The first 10 minutes

Most outages end within a few hours. A few last days. You can't tell which kind you have yet, so the goal of the first hour is simple: stay safe, protect your food and water, and find out what's going on.

• Check that everyone is OK. Account for kids, older relatives and pets. Anyone on powered medical equipment comes first (see Medications, kids, elders & pets).
• Grab light, not candles. Use flashlights, headlamps or LED lanterns. Candles start house fires, especially in the dark when people are moving around.
• Look outside. Are the neighbors dark too? If only your home is out, check your main breaker. If the whole street is out, it's the utility.
• Report it and check the outage map from a charged phone. Spokane area: Avista outages and Inland Power. Don't assume someone else has reported it.
• Keep the fridge and freezer closed. A closed fridge stays cold about 4 hours. A full freezer holds about 48 hours (24 if half full).
• Unplug sensitive electronics (TV, computer, microwave) so a power surge doesn't damage them when the lights come back. Leave one lamp switched on so you'll know when power returns.

The first hour

• Get information. Tune a battery or hand-crank radio to local news, or check your utility's outage map. Look for an estimated restoration time.
• Conserve your phone. Turn on low-power mode, dim the screen, close apps. Text instead of calling — texts get through congested networks more easily.
• Fill water containers if you're on a well (no power = no pump) or if officials warn of water problems. City water usually keeps flowing for a while.
• Dress for the temperature. In winter, put on layers before you get cold. In summer, move to the coolest room, usually the lowest floor.
• Check on neighbors, especially older people living alone.
• Make sure carbon monoxide (CO) alarms have working batteries. If you'll run a generator, camp stove or heater, CO is the biggest danger you face.

If it looks like a long one

If the utility says "24 hours or more," or a big storm hit the whole region, switch from waiting to managing:

1. Food: Pack a cooler with ice for the things you'll use first so the fridge stays shut. Track the time with the fridge & freezer timer.
2. Water: Set aside drinking water — about 1 gallon per person per day. See Water.
3. Heat or cooling: Pick one room to keep comfortable and close off the rest. See Staying warm — and cool.
4. Power: Charge phones and radios in the car (outdoors, engine running in open air), from power banks, or at a warming/cooling center.
5. Pipes: If it's below freezing and you'll be without heat, drip faucets and open cabinet doors under sinks.
6. Plan your days: Read The First 72 Hours.

When the power comes back

• Wait a few minutes before plugging electronics back in. Turn things on one at a time so you don't overload circuits.
• Check the fridge and freezer. Use a thermometer: anything perishable that sat above 40°F for more than 2 hours should be thrown out. When in doubt, throw it out.
• Reset clocks, check the furnace, and restock the flashlight batteries you used.
• Write down what you wished you'd had. That's your shopping list.

Sources: Ready.gov — Power Outages · CDC — Carbon Monoxide Poisoning · USDA FSIS — Food Safety in Emergencies

Why 72 hours?

After a big storm, utility crews, emergency services and stores are overwhelmed. Officials ask every household to be able to take care of itself for at least three days, and ideally two weeks. In the November 2015 Inland Northwest windstorm, about 180,000 Avista customers lost power, and the last ones were out for almost ten days.

You don't need a bunker. You need a routine and a few supplies you already mostly own.

Day 1: Stabilize

Goal: everyone safe, food protected, a plan for the night.

• Set up a "home base" room: one room you'll keep warm (or cool), with light, water, snacks, a radio, and a place to charge phones.
• Eat from the fridge first. It's the first food to spoil. Then the freezer, then the pantry.
• Put a thermometer in the fridge and freezer. Checking with a thermometer beats guessing, and you'll save food you'd otherwise throw out.
• Count your water. Bottled water, filled pots, the water heater (40–50 gallons of emergency water — see Water).
• Set a phone schedule. One phone stays on for news and emergencies. Others go off or into airplane mode to save battery.
• Before dark: put a flashlight or headlamp at every bed, and walk the house so nobody trips on the stairs in the dark.

Day 2: Settle into a routine

Goal: eat well, stay clean, conserve fuel and batteries.

• Cook once, eat twice. Use your camp stove (outdoors) or grill for one hot meal a day. Hot food is a big morale boost. See Cooking without power.
• Sanitation matters now. If water or sewer is out, set up a bucket toilet before you need it. Wash hands with soap or use sanitizer before every meal.
• Ration generator fuel. Run it a few hours, two or three times a day — enough to chill the fridge, pump the well, charge batteries. Running it all night wastes fuel and draws attention.
• Check on neighbors again, and trade what you have extra of.
• Kids: keep a normal rhythm — meals, chores, games, bedtime. A "camping at home" attitude helps everyone.

Day 3 and beyond: Long-haul mode

Goal: decide whether to stay or go, and protect the house.

• Reassess every morning. Is the home still safe and warm (or cool) enough? Is anyone's health slipping — cold hands and confusion, heat exhaustion, missed medications? If yes, it's time to go to a warming or cooling center, or to family.
• Freezer decisions. Food that still has ice crystals, or is 40°F or below, can be refrozen or cooked. Throw out anything perishable that has been warm too long.
• Protect the plumbing. In freezing weather, if the house is going below 40°F, consider shutting off the main water and draining the pipes. See Winter storms & ice.
• Restock. When stores reopen, they're mobbed. Go early, with a list, and expect empty shelves for batteries, bread and water.

Your daily outage checklist

Print this and post it on the fridge.

• Morning: check fridge/freezer temperatures (and write them down)
• Morning: check outage map / radio for updates
• Charge phones and radios (power bank, car, generator)
• One hot meal; drink plenty of water
• Check every CO alarm and smoke alarm (press test)
• Check on a neighbor
• Refill water containers if the taps still work
• Before dark: lights at every bed, door locks checked, generator secured
• Night: fuel-burning appliances off unless designed and vented for indoor use

Sources: Ready.gov — Build a Kit · Avista storm restoration report, 2015 · FEMA — Are You Ready?

