"Tuesday" has hit Tumbler Ridge:
Wildfires cause communication outage across Tumbler Ridge
“Communications are down in all of Tumbler Ridge due to wildfires,” the post reads. “This includes cell and traditional internet services, so please take care and plan accordingly. Many businesses in town are cash-only.”

https://energeticcity.ca/2025/05/01/wildfires-cause-communication-outage-across-tumbler-ridge/

This is why we prep. #GetPrepared #Prepping #TuesdayPrepper #AmateurRadio #hamradio #hamr

Getting training when the fire is roaring towards your house is a bit late to the game. If you are able to do this work, train now. Many places around are offering training such as this one.

https://cfjctoday.com/2025/04/20/tnrd-reports-lots-of-interest-from-community-groups-seeking-grant-funding-for-wildfire-training-ppe/

I have posted about this before but it's worth restating after reading a harrowing account of someone fleeing a huge wildfires recently in Oklahoma.

In my mountainous region in southern BC, we usually only have a bad fire situation once every couple of years. So, we do up our preps when a big one is nearby then, when the next year is rainy, we don't think about it. Before you know it, several years have gone by and we assume things are ready to go.

Prepping for disaster is not one and done. I have absolutely let some of these things go and I am now going to do a thorough re-check of all the preps this spring.

Are your fire extinguishers up to date and not expired, especially the vehicle and trailer ones?
Are your towing vehicles serviced and up to date, as well as tires for your trailer if you use one? Think bearings, etc.
Do you have disaster-specific preps for your area such as fire blankets in fire prone areas? Have you considered what you will do if the road out suddenly becomes blocked by fallen trees or power lines? (saws and axes could save you)

Are your pet preps altogether and practised for use such as getting harnesses and leashes on cats and getting them into carriers? Check pet foods, dishes, water, meds.

Have you practised with new equipment such as solar panels, inverters, generators, radio equipment, anything that you will need if you suddenly find yourself off-grid and self-reliant for an extended period?

Do you have particulate (smoke) face masks not just medical ones?

Do you have a list of important phone numbers and have you checked that those numbers are up to date? If your phone breaks or you forget a charger and the battery runs down, how many of you have important phone numbers memorized? Not me, that's for sure. I recently checked my list and found that 2 of my 3 kid's numbers had changed.

Are your medical kits up to date?
I recently smashed my foot rather badly and was using extremely past dated bactine to wash the blood off. It was fine but you can be sure I now have all up to date supplies for the house. Also, if you disable one hand, are your medical supplies accessible with the other hand, while possible bleeding and in pain? You never think of this until it happens to you.

The best thing to do is to think through all the scenarios, practice, and check your stuff all the time. You don't need it until you need it then it's too late.

If someone gave you a spinning wheel, a loom and a sheep, you COULD make your own clothes. But it would probably take you years to teach yourself how and you would be freezing and in rags before you figured it out. However, if you were also friends with someone who knew how to look after the sheep, shear it's wool, clean, card and spin that wool, weave the threads on the loom and then show you how to cut and sew a garment, it would go much faster.

Now if you ALREADY had those skills when you had the leisure time, money and people/resources to learn, you would not only be way ahead of the game but you could sell or barter your product and your knowledge as the needs arise.

Think about all the things you have and use that you have no idea how they were produced or where they came from. Think about all the people in your community with different skills and talents that you could learn from or trade and barter from.

The point is, learn some primitive skills now. Find out what you have inherent talent in. Experiment. Look for local resources. Find your people. Learn all kinds of different ways to look after yourself and your family when things collapse. Our high tech world is fragile and not sustainable. People are going to be shocked at how fast things fall apart and break when the means to continually consume, replace or repair are interrupted.

Live frugally and resourcefully. Here are a few tips:
-replace zippers in coats, it’s easy, take your time, save a ton of money. Even if you have to hire someone to do it, it is way cheaper than buying a new coat.

-don’t buy packaged or over-packaged food, learn how to cook, bake bread, make things from scratch

-educate yourself on quality, buy beat up used furniture and refinish, you can end up with a great piece of furniture with only a little bit of work for next to nothing

-repair your computers and devices or find someone local to do it.

