Guns all get destroyed? sweet, I'll just buy an SVI to replace them. House is gone? whit happens, I'll get another built or sell the land and move. Packing important stuff ahead of time is important and easy, you have all the time in the world to do it. My fire emergency is the same load out (one bag, less AR) grab kid and go outside. 10 seconds.

It's all just stuff.

But I planned to bug-in

Then bug in like a boss 

Makes you think about what you pack away, portability and possible loss.

Moving trucks and time are gonna be in short supply.

This exact question became real world for my family in Yuba City.  They knew the dam is poorly maintained and so are the levees in their area.   A 30ft wall of water coming downstream would break a levee and their area would get 5-6 of water as it spread out.  Their dairy farm would lose cows, crops destroyed.   This occurred back 1985 and 1997.  They have good reason to worry.

Onto the question.  The families have property in both Yuba and Sutter Counties with one family member on higher ground in Sutter County and plans were made.   When the alert to evac occurred they took off and went to the property.  The house became cramped, but livable.  They are very well armed and have comm gear set up plus spare gas/propane and ATV/UTV's.  

Lessons they learned and are learning.  If they end up being there for 2 weeks as projected by friday's storm analysis, then:

1. 1 toilet means waiting, bring more toilet paper for 14 people in a 3 bedroom/1 bath house.  
2. Bring more food and more ways to prepare the food.
3. Bring your pets and pet food (200+ dairy cows, not so much)
4. Meds, bring all you need and make sure there is enough for the period your gone and/or a way to get more if needed.
5. Ingress and egress methods plus alternate routes to get in/out of their area should it flood.

oh boy, have we not heard that one before...

I must preface this with I have had two occasions where I was forced to spend time with the dregs of society in community storm shelters.  I'd rather take my chances and die outside.  

Twenty years ago I would have taken 59 minutes and packed every possession I have starting with the most expensive and working my way down till I ran out of room.  Then I'd be joining the snail paced exodus on the highway.

Frequent tornadoes, floods, occasional wildfires, earthquakes and train derailments have given us lots of practice and we have honed our plan extensively. 

I grew tired of packing the car to the gills and now I don't care about most possessions.  I can get $200 per year insurance to replace everything anyway.  I did not have a family so keepsakes and heirlooms have lost value to me since there is no one to give them to or explain the significance.  

Today, I'd take minutes starting from the back of the house.   It's laptops, camera gear, handy firearms(maybe I'll crack open the safe for papers and grab other firearms), Rx, humans(3 total, 1 in a wheelchair), 2 cats, head out the door and out of town.  

I may feel the need to grab food and water but it's located near the front door.  I might grab hard drives out of other computers if I think the house may vanish.  I usually have an enclosed 5x8 utility trailer hitched to my SUV so packing is quick.

Simple plan for most of our encountered or expected emergencies is distance.  A few hundred miles seems to get you outside most any impact from catastrophes.

I have gas stops at 40, 100, 200, 300 mile on my planned route to the neighboring state bug out location.  I also have 55gal barrels of gasoline I can pick up if I think I'll need the fuel or I can trade them for goods/cash.

For Oroville, same loadout but I'd have checked out high ground, if any nearby, as the roads will be a parking lot within 20 minutes.  If I made it out before the rush, I have friends and extended family from Auburn, CA to Los Angeles.  Utilizing the ARF newsfeed I would have probably packed but not left until the dam actually cracked.

Friends and family outside the 'zone' may be the best resource you can come up with IMO.  

Afterward I can make any arrangements from another town.  I can rent a camper to move back and clean up what's left while having air conditioning, shower and comfy bed.  I've volunteered to help on aftermath clean-ups, it's freaking miserable all by itself.  Add stress from your loss, no shower and humid tent for days to a few weeks...  

Nope

Since we live in a hurricane prone area, we (wife and I) have talked a little bit about when we would bug out and when we wouldn't. We also talked in generalities about what we'd take on the expectation that the house would be destroyed. But, hurricanes typically give you 5-7 days advanced notice. That's plenty of time to think, plan, act, and still get out before the majority of folks who would wait until .gov told them to leave.

With an hour's notice, that's a much tougher problem, particularly if the expectation is your house was going to be washed away while you were gone. We're like most folks in this neighborhood that have 2500-3000sq. ft of house (and a garage filled with crap), and at least one shed, many with 2 or 3. It's just not feasible to try to pack that much crap that fast. So, I'm thinking take the expensive and/or irreplaceable stuff, important docs, insurance info, food, clothing, maybe/maybe not shelter but definitely be ready to camp someplace for a while until the situation becomes less chaotic.