How much you need

Plan on 1 gallon per person per day: about half for drinking and half for cooking and basic washing. Store more for:

• hot weather, nursing mothers, sick people and kids (they need more)
• pets (about 1 ounce per pound of body weight per day for dogs and cats)
• your well pump or city water being off for a long time

Use the water & food calculator for your exact household.

Storing water

Store-bought bottled water is the easiest. Keep it sealed, in a cool dark place, and use it by the date on the package.

Filling your own containers works great and costs almost nothing:

1. Use food-grade containers: water jugs, 5–7 gallon water boxes, 55-gallon blue barrels, or cleaned 2-liter soda bottles. Never use milk jugs (they break down and are hard to clean) or anything that held chemicals.
2. Clean them: wash with soap and water and rinse. Then sanitize: mix 1 teaspoon of unscented household bleach in 1 quart of water, slosh it around every surface, wait 30 seconds, pour it out, and let it air-dry.
3. Fill with tap water. If your water is from a public utility, it's already treated. If it's from a well, add 2 drops of unscented bleach per gallon before sealing.
4. Label with the date and replace every 6 months.
5. Store away from sunlight, gasoline, pesticides and paint. Plastic lets fumes through.

Hidden water in your home

When the taps stop, you probably still have dozens of gallons:

• Water heater: 30–80 gallons. Turn off the power or gas first. Close the cold-water inlet valve on top, open a hot faucet in the house to let air in, then drain from the valve at the bottom. The first bit may have sediment — let it settle.
• Pipes: open the highest faucet in the house, then collect water from the lowest one.
• Ice cubes and frozen water bottles in the freezer.
• Toilet tank (not the bowl) — fine for flushing or washing, and drinkable after treatment if it has no blue cleaner.
• Canned fruit and vegetable liquid.

Don't drink water from radiators, waterbeds, pools or hot tubs (use for flushing/washing only).

Making water safe

If officials issue a boil-water notice, or you're using any water you're not sure about, treat it. Pick one method.

1. Boiling (best)

Bring clear water to a rolling boil for 1 minute (3 minutes above 6,500 ft elevation). Let it cool, then store in clean, covered containers. Pour it back and forth between two clean containers to improve the flat taste.

2. Unscented household bleach

Use plain, unscented chlorine bleach — check the label for 6% or 8.25% sodium hypochlorite. Don't use scented, "splash-less" or color-safe bleach.

Stir, then wait at least 30 minutes. The water should have a faint chlorine smell. If it doesn't, repeat the dose and wait another 15 minutes. Use the bleach calculator for other amounts.

3. Filters and tablets

• Portable filters (like hiking filters) remove bacteria and parasites. Most do not remove viruses, so add bleach or boil afterward if the water may contain sewage.
• Chlorine dioxide tablets work on most germs, including some that resist plain chlorine. Follow the package wait time — often 30 minutes to 4 hours.

Cloudy water?

Let it settle, then pour off the clear water. Or strain it through a clean cloth, paper towel or coffee filter. Then treat it.

Wells and city water

• On a well? No power means no pump. A generator, a solar pump or a hand pump solves this. After floods, have the well tested before drinking.
• City water usually keeps flowing at first, because water systems have backup power. But a long regional outage can drop pressure. If that happens, expect a boil-water notice.

Sources: CDC — Water in an Emergency · EPA — Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water · FEMA — Food and Water in an Emergency · Ready.gov — Water

The fridge and freezer clock

The moment the power goes out, a clock starts.

Every time you open the door, you lose cold air. Keep the doors closed, and know what you want before you open one. Use the fridge & freezer timer to track it.

Stretch the clock

• Before an outage: keep an appliance thermometer in both. Fridge at 40°F or below, freezer at 0°F or below. Keep frozen jugs of water in the freezer. They fill empty space and act as ice packs.
• Group frozen food together. A packed freezer stays cold far longer than a sparse one.
• Move what you'll need to a cooler with ice, so the fridge stays shut.
• Dry ice keeps a full 18 cu ft freezer frozen for about 2 days with 50 pounds. Handle it with gloves, and keep it ventilated — it releases carbon dioxide.
• In winter, outdoors isn't a fridge. The sun warms food on a porch, and animals get into it. A cooler on the shady side of the house with a thermometer in it can work.

Keep it or toss it?

The rule: perishable food that's been above 40°F for more than 2 hours should be thrown out. You can't tell by smell or look. The germs that make people sick don't change either.

Toss (after more than 2 hours above 40°F):

• meat, poultry, seafood, lunch meat, hot dogs
• milk, cream, yogurt, soft cheeses (brie, cottage, cream cheese, shredded)
• eggs and egg dishes
• cooked leftovers, casseroles, soups, cooked pasta and rice
• cut fruit and vegetables, prepared salads
• opened baby formula; creamy dressings

Usually OK without refrigeration:

• hard cheeses (cheddar, parmesan), butter and margarine
• whole fresh fruits and vegetables
• peanut butter, jelly, ketchup, mustard, pickles, vinegar dressings
• bread, rolls, muffins

Frozen food: if it still has ice crystals or reads 40°F or below, you can refreeze or cook it. Quality may drop, but it's safe.

The no-power pantry

Store at least 3 days, ideally 2 weeks, of food that needs no refrigeration and little or no cooking. Buy what your family already eats, and rotate it: new cans go to the back, old ones get eaten.

What to stock

• Ready-to-eat proteins: canned tuna, chicken, salmon, chili, beans, peanut butter, nuts
• Canned soups, stews and pasta
• Canned fruits and vegetables (in juice or water)
• Grains that need no cooking: crackers, granola, cereal, tortillas, rice cakes
• Comfort food: cookies, hard candy, instant coffee, tea, hot cocoa
• Shelf-stable milk: boxed UHT milk, powdered milk
• Special needs: baby formula and food, pet food, gluten-free or diabetic options
• A manual can opener (two of them) — this is the item people forget most

A rough target is about 2,000 calories per adult per day. A jar of peanut butter is about 3,000 calories, and a can of chili about 600–800.