-if you MUST replace appliances, buy basic hardworking non-computerized, metal component items either new or used. In future, you will be able to repair yourself and chances are they will last much longer. Unless you are a tech pro, you won’t be able to fix computerized parts in appliances. I replaced a computerized sewing machine that cost as much as a used car when IT was used with a basic non-computer new one. It will last until I’m long dead and cost a fraction of the price.

-find better ways of doing things such as using a metal or wooden soil blockers for starting seedlings in stead of plastic sectioned trays that only last a season or 2 then end up in the landfill.

-in the ethnic sections of grocery stores you can buy bulk packages of single spices and herbs way cheaper than little bottles to make your own blends such as curry powder, taco seasoning, meat rubs, etc. Use mason jars to store everything in. If you have a bulk barn nearby you can even reuse your own bags to buy in.

-put your leftover meals in the freezer in portions right after dinner. You avoid forgetting to use them and having to throw out food. End of the week, you have healthy ready-made food and spreading out the meals so that you don't have to eat the same thing multiple days in a row.

-you can get a lot more wear out of old runners by only replacing the insole

-I just rebuilt my home first aid station. I have quality bought kits for the vehicles but for at home, the ready-made kits have lots of unnecessary fillers. I bought various sized gauze pads, tape, rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide, cotton balls, bactine spray, polysporin, big packs of bandaids, etc. as these are the things we use at home. I keep ice packs in the freezer and a heat pad for muscle stuff. Consider the usual type of injuries with regards to your lifestyle and stock accordingly.

-learn how to replace handles on axes, shovels, garden tools etc. And when buying these tools, make sure they have replaceable handles as some new plastic or hastily welded ones are not replaceable.

-I NEVER throw out a scrap of wood, ever. I have used every single little piece in some place, somewhere on my property.

Let's get those #solarpanels wired in today, and meanwhile, let's dig us out of a locked overdraft once again! Can we do $500 today? #mutualaid is very essential right now, and heavily appreciated as we build our home, our workspace, our rescue and escape vehicle, our self sufficiency and more all in one.

You're awesome people and I've heard from you how sone of you are just giving back after years of needing aid yourselves. We'll be giving back and so much more with the Vulpibus complete and our gene editing tech built. I hope to do you all proud.

#GetPrepared #selfsufficient #buslife #skoolie #mutualaidrequest #CommunityFunding #fundraiser #crowdfunding #DIY #Trans #LGBTQ #lgbtqiaplus #lgbtq_plus #lgbtqia #LGBTQIA2S #Pansexual #otherkin #queer #furrycommunity #furry #moneyhelp #money #survival #food #tuckfrump #informal #fuel #tyres #basicneeds #materials #upcycling #busconversion

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It took me no time at all to find these 4 map purchase sites for Canada, the last one is worldwide. All I can say to you is that you need to be able to study the area you are in or going in ON the map first. Take a compass, learn how to use it with maps. Develop situational awareness. Learn about topography, which direction the streams and rivers flow in your area, which direction valleys lay, time of sunrise/sunset for time of year, trace out your area on the maps, find landmarks, roads, bridges, etc. Of course you'll be lost if you don't do your homework ahead of time.
https://www.maptown.com/
https://www.maptrove.ca/
https://www.mapart.com/Canada_c_136.html
https://www.worldofmaps.com/

Now this is just rural stuff. You can pick up city maps at most gas stations. Learn how to use them the same way. You have to do the homework ahead of time. Plan, practice, chart out your route. See how it plays out on a map.

I think a lot of "anti-prepping" people got their information from that terrible reality tv show. Prepping and survivalism is so far from that.

"When it comes to survivalism, Que said, it’s not necessarily just about the physical tools but also the mental flexibility of being able to shift one’s thinking to leave a place where you’re secure and find safety elsewhere."