Luckily, we've been learning from this forum for a while. We've got lots of the needed stuff at hand, spare cash, and have evac routes planned. We probably need to concentrate on coagulating some of the more expensive/irreplaceable stuff into a central spot to make it easier/quicker to pack & load if the need arose. We've also got bug-out crates for all of our critters (2 dogs, 3 cats) along with food and water for them in a container.

I wonder if the evac order had been given in the middle of a workday, what about all the people who were at work and had to go home? In my case, I work 25 miles away from home and have to drive thru a tunnel to get to/from work. It gets clogged on a normal, dry, sunny day. In the event of an emergency, it might very well seize up entirely. I've spent more than an hour getting home several times just in the last year.

Lots of potential challenges to overcome.

This is a good guide by Bama Shooter to follow

I'm sure it has been posted before, but still very relevant.

Maybe OP coulda kept his list short...

Cash and passport.

Plus I think you need to step away from the jamon and recalibrate your sarcasm meter.

I live in a disposable location with mostly disposable things. It wouldn't be too hard to bug out of here, and it's that way on purpose.

Five minutes from a nuclear plant, though that's not really an issue. The biggest thing is people steal shit from apartments and accidently light the buildings on fire.

Computers and guns. Anything on top of that is a bonus.

While I generally agree with your comment, there isn't a "safe zone" anywhere on our continent.  There are seasonal and natural threats along with your typical man-made threat vectors in every region; no area is immune.  But I do agree, there are some areas you can avoid with a little planning and researching before moving.  

This isn't difficult, but with an hour, it would simply be clothes for a week, our backpacking gear, all my firearms (harder to replace if destroyed) and all the typical documents, files, family albums and cash (hardcopy and digital).  I would probably grab as much ammo as I could, but that's easier to replace over time; and then head to a family member's house, friend's home or hotel outside the affected area.  Food, clothing, kitchen items, tools, furniture and everything else can be replaced with insurance.  Firearms can be replaced as well; you're at risk of not just value loss but also availability.  Life and the necessary documentation for recovery operations are the most essential.

ROCK6

I've primarily been following the CA dam situation on the CalGuns Prep forum

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/forumdisplay.php?f=297

Also the 1911 prep forum, where someone from the town in question is posting about local conditions

https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=740337

The AARs  on various prep forums or in the general media for the Canadian fires last year showed just how erratic peoples thought processes are when they have to bug out in a hurry with minimal planning.
Stuff like this
http://thescientificparent.org/we-are-not-fine-we-are-not-prepared-escaping-fort-mcmurray/
People grabbed the most ridiculous things that in hindsight they had no clue why they grabbed what they did.
Or another fire here:
http://glocktalk.com/forums/printthread.php?t=1411913
or another flood here
http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=530241
Or the TN fires last fall...lots of threads on those, including here on this forum.

On and on.. fast moving situations involving  floods and fires are, I think, the two categories of short warning period Get Outta Dodge scenarios where most prep-minded people would have the most benefit in doing a lot of pre-planning so that when the time comes, there is little actual thought involved. Learn from the experiences of others Be prepared to only have enough time to grab and go. ideally I would like to have a trailer pre-loaded. Literally everything pre-staged; hook up and go. I've settled for having three military duffle bags pre-filled. Ones on my gun area, another in the house, another in the garage. There's some redundancy among them in case I can't get all three loaded, and one is more cold weather seasonal than the others. Throw those in the car along with the BOB and my work bags. Grab a couple of the long guns that stay in Eagle bags, if I want ammo I have ammo cans that can be grabbed by caliber. Important papers are in one file in the desk and have backups on my EDC prep thumb drive. Pre-staged cases of MREs, flats of water and pre-filled military water cans. Enough to sustain me for, I figure, two weeks.
Probably having a  checklist to consult so you aren't relying on memory would be good, but I'm not there yet.
After that, anything else is time dependent and what I think I have time to grab before I leave....

"What if you needed to evacuate? 5 things to do to prepare"

http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article132776049.html

It’s a key aspect of preparedness (especially for worst case scenarios) to be able to leave everything behind if 5 minutes, (or 1) is all you have. Disposable things attitude is just the right mindset. When you think about it, its all just stuff, and stuff is never as important as the people in your life. Some people are very much attached to their physical belongings. I was once like that too and its easy to fall for that again.

When I left Argentina I was in a bit of a hurry because I saw things going downhill fast. No self congratulation here, it was all clear as day for everyone to see. It just wasn’t practical to make a big move, we sold lots of things (surprising how much money you can make with that, when you sell even the 5$ stuff) and left with just a couple suitcases each with some clothes and other bare minimum things we didn’t want to leave behind. We also left several boxes with stuff that we wanted shipped our way as soon as we settled. You know what, those boxes full of stuff we wished we could have taken along with us, I never had even one of them shipped and cant remember a single thing in them. Sure, I left a cache of guns and other gear, and some of them are collectables that would be hard or even impossible to replace no matter how much money you had. But at the end of the day its all just stuff.  