Long-term storage

For storage measured in years, not months:

• White rice, dried beans, rolled oats, wheat, sugar, salt last 10–30 years in airtight containers with oxygen absorbers (mylar bags inside food-grade buckets).
• Brown rice and whole-wheat flour go rancid in months. Rotate them often.
• Freeze-dried meals last 10+ years but need hot water.
• Keep storage cool, dry and dark. Heat is the biggest enemy of shelf life. A cool basement beats a hot garage.

Using what you have, in order

1. Day 1: fridge food (perishables first)
2. Days 2–3: freezer food that's thawing
3. After that: the pantry

Sources: USDA FSIS — Keep Your Food Safe During Emergencies · FoodSafety.gov · FEMA — Food and Water in an Emergency

Rule number one: fuel-burning cookers go outside

The one exception is a small butane stove rated for indoor use, used briefly with ventilation and a working CO alarm. Even then, outdoors is better.

If you have a gas range with a pilot-less electric igniter, the burners often still work: light them with a match. Do not use the gas oven or range to heat the house.

Your options

Make the fuel go further

• Cook one-pot meals. Pasta, rice and canned stews cook in one pot.
• Use a lid — it cuts cooking time and fuel use dramatically.
• Soak pasta, rice and dried beans for a few hours first. They cook much faster.
• Retained-heat (thermal) cooking: bring food to a boil for a few minutes, then wrap the covered pot in towels, blankets or a sleeping bag, or put it in a cooler. It keeps cooking on its own for hours. Rice, oatmeal, beans and stews all work. Bring it back to a boil before serving if it has cooled below 140°F.
• Boil water once and fill a thermos. You'll have hot water for coffee, tea, instant oatmeal and dishes all day.

The rocket stove

A rocket stove is an L- or J-shaped insulated chimney. Fuel feeds in at the bottom, and the tall burn chamber pulls air through fast, so it burns hot and clean with very little smoke. You can buy a compact steel one or build one in five minutes from four concrete blocks — see the video below.

Feed it pencil-to-thumb-thick sticks, a few at a time. It will boil a quart of water with a handful of twigs.

2:29

The "4 Block" Rocket Stove! - DIY Rocket Stove - (Concrete/Cinder Block Rocket Stove) - Simple DIYdesertsun02

The solar oven

On a clear day, a solar oven reaches 250–350°F. It's perfect for stews, beans, rice, bread and even pasteurizing water (holding water at 149°F for several minutes kills most germs, but boiling is the reliable standard).

• Point it at the sun and re-aim every 30–60 minutes.
• Use dark, thin, lidded pots.
• Start meals by late morning. Cooking takes 2–3 times longer than on a stove.

Cooking over a fire

• Build your fire in a fire ring or pit, away from buildings, fences and overhanging branches. Check local burn bans first — especially in summer.
• Cook over coals, not flames. Let the fire burn down to a glowing bed.
• A cast-iron Dutch oven with coals on the lid and underneath will bake bread, roast meat and simmer chili.
• Foil packets: meat, sliced potatoes, onions and butter, wrapped tight and set in the coals for 20–30 minutes.

No-cook meals

Have a few days of meals that need no heat at all: peanut butter and crackers, tuna salad, canned beans and salsa in tortillas, cereal with shelf-stable milk, trail mix, canned fruit. These save fuel and are lifesavers if you're sick or exhausted.

Sources: CDC — Carbon Monoxide Poisoning · Ready.gov — Power Outages · NFPA — Grilling safety

In the cold: make one warm room

A whole house loses heat fast. One small room is easy to keep warm.

1. Pick the room: small, on the south side or interior, with few windows. It should have a door you can close. A room with a wood stove or fireplace is ideal.
2. Close it off: shut the door, and roll a towel along the bottom. Hang blankets over doorways without doors.
3. Cover windows: close curtains at night. Tape plastic sheeting, bubble wrap or blankets over windows. Open south-facing curtains on sunny days to let the sun in.
4. Get off the floor: put rugs and blankets down. Sleep on cots, couches, or a thick pad.
5. Put everyone in it together. Each person gives off about as much heat as a 100-watt bulb. Pets help too.
6. Put up a tent indoors. A small tent in the warm room, with sleeping bags inside, can be 10–20°F warmer than the room.

Dress and eat for warmth

• Layers: a wicking base layer (wool or synthetic, not cotton), an insulating middle (fleece, wool sweater, down), and a windproof outer layer.
• Hat, socks, gloves. Wear them indoors and to bed. Change damp socks right away.
• Sleeping bags rated to 20°F or lower, plus a wool blanket. Put a hot-water bottle (or a sealed bottle of hot water) at your feet.
• Eat and drink. Your body makes heat from food. Warm, sweet drinks and regular snacks help a lot. Skip alcohol — it makes you lose body heat.

Heating safely without electricity

Gas furnace? Most need electricity for the blower and controls. A generator connected with a transfer switch or interlock can run one — they draw only about 300–800 watts.

Protecting your pipes

Burst pipes cause more damage than most outages. When the house is cooling below freezing:

• Drip faucets on outside walls, both hot and cold. Moving water resists freezing.
• Open cabinet doors under sinks so room heat reaches the pipes.
• Keep the garage door closed if water lines run through it.
• If the house will drop below about 40°F for a long time, shut off the main water valve and drain the system: open all faucets (highest first, then lowest), flush toilets, and drain the water heater (power off first). Pour RV antifreeze in sink and toilet traps.

Hypothermia and frostbite

Hypothermia is when body temperature drops below 95°F. It can happen indoors in a cold house, especially to older people and babies.

• Signs: shivering, clumsy hands, slurred speech, confusion, drowsiness. In babies: bright red, cold skin and very low energy.
• What to do: call 911. Get the person somewhere warm, remove wet clothing, and warm the center of the body first (chest, neck, head, groin) with blankets, dry layers and skin-to-skin contact. Warm, sweet drinks only if they're fully alert. Don't rub their arms and legs.

Frostbite shows as white or grayish-yellow, firm or waxy skin, usually on fingers, toes, nose or ears. Get to a warm place and soak the area in warm (not hot) water. Don't rub it, and don't rewarm it if it might freeze again.