#prepping #GetPrepared #homesteading

https://capitalbnews.org/black-women-survivalists-preppers-homesteading/

Buy and practice using paper maps. Having directional awareness can save you in many un-anticipated circumstances. Do not rely on GPS. Not only because it is often wrong, it does not take into account road or bridge construction, or other obstructions, but because it is controlled by people that might not have your best interests in mind. Paper maps, old ones and newer ones show where roads are or have been, the connections, directions and landmarks. Learn them, use them. Skill building. It's a good thing.

The talk of the month (year) here is buying Canadian. What I am seeing a lot of, though, is comments like, “what about this particular product brand”, “I can't find a Canadian equivalent of this exact thing”, “I only like such and such, what is the Canadian version of it”... etc. etc. Ok come ON.

Time to shake things up, make changes, maybe even different personal choices, leave your comfort zone and get real. If you are struggling to live your life because you can't get a particular brand of any corporate produced, over-packaged, highly processed SOMETHING, you have bigger problems than our trade war with the US. For more than 20 years I have been talking about and giving ideas of how to use less energy, live with less consumption, make less garbage, and live lighter on the land.

If you are filling a garbage bag a week, and have no backup systems for power outages, store closures and supply interruptions, it's time to get with the game. Buying Canadian is absolutely important, but even more important is buying locally, in season food from farms and gardens in your area, growing your own where possible, buying used and reclaimed goods, making your own, mending, repairing, refurbishing, and making do.

Try eating different kinds of food, learning different ways of doing things, get creative with your day to day living. And further to this, instead of expecting other people on the internet to do this work for you, try doing some searching, label reading, and sourcing on your own. This is a built-in resilience against these kinds of situations that we are finding ourselves in now. It also makes life a hell of a lot more interesting.

I compiled a list of sites with links to farmer's markets across Canada starting with the East Coast and working over. There are even resources for the far North here. I'm sure there are many more than listed here but this is a start. Once you know what to look for, it gets easier to search.
There is so much locally grown food in Canada that our big box stores ignore. Building resilience by knowing your local resources is going to be essential in the coming years. Support local food and products first.

https://www.gov.nl.ca/farm-guide/farmers-markets/

https://novascotia.com/explore-nova-scotia/eat-drink/farm-farmers-markets/

https://m.farms.com/rural-lifestyle/farmers-markets/prince-edward.aspx

https://www.ournewbrunswick.com/farmers-markets-in-new-brunswick/

https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/what-to-do-quebec-city/farmers-markets

https://www.farmersmarketsontario.com/
https://uphere.ca/articles/guide-northern-farmers-markets

https://m.farms.com/rural-lifestyle/farmers-markets/manitoba.aspx

https://m.farms.com/rural-lifestyle/farmers-markets/saskatchewan.aspx

https://www.iti.gov.nt.ca/en/newsroom/farmers-markets-continue-flourish-across-nwt

https://www.albertafarmersmarket.com/markets/

https://www.localfarmmarkets.org/CNYKfarmmarkets.php

https://bcfarmersmarkettrail.com/markets/

https://bcfarmsandfood.com/farms/farmers-markets/

https://bcliving.ca/food-drink/local-food/bc-farmers-markets/

Some incredibly cold temperatures and really nasty wind-chill forecast in parts of Canada. Stay home and stay warm if you can. If you have to drive, be prepared to stay alive for hours if your car stops. Take thermoses of hot water or hot tea. Have another heat source, lots of serious clothing, full tank of gas, fully charged communication. All the safety stuff... don't even think of going anywhere without it. This isn't a drill.