Once we got to our new place in Ireland it was a matter of hitting IKEA a few times, buy some other things to round things up a bit and we ended up with a home in a upper class neighbourhood perfectly well decorated. Rather than a mix of mismatched furniture and home items, everything fit and combined perfectly. My point is, as long as you’re alive and well that’s all that matters. Sure money makes things easier, but it doesn’t take THAT much money to get back on your feet if you bothered to save up for just that thing. Same goes for insurance. Although insurance alone isnt enough, you still need those emergency funds to move around, it does help a lot.

Right now I’m again in that situation where I have lots of things that are collectables, knives, guns, even furniture that would be either very expensive or impossible to replace.
But whenever I feel a bit too attached to material things I remember those boxes back in Argentina, that once seemed so important yet today I cant remember what was in them.
If you look around various evacuations during emergencies, its usually “stuff” holding people back. You need to work in layers, meaning a small papers/documents bag for going light, a BOB for going a bit heavier, and well organized gear and kit for when you’re taking your vehicles.

Passports, and money (and yes, insurance). If you have that along with the right mindset you can leave in 5 minutes or less and be ok in a matter of days, out of the area, the State or even the country.
FerFAL

an hour to pack is 45 minutes longer than I need.

I keep a bug out bag by the front door with everything that is important and necessary to include records, photos, clothes, cash, weapons,  for my wife and myself.

The 15 minutes I would spend would be last minute dog food, additional seasonal clothes and securing the house.

A lodge brother of mine has a daughter out there, they came in a gave them 10 MINS to pack and get out of the building. I know I would not be ready in 10 mins to leave my home.

I think Ferfal hit the nail on the head.  



You need that immediate rush out the door...most likely what ever CCW is sitting by your bed, your phone and hopefully a folder with cash, important documents and insurance info.  That should be your 1-5 minute bugout plan.

After that is that is the 5-15 minutes where you can grab all those initial important items and your bugout bag as well.  Some could have their Bugout bag ready to go in that five minutes, but you could also add a few other items such as additional blankets in the winter, maybe your rifle case and extra ammo, etc.  

Lastly, is when you know an evacuation is imminent but there is anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple days.  This is where you can add some of those hard to justify heirlooms, firearm collections, more food/gear and likely secure your home if the pending SHTF is a hurricane.  We all would like to grab as much as possible, but you do need those two-minute drills to truly identify was is essential and what are the base documents for a recovery.  

ROCK6

Or just do what I did and move to the highest hill in the area. The nearby dam could break and flood the whole area, I'll just have new places to fish.

On a more serious note, for those who plan on spending the whole hour or whatever to pack, you might want to rethink those plans. I was in Houston during the Great Clusterfuck Evac of 2005 (a.k.a., Hurricane Rita), and I remember when city officials called for the evacuation. Those who waited got stuck in the traffic that built up in shockingly rapid fashion. Imagine rush hour. Now imagine rush hour + all 3 shifts all going at the same time + everyone who doesn't work all deciding to hop in the car and go for a drive too... Traffic will become a major problem in a matter of minutes. Many people who thought they could wait an hour or two ended up getting stuck in their cars on the interstates when the hurricane rolled in. I and my family left almost immediately and still ended up stuck in traffic for 9 hours on what was normally a 2.5 hour trip.

When they tell you to evac, either do it fast, or don't do it at all. Don't ignore traffic, because it WILL fuck your plans up.

You shoulda had your shit ready to go 9 days ago.

If you live below there the hazard is immenent.

Last hour shit is for dead people.

Someone had shelves in the garage and totes full of stuff.  Made going camping simple, had a tote for tent and related camping stuff and another tote for food stuff and what not.

No way would I keep things that organized, or I would open up the food tub to find mice chewed through a back corner and had made a home in the smores ingredients.

For me, grab some of the expensive stuff like rifle cases and optics and laptop and what not.  Clothes.  Pets.  Food in a couple tubs, for me and the pets, and yeah I would use the hour most likely but be gone.

Stuff I forgot I would just buy as needed.  Biggest thing is having paperwork and pass words so I can access everything, contact insurance, deal with work, and all the mundane stuff.  For this time of year, what if someone has not done their taxes? 

East tn has some nuke stuff but I won't live downstream from a dam or something like that.  The nuke stuff I am not sure why I don't care, but it is what it is.