In the heat: staying cool without AC

Summer outages often hit during heat waves, when the grid is most stressed.

• Move to the coolest room — usually the lowest floor or basement.
• Block the sun: close blinds and curtains on sunny sides during the day. Open windows at night when it's cooler outside, and close them in the morning.
• Drink water before you're thirsty. Avoid alcohol and heavy meals.
• Cool the body: wet towels on the neck, cool showers, feet in a basin of water, a spray bottle and a battery fan.
• Know the cooling centers: libraries, malls and community centers. In Spokane, the city announces cooling centers during heat waves.

Heat illness

Sources: CDC — Winter Weather · CDC — Heat & Health · Ready.gov — Winter Weather · NFPA — Heating safety · Army FM 4-25.11 First Aid

The basics

Modern LED lights changed everything. A good LED lantern runs 50–200+ hours on one set of batteries, stays cool to the touch, and can't start a fire. Aim for:

• A headlamp for every person. Hands-free light for cooking, the bathroom, the stairs and repairs. Keep one at every bed.
• One LED lantern per room you'll use, plus one spare. Lanterns light a whole room; flashlights only light a spot.
• A bright flashlight for checking outside and finding things.
• Solar garden lights — a cheap, clever trick. Leave them outside during the day, and bring them in at night as nightlights for hallways and bathrooms.
• Glow sticks for kids, marking stairs and pets' collars.

Batteries

Stick to one or two battery sizes (usually AA and AAA, or one rechargeable type) so every device can share them.

Store batteries at room temperature, out of devices (or with the device's battery cover reversed) so they don't leak. Write the purchase date on the package.

How many? Look up each light's runtime, decide how many hours a night you'll use it (often 4–6), and multiply by the days you want to cover. For two weeks, two or three full sets per light is a good start.

Candles, oil lamps and fuel lanterns

• Oil (kerosene or paraffin) hurricane lamps give warm light but burn fuel, make soot and fumes, and need ventilation.
• Propane and white-gas lanterns are very bright but are for outdoors only — they produce carbon monoxide.
• A candle set in front of a mirror or a piece of foil throws noticeably more light.

Tips for a dark house

• Make a "light station" by the door to your home-base room: lanterns, headlamps and spare batteries in one bin.
• Use the lowest brightness setting you can. It can triple battery life.
• Wrap a headlamp around a clear water jug, light facing in: the water spreads the beam into a soft lantern that lights the whole table.
• Put reflective tape or glow-in-the-dark tape on stair edges, the breaker panel and the flashlight drawer.

Sources: Ready.gov — Power Outages · American Red Cross — Power Outage Safety · U.S. Fire Administration — Candle fire safety

Pick the right kind of backup power

Many households do best with a mid-size inverter generator plus a power station: run the generator a few hours a day to cool the fridge and charge everything, and let the battery cover nights quietly and safely.

Size it to your needs

Add up what you'll run at the same time. Each appliance has a running watts number and a higher starting (surge) watts for the second it kicks on. Your generator must handle all running watts plus the single biggest surge.

Use the calculator below, or check the labels on your appliances.

Generator safety: the big three

1. Carbon monoxide

2. Electrocution and backfeeding

Never plug a generator into a wall outlet with a double-male "suicide cord." It sends power backward into the grid, where it can kill a lineman working on the lines down the street. It can also start a fire and destroy the generator when the power comes back.

There are two safe ways to power household circuits:

• Extension cords: run heavy-duty outdoor cords (12- or 10-gauge) from the generator straight to appliances. Simple and safe.
• Transfer switch or interlock kit, installed by a licensed electrician with a permit, plus an outdoor power inlet box. You then plug the generator into the inlet and choose which circuits to power. This is the right way to run a furnace, well pump or hard-wired loads.

3. Fuel and fire

• Turn the generator off and let it cool before refueling. Gasoline on a hot engine ignites.
• Keep it dry. Run it under an open canopy or generator tent — never in an enclosed space.
• Ground it according to the manual.
• Chain it to something solid. Generators get stolen in long outages.

Storing fuel

A typical 3,000–4,000 W generator burns roughly 0.2–0.4 gallons an hour at half load (inverter models at the low end), so running it 10–12 hours a day takes about 2–5 gallons. Check your model's runtime chart. Running it in short bursts stretches your supply a lot.

Check your city and county rules for how much fuel you may store at home.

Keep it ready

• Run it monthly for 15–20 minutes under load (plug something in).
• Change the oil on schedule; keep a spare quart, spark plug and air filter.
• Before storing, add stabilizer and run it 10 minutes, or run it dry.
• Keep the manual, cords, oil, funnel and a flashlight in one tote with the generator.

Using your car as a generator

A running car can charge phones and power banks, or run a small inverter (300–400 W plugged into the 12 V socket). Only do this outdoors with the car in open air — never in a garage — and don't let the engine idle with snow blocking the tailpipe.

Sources: CDC — Carbon Monoxide Poisoning · CPSC — Portable Generator Safety · Ready.gov — Power Outages · Energy Saver (DOE)

The order of priorities

1. Is the scene safe? Don't become a second victim (downed lines, fire, traffic, CO).
2. Call 911, or have someone else call, and get the first aid kit and AED.
3. Life-threatening bleeding: stop it.
4. Not breathing normally / no response: start CPR.
5. Everything else: burns, breaks, sprains, shock.

Stop serious bleeding

Severe bleeding can kill in minutes, faster than an ambulance can arrive.

1. Find the source. Open or cut away clothing.
2. Press hard directly on the wound with gauze, a clean cloth or your hands. Keep pressing. Don't peek.
3. Pack deep wounds (thigh, groin, armpit, neck) by stuffing gauze or cloth into the wound, then pressing hard for at least 3 minutes.
4. Tourniquet for arm or leg bleeding that pressure won't control: place it 2–3 inches above the wound (not on a joint), tighten until bleeding stops, and note the time. It will hurt — that's normal. Don't loosen it; leave that to medical staff.

