Before moving to California, I was pretty nervous about the fires. So I decided to build myself an emergency kit once I got out here. Whenever someone asks me for suggestions on things to buy, I always suggest they look at thewirecutter.com. So it makes sense that I would also utilitize their guides to find and acquire all of the things for my kits:
- Roadside Emergency
- 10 Tools Next Wildfire
- Bug-Out Bag
- Emergency Preparedness
- The Best Gear for Your Road Trips
I decided (because I am completely paranoid and it wouldn’t cost that much more) to make two kits. One that I’d keep in my car at all times (“Car Kit”) and the other that I’d keep in my house (“House Kit”). This is overkill but it also means I will have extras to hand out to people, if needed. This doesn’t include some other things I have done in preparation for emergencies:
- Well stocked pantry of canned and backpacking foods
- Stored a few gallons of drinking water
- Scanned most of my scannable keepsakes for archiving
- Offsite backup of computer and hard drives
Websites for California Fire Information:
Without further ado, the kits:
Car Kit
| # | Item | Quant | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rope | 1 | $5.00 |
| 2 | Red Ledge EVA Adult Poncho | 1 | $5.00 |
| 3 | Garbage Bags | 4 | – |
| 4 | First Aid Kit | – | $5.00 |
| 5 | Wet Wipes | 20 | $2.00 |
| 6 | Batteries | 19 | $7.50 |
| 7 | Coghlan’s Map Compass | 1 | $5.00 |
| 8 | *Replaced with a small folding knife* | 1 | – |
| 9 | Headlamp | 1 | $15.00 |
| 10 | Potable Aqua Chlorine Dioxide Water Tabs | 10 | $6.00 |
| 11 | Mylar Blankets – 84″x52″ | 2 | $4.00 |
| 12 | Extra prescription glasses | 1 | – |
| 13 | Caribeaners | 2 | – |
| 14 | Duck Tape | 1 | $3.00 |
| 15 | Fire Starter | 1 | $8.50 |
| 16 | Lighter | 1 | $2.00 |
| 17 | Matches | 12 | $7.50 |
| 18 | Tea Candles | 6 | $4.00 |
| 19 | N95 Masks | 5 | $23.00 |
| 20 | Water Bottle | 1 | – |
| 21 | Water Filter | 1 | – |
| 22 | Toilet Paper | – | – |
| 23 | Latex Gloves | 2 | – |
| NP | Road Atlas, Rand McNally 2020 | 1 | $13.00 |
| NP | Jumper Cables | 1 | $25.00 |
| NP | Car Oil | 1 | – |
| NP | Tire Pressure Gauge | 1 | – |
| NP | Tampons (for other people, just in case) | 4 | – |
| NP | Set of Clothes | – | – |
| NP | Energy Bars and Oatmeal | 5 | – |
| NP | Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Deodorant | – | – |
| Total | $140.50 |
*Note: Here in California, car break-ins are SUPER common. Don’t keep anything in your car that isn’t documented and easy to replace. I rest easy knowing that anyone who breaks into my car to steal something, probably needs it more than me.*
House Kit
| # | Item | Quant | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N95 Masks | 5 | $23.00 |
| 2 | Garbage Bags | 4 | $1.00 |
| 3 | Mylar Blankets – 84″x52″ | 2 | $4.00 |
| 4 | Latex Gloves | 2 | – |
| 5 | Toilet Paper | 1 | – |
| 6 | Tea Candles | 6 | $4.00 |
| 7 | Swiss Army Knife | 1 | – |
| 8 | Batteries | 16 | $7.50 |
| 9 | Matches | 12 | $7.50 |
| 10 | Potable Aqua Chlorine Dioxide Water Tabs | 10 | $6.00 |
| 11 | Knife | 1 | – |
| 12 | Duck Tape | 1 | – |
| 13 | Rope | 1 | – |
| 14 | Compass | 1 | – |
| 15 | Wet Wipes | 20 | $2.00 |
| 16 | Bug Repellent | 1 | – |
| 17 | Caribeaners | 4 | – |
| 18 | More Toilet Paper | 1 | – |
| 19 | Soap | 1 | – |
| 20 | Hand Sanitizer | 1 | – |
| 21 | Radio | 1 | – |
| 22 | Headlamp | 1 | – |
| 23 | Cards | 1 | – |
| 24 | Lighter | 1 | – |
| 25 | Fire Starter | 1 | $8.50 |
| 26 | Water Filter | 1 | – |
| 27 | Spork | 1 | – |
| NP | First Aid Kit | 1 | $5.00 |
| NP | Rain Jacket | 1 | – |
| NP | Cash in small bills | – | – |
| NP | Extra prescription glasses | 1 | – |
| NP | Tampons (for other people, just in case) | 4 | – |
| NP | Set of Clothes | – | – |
| NP | Energy Bars and Oatmeal | 5 | – |
| NP | Toothbrush, Toothpaste | – | – |
| N/A | Bag of cables/hard drives | – | – |
| Total | $68.50 |
“NP” = Not Pictured – either I added it later, too big, forgot, etc
“N/A” = Not in the bag – stored elsewhere
“-” = Already owned the item or it’s very inexpensive