How would you know where to go?

[larknm]

Last year was the first that DH and I considered when and where to go if the forest fires got worse (we have a cabin in the mountains and a house in Santa Fe). We were freaked. This summer less freaked because we've been through it once before, but the fires are worse this time around, it seems like a new one springs up every few days, and we can see flames from one that's 50 miles away and 0% contained because the mountain forest there is too dense to reach and helicopters would be affected by the smoke and some other problems I forget. Smoke comes here all the time the last month or more from the mountain ranges on opposite sides of the city. The sky is consumed by smoke and many people having lung problems.The causes I know of: weakened trees (drought and bark beetles) falling on electric lines and lightening strikes. The formerly reliable monsoons of July and August didn't come last year and might not this year--rain is the only way some of these fires get put out. Our governor this year has cut the firefighting budget (she's more interested in corporations). Anyway, where to go is a question we may have to answer. Last year a Canadian friend who knows something about these things said to get 50 miles away from fires. And last year a friend took her tent to Pagosa Springs, Colorado where there were no fires. We have 4 dogs, a parrot, a Prius and a Chevy S-10 truck. No tent, but could get one. This year my Canadian friend says just drive in whatever direction there is no fire. But fires crop up a lot now. Arizona to our west and Colorado to our North are firey, and Texas to our east got that way last year. Where would you go? How complicated is it to go to Mexico? We have passports and our dogs have documents. Not sure where they stand on our bird, but could find out.

[SteveinMN]

Given how prevalent forest fires have been in your state and those around you, you might have to drive a fair distance or be prepared to "bug out" more than once. The first question that occurs to me is how long you would need to be away from one of your homes -- how long would you need lodging and meals and laundromats and the like? Is it possible you could become part of a network of friends and acquaintances who would let you and DH and your pets stay with them in exchange for similar priveleges if they have to leave where they live? As for Mexico, contacting the Mexican consulate in NM or checking their Web site probably would tell you what you needed to know about necessary documentation, quarantine, etc.

[RosieTR]

Do you need to leave the city of Santa Fe? Are you talking about permanently or for a few weeks or the summer or every summer? How far away can you go? Advice would differ based on your needs. If you want to not worry at all about fire and can go far away, what about the upper Midwest (like MN) or the Pacific NW or Canada? If you can't get that far, check the federal drought monitor (http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/) and pick somewhere that's in less of a drought than where you are. Of course, fires can pop up anywhere but they seem to be less likely to be totally out of control where it's less dry. We've had some fires in northern CO, for example, but they have been much smaller and shorter lived than the ones further south or the ones up here last year, and it' probably due to different, less bad drought conditions. As for Mexico, well, I'm not sure what you would be hoping for unless you'd just like to go. The low desert of AZ and MX doesn't tend to have fires since the foliage isn't dense enough a lot of the time, but it's wicked hot. So I suppose it all depends on what you want to pick as your poison. Good luck!

[larknm]

Thank you both for helping me focus.

[Gregg]

We lived in fire country (CO mountains) for many years so I feel for you, larknm. If your area is anything like ours was the cabin in the hills and the house in town are two different animals. Rural structures are something the forest service would try to protect, but if a fire is out of hand they're not going to throw a tremendous amount of resources into saving them. Santa Fe is a whole different story. If the flames started to threaten the city I think you'd see a monumental effort to control the fire(s).

We had three fires within 10 miles in our years up in CO. One got within 2 miles of our house. The smoke was terrible. It stunk, it made breathing hard, everything was covered in ash and dust... It would probably be much the same if a fire got close to town, but my guess is you would be safe sheltering in place in the city (unless you live on the edge of a canyon on the edge of town, that is). But be extremely careful if you go to a remote cabin. Even if all the fires are 100 miles from there a single lightning strike can put you in the middle of the action pretty fast.