A commercial tourniquet (CAT or SOF-T style) belongs in every home, car and go-bag. Improvised ones rarely work well.

CPR

If an adult collapses and is not responding and not breathing normally (or only gasping):

1. Call 911 and send someone for an AED.
2. Push hard and fast in the center of the chest: at least 2 inches deep, 100–120 pushes a minute — the beat of "Stayin' Alive."
3. Don't stop until help arrives, an AED is ready, or the person starts breathing.
4. Use an AED as soon as you have one. Turn it on and follow its voice prompts.

Hands-only CPR is recommended for adults and teens. For children and babies, training that includes rescue breaths is best.

Common injuries

Build a real first aid kit

Store-bought kits are mostly small bandages. Add the things that handle serious problems:

• Tourniquet (CAT or SOF-T), plus training
• Hemostatic or plain compressed gauze; several rolls of gauze
• Pressure bandage ("Israeli" bandage) or elastic wrap
• Assorted adhesive bandages, butterfly closures, medical tape
• Non-stick pads and large trauma pads
• Nitrile gloves (several pairs)
• Trauma shears, tweezers, safety pins
• Digital thermometer
• SAM splint or similar
• Emergency (mylar) blanket
• Antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment, saline or clean water for rinsing
• Pain/fever reducers (acetaminophen, ibuprofen), antihistamine (diphenhydramine), anti-diarrhea medicine, oral rehydration salts
• Burn gel and dressings
• CPR face shield
• Hand sanitizer and soap
• A printed first-aid guide (the Army's FM 4-25.11 is free and excellent)

Staying healthy in a long outage

• Wash hands with soap before eating and after the toilet. Diarrhea spreads fast when water and sanitation are down.
• Rehydrate: if someone has diarrhea or vomiting, give small sips often. Make oral rehydration solution with 1 liter clean water, 6 level teaspoons sugar, and ½ level teaspoon salt.
• Medications: keep a 2-week supply where possible. See Medications, kids, elders & pets.
• Mental health: stress, darkness and isolation are hard. Keep routines, get daylight, talk, and check on each other.

Free offline references: FM 4-25.11 First Aid and ATP 3-50.21 Survival (chapter 2: survival medicine). For remote areas, Hesperian's Where There Is No Doctor is a classic.

Sources: American Heart Association — Hands-Only CPR · Stop the Bleed · American Red Cross · WHO — Oral rehydration salts

Can you still flush?

• City water and sewer working? Toilets work normally, even without power.
• On a well? No power, no water. You can still flush by pouring a bucket of water (about 1–2 gallons) quickly into the bowl. Use non-drinking water: rain, melted snow, bathwater, pool water.
• Sewer backed up, or officials say don't flush (after earthquakes, floods, or sewer plant failures)? Stop using the toilet. Flushing can push sewage back into your home or a neighbor's. Switch to a bucket toilet.
• Septic system without power? Gravity septic systems keep working. Systems with pumps or alarms may need you to cut back on water use until power returns.

The two-bucket toilet

The best simple system, recommended by emergency managers in the Pacific Northwest. Separating pee from poop keeps the poop bucket far drier, so it smells much less and holds much more.

You'll need: two 5-gallon buckets with lids, a toilet seat that snaps onto a bucket (or a pool noodle slit lengthwise), heavy-duty garbage bags (contractor bags), and dry cover material: sawdust, wood pellets, shredded paper, peat moss, or clumping cat litter.

1. Pee bucket: no bag needed. Pee is usually sterile when it leaves a healthy body. Dilute it about 1 part pee to 10 parts water and pour it on lawn or shrubs away from food crops and water sources. Or pour it down a working drain.
2. Poop bucket: line with two bags. After each use, cover with a scoop of dry material. Keep the lid on.
3. When it's about half full, tie the bags closed, and store them in a covered, labeled bin (a lidded garbage can) away from the house until collection resumes or officials say how to dispose of them.
4. Toilet paper can go in the poop bucket.

A household that can't flush for a week needs a lot of bags — keep a roll of 20–30 contractor bags and a big bag of cover material with your kit.

Washing up without running water

• Handwashing station: a water jug with a spigot over a bucket, soap, and paper towels. Wash for 20 seconds after the toilet, before cooking and eating.
• Hand sanitizer (60%+ alcohol) works when hands aren't visibly dirty.
• Sponge baths: a basin of warm water and a washcloth go a long way. Baby wipes are great too.
• Dishes: use paper plates and cups during long outages to save water, or wash with three tubs — soapy water, rinse water, and a sanitizing rinse (1 tablespoon unscented bleach per gallon of water, 1 minute soak, air-dry).
• Teeth: brush with treated or bottled water.

Trash

Trash pickup may stop. Use tightly lidded cans, keep food waste and diapers double-bagged, and store bins away from the house to discourage rodents, raccoons — and in rural areas, bears.

Cleaning and disinfecting

For surfaces after a flood or sewage backup, CDC recommends 1 cup of unscented bleach in 5 gallons of water. Wear gloves and eye protection, ventilate well, and never mix bleach with ammonia or other cleaners — it makes toxic gas.

Supplies checklist

• Two 5-gallon buckets with tight lids
• Snap-on toilet seat
• 20–30 heavy contractor garbage bags
• Sawdust, pellets, peat or kitty litter (a large bag)
• Toilet paper (more than you think) and baby wipes
• Hand sanitizer and bar soap
• Unscented bleach (replace yearly — it weakens)
• Disposable gloves
• Feminine hygiene supplies and diapers if needed
• Lidded outdoor bin for bagged waste

Sources: CDC — Hygiene in Emergencies · Seattle Emergency Management — Twin bucket toilet · FEMA — Are You Ready? (sanitation)

Getting news in

When the power is out, your best sources are, in order:

1. NOAA Weather Radio. The National Weather Service broadcasts warnings 24/7 on seven VHF channels. An alert radio turns itself on and sounds an alarm for warnings, even at 3 a.m. Program it with your county's SAME code so it only alarms for your area.
2. AM/FM radio. Local news stations carry emergency information. A hand-crank or solar radio never runs out of power.
3. Wireless Emergency Alerts on your phone. They're on by default — check your settings so they stay on.
4. Outage maps and local agency social media, when you have data.