If someone had friends and relatives and multiple vehicles they could get everything important and be gone.

I always recommend a site called "the place with no name" it was set up after katrina and has all sorts of layers of stuff.

If you wake up to a house fire, grab your emergency bag as you go out the window or door.  Should have some clothes and footwear and the super basics of your paperwork and stuff on a thumb drive so you can get up and running.  If you lay your clothes out at night, pockets loaded, that helps as well.  Today's cell phone people might be lost if they had to climb out a bedroom window but the cell phone was charging in the living room.

The next level of stuff is when you have a bit more time, forget all the names cause I did not make it back to the site last fall like I usually do.  I try to check it once a year cause it makes me put things back in order.

These days I even have an old laptop that could be plugged into the truck and used that way, its little battery died and not worth buying another one to me.  But it still computes.

In reality I would like to say if I had to walk out of the house dressed normally and got into my truck I would have everything I need, but reality is I would try to save a lot of stuff.

That happened to me a few years ago at my old house, but I can't see why that's a reason to not have stuff more organized so that you can grab and go in a much shorter timeframe.

We do it.
All camp cooking stuff sans the stove in one tote. Tarps..tent..assorted gear. In another.
Large first aid supplies in another.
Fast foods (mres..Mountain House pouches ) in another tote.

Grab 3 totes..and you've got your basics covered.
Add in a duffle bag or pack aka BOB/GHB and your pretty squared away on the basics.

I know most folks can be more organized.  I have been to their houses and they don't have the clutter I tend to have.

In actually putting stuff away for a weekend I was not amused that a lot of clutter is just from not keeping up with everything has a place and everything needs to return to its place.

This winter I got a bunch of identical totes with lids so things can get packed, labels on totes, and totes stacked if weight allows that to happen with collapsing things.

Shelving unit for heavy totes, stack beside shelving unit for not so heavy totes.

I just find it awfully easy over time to have things sprawl and not be neatly put away where they should be.

Answering the questions within the OP parameters...

If I had an hour to go, I would spend exactly half of that packing some heirloom and valuable items, also hooking up the trailer an strapping down my ATVs, as for the given situation/ scenario those could become valuable tools for getting back to my house and assisting with recovery.  Couple extra gas cans and a small tool box would get tossed in and strapped down as well.  That would take me about 15 minutes alone so I would have 15min prior for packing my Jeep.

A couple changes of cloths is easy, as I am very organized when it comes to my gear.   Most of my stuff is compartmentalized so I can have a situations specific bag packed in about 5 minutes.

Wife and I keep a spare change of cloths and few miscellaneous items in each Jeep, folding saw, very small shovel, blankets etc.  With several family members far enough out of the area but close enough to get to in a day I wouldn't pack much "camping gear."  What's in our Jeeps, EDC items, GHB etc would cover anything I would need in that department.

I would grab all my pistols, they don't take much room.  I would probably grab my favorite hunting rifles, maybe a shotgun, insurance can cover the rest.  I have one large variety pack ammo can that is for vehicle bug out situations.  If there is one thing my "bug out" locations and family members lack, it would be that.  I honestly feel one can/ variety pack would serve us for any realistic and some non realistic scenarios.

We backup all our important pictures and documents on flash drives semi annually.  Other important documents are in the same mini safe that would be brought.  Any non replaceable documents are in there.  Our laptops would go as well.  Aside from those items everything is replaceable.

Pets each have a carrier ready.  Pet food is in a bins. Human "emergency" food is also in a bin.  But again this is localized SHTF, our family members won't let us starve.  Plus I have some cash on hand, credit cards, savings etc.  
All said and done in 30 minutes.  
Wife gets her cloths a few personal items and the pets.  I get and load everything else.
15 minutes?  The trailer, ATV, extra gas all stay behind.  If I have to get out that quick I don't want a trailer behind me anyways.

It is a good mental exercise but fortunately I don't live below a spill way.  Crazy apocalyptic mountain moving mud slide, or forest fire, yea its possible, so its good to game it.
I could probably use a semi pre-packed BOB, but its hard to make one size fits all, as I have no plans to go live in the woods, they really are situation specific.  I think being organized and having your "stuff" compartmentalized is key.  

Stuff and gear is replaceable.  I think in these situations insurance and getting to safety should be the plan.  Set me loose in Walmart for a couple hours with a couple hundred bucks and I will do just fine for myself.  I might not be running my high speed low drag BDU pants, Goretex jacket and Danner boots but I would be just fine.  

As I am starting to get older I am really putting more effort into savings then accumulating more gear and stuff.  I have more gear then I can realistically use now.  Some of my stuff is preps for sheltering in place but I really feel that there are realistic levels for everything survival.