It's time for all of us to reject the simpering of calling it “mis-information” and “dis-information”. It's time to call it what it really is... LIES. Lies are created, consumed and spread. Often the lies are created by people that don't even believe it themselves but they have an ulterior motive to spreading the wrong information to certain demographics. There are political agendas, greed agendas, power agendas and they all use vulnerable people as their minions. And by vulnerable, I mean afraid. People that are so fearful for their future, they can't imagine a way forward. They reject all they have ever known to be true and they embrace nonsense that sounds like it MIGHT be true, COULD be true, in a world so unrecognizable to them that they want desperately to belong to the “cool club” that has an alternative mindset and different, albeit nonsensical, answers.
This is rushing our world into deeper fissures between those that have everything, and those that barely have anything. The great divide is not ideology, but wealth, elitism and power. The inevitable resistance, rebellion, revolutions and ultimately war will surely sweep across the planet as the lies continue to take root. So many will suffer and die before the balance is restored.
I had a young man tell me a few weeks ago that the vaccine had killed his mother. The symptoms he described were from a vascular disease – covid virus. It was so much easier for him to believe that all the medical people in the world were conspiring to kill and maim people than a viral pandemic, of which there have been countless throughout history, was to blame.
We are seeing many, many people believing that terrible fires, hurricanes and floods are caused by weather modification, chem trails, directed energy weapons, lizard people ffs, ... when in reality climate change is caused by ONE thing.. fossil fuel use across all the transportation, communication, warfare, manufacturing and agriculture systems of the world and the greed that continues to be fed by this.
Don't listen to the lies, don't spread the lies, have zero tolerance for lies.

I almost passed over this article because it was another “we must have community moving forward ... etc. etc.” So many of these blogs are out and most are so vague as to not be helpful but this one is excellent. She actually goes there with being intolerant of true red flags to keep the community groups healthy and moving forward. She also points out that by letting humans be human, you stand a chance at learning to cooperate with people you may not personally like. Understand the difference between someone you don’t like and someone who is actually a threat. Those are not the same thing. Some really relevant points to consider and solid advice. Now this is specific to the pagan community but it works for other kinds of community work in mutual aid, disaster prep, etc. “Guidelines for Community Engagement” by Irene Glasse.

#Prepping #GetPrepared #TowerTime #TheStorm #Community

https://glassewitchcottage.com/2024/11/18/joining-the-circle/

The bomb cyclone that hit the entire West Coast of Canada and the US this week (the name of which freaked out the deniers to no end) and what seems to be another possible one coming on Friday has demonstrated clearly that we ALL need to be ready for unusual and extreme weather events. This storm was wind, hard, cold wind that tore up trees and knocked them onto houses, cars, power lines and highways. Hundreds of thousands were without power, many still are. School buses were cut off from taking kids home by falling trees on the highways in Sooke on the island. (gusts up to 170 kmh just off island) I saw many photos of smashed houses in Washington.
Up here in the mountains, we haven’t really had much from it except snow with rain on top, then snow again. When rain and snow layer each other, the roads are horrendous. So travelling is risky and having the ability to stay home, (work from home and not have to shop) is optimum.
This cyclone was kind of our Pacific version of a hurricane. It had lots of rain but not as much as it could have. Lots of wind but not as much as it could have. And stayed a long time but not nearly as long as it could have, it’s still going out there in the ocean soon followed by another system.
It is clear that EVERYONE needs to prepare to the best of their capability and means. Shelf stable food and water storage. Battery pack power, generators and chainsaws. Whatever you can do is better than doing nothing. Obviously, know how to use and maintain your equipment and practice when nothing is happening. Spend off-grid nights to learn what you need when you have no choice. Are flashlights easily at hand? Can you find what you need in the dark? Can you make healthy hot food during a power outage?

So, there are a bunch of snowflakes out there that can't handle correct weather terms. They have been all over the weather pages mocking anyone that posts about this saying it's just fear mongering and "just rain". So here is some info from the BC Coastal Mariners:

I realize that the term "bomb cyclone" has ruffled a few feathers as some fear mongering media tactic.
So let's learn a bit..

Term first used in 1980. (44yrs ago)
Basically a "storm" that rapidly intensifies bringing heavy rain, wind and snow(yes this will bring snow to higher elevations).
Describes a storm that loses more than 24mb in pressure in 24hrs at our latitude.
can happen anytime of year but gets more attention in winter months due to blizzards and heavy snow conditions it brings.
if the sustained winds reach 64kts, under the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, this approaching storm can be considered a Category 1 Hurricane
nb: this scale does not take into account storm surges or flooding which are possible as we wean away from the king tide
this storm will reach Beaufort 11 and could easily be 12. (raise your hand if you have been in over 10)
in terms of pressure for grading hurricanes this falls in category 3.