Making your phone last

• Turn on low-power mode, dim the screen, and turn off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, location and background refresh.
• Text, don't call. Texts use far less network capacity and battery, and get through when calls fail.
• Keep power banks charged all the time — top them up every few months.
• Car chargers, solar panels and power stations can recharge in a long outage.
• Save important numbers on paper. Your phone may die or get lost.

Two-way radios

When cell towers go down (their backup batteries often last only hours), radios still talk directly to each other.

GMRS is the sweet spot for most families: buy two to four GMRS handhelds, get the license online from the FCC (good for 10 years), and pick a family channel. Many areas have GMRS repeaters that extend range a lot.

Ham radio takes a 35-question multiple-choice test for the Technician license. Study guides and practice tests are free online, and local radio clubs give the exam. Ham operators run volunteer emergency networks (ARES, RACES) that pass messages when everything else fails.

Your family communication plan

Phones may be down exactly when you need them. Agree on a plan now and give everyone a paper copy.

• Out-of-area contact: one relative or friend far away. Local calls often fail while long-distance ones work. Everyone checks in with that person.
• Meeting places: one just outside your home (for fires), one in your neighborhood, and one outside the area.
• Paper contact card in every wallet, backpack and go-bag: names, phone numbers, addresses, medical info, the out-of-area contact.
• School and work plans: know their emergency procedures and where kids will be released.
• Radio channel: if you use FRS/GMRS, write down your family channel and check-in times (e.g., on the hour, 5 minutes).
• Check-in schedule: "If phones are out, we listen on channel 7 at 8 a.m., noon and 6 p.m."

Signaling for help

If you're stuck and need help: three of anything is the universal distress signal — three whistle blasts, three fires in a triangle, three flashes of light. A whistle carries much farther than a voice and doesn't run out. Bright cloth or an "SOS" in snow or rocks can be seen from the air.

Sources: NOAA Weather Radio · FCC — GMRS · ARRL — Getting licensed · Ready.gov — Make a Plan

The real dangers in an outage

Most deaths in power outages aren't from the cold or from crime. They come from carbon monoxide, house fires, falls and car crashes. Fix those, and you've handled most of the risk.

Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide (CO) is invisible and has no smell. It comes from anything that burns fuel: generators, cars, grills, stoves, heaters, furnaces and fireplaces.

• CO alarm on every level and outside each sleeping area, with battery backup. Test monthly; replace the alarm every 5–7 years.
• Generators outdoors only, 20+ feet from the house.
• Never run a car in a garage, even with the door open. Clear snow from the tailpipe before running a car.
• Never use a grill, camp stove or patio heater indoors.

If a CO alarm sounds or anyone feels sick, dizzy or confused: get everyone outside to fresh air immediately, and call 911 from outside. Don't go back in until responders say it's safe.

Fire

House fires spike during outages because of candles, heaters and generators.

• Working smoke alarms on every level and in every bedroom (test monthly).
• A fire extinguisher (ABC type) in the kitchen, garage and near any wood stove — and everyone knows how to use it: P.A.S.S. (Pull the pin, Aim at the base, Squeeze, Sweep).
• Keep space heaters and stoves 3 feet from anything that can burn.
• Flashlights instead of candles.
• Two ways out of every room. Practice a fire drill.
• If you heat with wood, store ashes in a metal can with a lid, outside, away from the house. Ashes stay hot for days.

Know your shutoffs

Learn these before an emergency, and teach every adult and teen in the house:

Keep a wrench zip-tied next to the gas meter.

Protecting your home and neighborhood

Long outages bring most people together. Neighbors share generators, check on each other, and organize. A few common-sense steps keep you safe:

• Lock up. Doors and windows locked, especially at night, and garage doors manually locked (power outages disable openers, but many can be opened by hand from outside with the emergency release).
• Know how to open the garage manually — pull the red emergency cord.
• Light the outside with solar motion lights. They need no grid power.
• Secure the generator with a chain and lock, and bring fuel cans in at night.
• Keep a low profile. Don't advertise stockpiles on social media.
• Get to know your neighbors now. A neighborhood that already knows each other is the best security there is. Share skills: who has a generator, chainsaw, medical training, a well?

Driving during and after a storm

• Treat dark traffic signals as four-way stops.
• Never drive through flooded roads — 6 inches of moving water can knock you down; a foot can float a car.
• Watch for downed lines and trees. Don't drive over wires.
• Keep your gas tank at least half full at all times. Gas stations can't pump without power.

Sources: CDC — Carbon Monoxide Poisoning · NFPA — Heating safety · Ready.gov — Power Outages · FEMA — Are You Ready? (utility shutoff)

Three kits, three jobs

1. Home kit — 2 weeks of supplies to ride out an outage or storm at home.
2. Go-bag — 72 hours of supplies, in a backpack per person, for a fast evacuation (wildfire, flood, gas leak).
3. Car kit — for getting stuck or stranded, especially in winter.

Build them slowly. Add a few items every grocery trip, and you'll be well stocked in a few months without a big bill. Checkmarks on this page save on your device, so you can track progress.

Home kit (2 weeks)

Water & food

• Water: 1 gallon per person per day (14 gallons per person)
• Two weeks of no-cook and easy-cook food (see Food)
• Manual can opener (two)
• Pet food and water

Light, power & information

• Headlamp for each person, LED lanterns, flashlights
• Spare batteries for everything
• Battery or hand-crank NOAA weather radio
• Power banks (charged), car charger cables
• Generator or power station with fuel/cords (optional — see Backup power)

Warmth & shelter

• Sleeping bags or extra blankets for every person
• Warm layers, hats, gloves, wool socks
• Plastic sheeting and duct tape (windows, leaks)

Cooking & sanitation

• Camp stove + fuel (outdoor use), matches/lighter
• Paper plates, cups, utensils, foil, zip bags
• Two-bucket toilet supplies (see Sanitation)
• Toilet paper, wipes, soap, hand sanitizer, unscented bleach
• Garbage bags

Health & safety

• First aid kit with tourniquet (see First aid)
• 2-week supply of prescription medications, glasses, hearing aid batteries
• CO alarm and smoke alarms with fresh batteries
• Fire extinguisher
• Wrench for gas shutoff, work gloves, multi-tool
• N95 masks (wildfire smoke, dust)

Paperwork & money

• Cash in small bills
• Copies of IDs, insurance, medical info (see Family plan)
• Paper map of your area and contact list

Go-bag (72 hours, one per person)

Keep it in a backpack by the door, in a closet, or in the car. Every person gets one, sized for what they can carry.

• Water: 3 liters minimum, plus a filter or purification tablets
• 3 days of no-cook food (bars, jerky, nuts, nut butter packets)
• Headlamp + spare batteries
• Phone charging cable and a charged power bank
• Change of clothes, rain jacket, warm hat, sturdy shoes
• Emergency blanket or lightweight sleeping bag
• Small first aid kit + personal medications (7 days)
• Glasses / contacts and solution
• Toothbrush, toothpaste, wipes, sanitizer, toilet paper
• N95 masks
• Whistle, multi-tool or knife, lighter
• Copies of IDs and contact card, cash
• Paper map with meeting places marked
• Something comforting: a book, cards, a kid's favorite toy

Car kit

• Blankets or a sleeping bag, warm hat and gloves
• Water and snacks
• Flashlight or headlamp with lithium batteries (cold-proof)
• Jumper cables or a portable jump starter
• Ice scraper, snow brush, small shovel
• Traction aid: sand, kitty litter or traction mats
• Tire chains (required on some mountain passes)
• First aid kit
• Phone charger
• Road flares or reflective triangles
• Paper road map
• Tow strap
• Hand warmers

Stranded in winter? Stay with the car. Run the engine about 10 minutes an hour for heat, with the tailpipe clear of snow and a window cracked. Tie bright cloth to the antenna and turn on the dome light at night so rescuers can see you.

Keep kits fresh

Set two reminders a year — for example at the time changes in March and November:

• Swap stored water and rotate food
• Check batteries and medication dates
• Refit clothing for growing kids, switch summer/winter gear
• Test radios, flashlights, the generator

Sources: Ready.gov — Build a Kit · American Red Cross — Survival Kit Supplies · FEMA — Are You Ready?

Talk it through once

Twenty minutes at the kitchen table now saves hours of panic later. Cover these questions:

• What emergencies are most likely here? (Around Spokane: windstorms, winter storms and ice, wildfire and smoke, heat waves.)
• Where do we meet if we can't get home, or have to leave fast?
• Who is our out-of-area contact?
• Who picks up the kids if roads are closed? Does the school have that person on file?
• Who checks on grandparents or neighbors who live alone?
• What does each person grab if we evacuate?
• How do we shut off water, gas and power? (See Safety.)
• What's the plan for pets? (See Special needs.)
• When do we stay, and when do we go?

Write it down on one page. Put a copy in each go-bag and on the fridge.

The document "grab bag"

If your house burns or floods, rebuilding starts with paperwork. Keep copies (not originals) in a waterproof pouch in your go-bag, and digital copies on an encrypted USB drive and/or a secure cloud account.

• Driver's licenses, passports, birth certificates, Social Security cards
• Insurance policies (home, auto, health, life) with policy numbers and phone numbers
• Deed or lease, vehicle titles
• Bank, credit card and retirement account numbers and phone numbers
• Medical records: prescriptions, allergies, conditions, doctors' names
• Immunization records, pet vaccination records
• Wills, powers of attorney, guardianship papers
• A recent photo of each family member and pet (for reuniting)
• Home inventory: walk through your home with a phone and video every room, closet and drawer. Narrate what's valuable. Store the video off-site.

Keep originals in a fire-resistant safe or a bank safe-deposit box.

Money

• Cash: when power is out, card readers and ATMs don't work. Keep enough cash for a week of gas, groceries and supplies — in small bills.
• Insurance check-up: does your homeowners policy cover sewer backup, food spoilage, or generator damage? Flood and earthquake insurance are separate policies.
• Emergency fund: even a small cushion helps when hotels, repairs and lost wages pile up.

Practice

• Hold a fire drill twice a year. Time how long it takes everyone to get out.
• Do a "lights-out weekend": flip the main breaker for an evening and live on your kit. You'll learn fast what's missing — and kids usually love it.
• Walk or drive to your meeting places.

Get involved

• Sign up for local alerts — ALERT Spokane in Spokane County.
• Take a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) course. It's free training in disaster first aid, fire safety and light search and rescue.
• Learn CPR and Stop the Bleed (see First aid).

Sources: Ready.gov — Make a Plan · FEMA — Emergency Financial First Aid Kit · FEMA — Are You Ready?

Medications

• Keep at least a 2-week supply of every prescription. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about an early refill or a 90-day supply; many insurers allow it.
• Keep a written list of every medication, dose, prescribing doctor and pharmacy.
• Know which meds are critical and what happens if a dose is missed.
• Store over-the-counter basics: pain reliever, fever reducer, allergy medicine, anti-diarrhea medicine, electrolytes.

Medications that need refrigeration

Insulin and some other medicines (certain eye drops, injectables, liquid antibiotics) need cold storage. During an outage:

• Most insulin can be kept at room temperature (up to about 86°F) for up to 28 days once out of the fridge — check your product's label. Keep it out of direct sun and heat, and never let it freeze.
• A small cooler with ice packs keeps it cool. Don't put insulin directly on ice — wrap it in a cloth.
• Evaporative cooling cases (like Frio-style pouches) work well for days without ice.
• If medicine looks cloudy, clumped or discolored when it shouldn't, replace it.

When in doubt, call your pharmacist. Pharmacists can often give emergency refills during declared disasters.