So yes this incoming low is going to be scary. Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean this is a new weather term/definition. The weather service/news are just giving you warning to prepare as we watch how this develops and tracks towards the coast. Stay safe.

Went to a friend's theatre show and stayed over at her place last night. Went on dry clear roads. This morning was like this. Yay Canada in the mountains. Other friend who has a great all wheel drive and studded tires (car is like a tank) had forgotten her windshield brush. I realized my emerg kit in the car is still kind of more for summer driving. We both nodded sagely as we discussed upping the prep stuff.
So, time to re-assess what I have in the car and add a few things like my smaller snow shovel, a jug of ice melt, and I should probably add my little camp stove, a small pot, and some tea bags in there. I have the blankets, candle, road triangle and the reg emerg kit stuff. I always bring water whenever I go out, even for a short jaunt.
#GoddamnWinterWonderland #GetPrepared #prepping

I have written about using a ferro rod to start fires in the past. But I never really explained a few things. As a prepper, sure I could buy a lifetime’s worth of Bics and always be able to light a fire. But years ago I learned how to use a ferro rod and steel to light a fire and here is why. About 10 years ago I made a pledge, as an offering to Lugh, to use only a ferro rod and steel (my bush knife) to start the bonfires for a whole year.

At first I was clumsy and it took a while to get that flame going. As time went on, I learned what the best tinder was (fine dry swamp grass and curls of fatwood kept in a pouch), the best technique (hold the rod to the surface and make a slow solid shower of sparks down onto the tinder) and got so that I could get that fire lit with one swipe on the rod (have the whole little fire pyramid ready with tiny kindling and a space to stuff the lit tinder under). It was the learning, conquering a challenge, and making a life saving thing without the disposable use of fossil fuel. From a practical point of view, it makes sense to always have alternatives as well.

Bic lighters are absolutely shitty when they get wet. It takes a lot of energy to dry them out and get them to light (running the wheel on your jeans for 5 or 10 minutes) which might be perilous if you were in a situation where getting that fire going was important. Bics can be lost, run out of fuel, etc. so having an extra method of making fire is common sense.

But that is the least of it. Learning how to do something that is outside your current skill set is the whole point. Doing the preparation ahead of time by creating a fire pouch with everything you need in it and keeping it with you and dry at all times. You are training your brain to think ahead, use methodical procedures and develop small motor skills.

After I started using the knife and ferro rod, I realized I wanted a sheath to keep them together so early in my learning to do leather work, I made this sheath that keeps them together. The cotton pouch can hang on my belt under my coat to keep tinder in as well, but I usually just keep it in the camp kit. The best way to prepare for future difficulty is to learn to use your gear now.

It’s that cold November rain thing happening outside this week. So dark and unpleasant to be doing anything outside. This is what my kitchen looks like when I pour candles. My witchy-prepper combo task. Even tho I’m a beekeeper, I don’t use my own beeswax for candles. I am very careful to not mess up the frames too much when extracting honey as it takes a lot of bee energy to make wax and I would rather they didn’t have to do much wax making in the spring. I use what little wax I get for salve and things like that. I do occasionally buy beeswax tapers from a local candle company because they are so nice but they are expensive. There is a time and place for all things tho. I make these candles out of vegetable wax, there is a good source for quantity buying in Vancouver. I reuse the little tin cups over and over until they are un-usable. I’ve had the glass votive containers for years. I buy pre-made tabbed wicks and use old beeswax candle stubs melted down to stick them to the containers prior to pouring the veg wax.

In a couple of puttering-around hours, I can make enough candles to last the winter. The tea lights are for offerings and shrines mostly, but are handy when the power is out. The votives give good light and last a long time, usually through several long power outages. I have given this a lot of thought over the years. I use flashlights etc. as well during power outages but batteries are expensive, resource intensive and not very sustainable. Of course using soy and veg wax would not be sustainable in a total collapse either. In that situation I’d be using tallow and very frugally at that. But all things considered, for now I feel that pouring my own veg wax candles is the lightest consumable footprint.
This ended up making about 110 tea lights and 14 votives from about 3/4 of a bag of soy wax flakes.