Powered medical equipment

If someone depends on oxygen, a CPAP, a nebulizer, a power wheelchair, a feeding pump or home dialysis:

• Register with your utility as a medical-needs customer. Avista and other utilities keep lists for priority notification. (It doesn't guarantee faster restoration.)
• Know how long each device's battery lasts, and keep spares charged.
• A portable power station can run a CPAP all night (most use 30–60 watts; turn off the humidifier to save power). See Backup power.
• Oxygen users: keep a backup supply of tanks that don't need power, and keep oxygen away from flames, candles and generators.
• Have a plan to go somewhere with power — a relative, hospital, or shelter — before the batteries run out.

Babies and young kids

• Ready-to-feed formula (needs no water) for 2 weeks, bottles, and a way to clean them
• Diapers, wipes, rash cream for 2 weeks
• Infant fever reducer and a thermometer
• Warm sleepwear and sleep sacks. Don't put loose blankets in a crib — dress babies in extra layers instead.
• Comfort items, books, games and activities that don't need power
• Talk with kids about what happens in an emergency, calmly and in simple words. Let them help pack their own go-bag.

Older adults

• Check on older relatives and neighbors twice a day in an outage, especially in heat or cold. They lose body heat faster and may not notice they're getting too cold or overheated.
• Keep glasses, hearing aids (and batteries), dentures, canes and walkers in one place.
• Make sure they have a phone that works without power (a charged cell, or a corded landline phone if they have copper landline service).
• Write emergency contacts and medical info on a card they carry.

Pets and livestock

Pet kit (for each animal):

• 2 weeks of food and water, bowls
• Medications and copies of vaccination records
• Leash, harness, and a carrier or crate
• Litter box and litter, or waste bags
• Recent photo of you with your pet (proves ownership)
• Microchip registered with your current phone number

Plan ahead: many shelters now accept pets, but not all. Know which hotels, friends or kennels outside your area will take them. Never leave pets behind in an evacuation — if it isn't safe for you, it isn't safe for them.

Livestock and horses: have a trailer ready (or a neighbor with one), a place to go, halters for every animal, and ID on each (tags, brands, photos). Store extra hay and water. In a wildfire, if you can't move them, open gates and let them loose rather than leaving them trapped.

Sources: FDA — Insulin storage in emergencies · Ready.gov — Pets · Ready.gov — Individuals with Disabilities · Ready.gov — Older Adults

Why winter outages last longer

Ice and heavy wet snow pile weight on trees and lines. Branches snap, poles fall, and crews have to work in dangerous conditions on icy roads. Windstorms do the same thing in hours. Around Spokane, the long outages people remember — Ice Storm '96 and the November 2015 windstorm — both left some homes dark for a week or more in the cold.

Get the house ready (fall checklist)

• Have the furnace serviced and the chimney swept and inspected
• Test smoke and CO alarms, replace batteries
• Stock firewood (dry, seasoned — see Wood heat) or fuel for your backup heat
• Insulate exposed pipes in crawl spaces, garages and outside walls (foam pipe sleeves are cheap)
• Disconnect garden hoses; shut off and drain outdoor faucets, or install frost-free hose bibs
• Know where your main water shutoff is, and make sure it turns
• Trim branches that overhang the house, driveway or power line to your house (call the utility for branches near lines — don't trim those yourself)
• Clean gutters so melting snow drains
• Stock ice melt, sand, snow shovels, a roof rake if you have a low-slope roof
• Weatherstrip drafty doors and windows
• Check sleeping bags and warm clothing for everyone
• Fill propane tanks before the first cold snap
• Test the generator under load

When a storm is coming

• Fill the car's gas tank and charge every battery and phone.
• Pick up medications, groceries and a few days of easy food.
• Freeze jugs of water to keep the freezer cold longer.
• Turn the fridge and freezer to their coldest settings.
• Bring in pets and secure livestock with shelter, bedding and unfrozen water.
• Know where your nearest warming center will be.

During a winter outage

• Set up a warm room right away, before the house cools off.
• Drip faucets and open sink cabinets.
• Stay off the roads unless you have to go. If you must drive, carry your car kit.
• Shoveling is hard on the heart. Take breaks, push instead of lift, and stop if you feel chest pain or shortness of breath.
• Watch everyone — especially older adults and babies — for signs of hypothermia.

If the house gets too cold

If you can't keep any room above about 50–55°F, it's time to go to family, a hotel, or a warming center. Before you leave a house that will freeze:

1. Shut off the main water valve.
2. Open all faucets, starting at the top floor, to drain the lines.
3. Turn off and drain the water heater (power or gas off first).
4. Flush the toilets and pour RV antifreeze into the toilet bowls, sink drains and tub drains.
5. Turn off the main breaker so appliances don't surge when power returns, but leave one light on (switch on) so neighbors can tell when power is back.

Ice dams and heavy roof snow

Heavy wet snow can weigh up to about 20 pounds per cubic foot. Watch for sagging ceilings, new cracks, and doors that suddenly stick. Use a roof rake from the ground to pull snow off the lower edges. Don't climb on an icy roof.

Sources: Ready.gov — Winter Weather · CDC — Winter Weather · NWS Spokane · Avista 2015 windstorm report

Wildfire: know your zone and your "Go"

In eastern Washington and north Idaho, wildfire season runs from about July through September. Fires can move fast, especially with wind.

Evacuation levels (Washington uses a three-level system):

• Know your evacuation zone and two ways out of your neighborhood.
• Keep your go-bag in the car during fire season, and the tank at least half full.
• Sign up for ALERT Spokane or your county's alert system.

Make your home harder to burn

Most homes ignite from embers, not the wall of flame.

• Clear dead leaves and needles from roofs and gutters
• Keep a 5-foot zone around the house free of anything that burns: bark mulch, firewood, dry plants, patio cushions
• Move firewood piles at least 30 feet from the house during fire season
• Screen attic and crawl-space vents with ⅛-inch metal mesh
• Trim tree branches 6–10 feet off the ground, and away from the roof
• Keep hoses connected and long enough to reach all sides of the house

Public Safety Power Shutoffs

During extreme fire weather (high wind, low humidity, dry fuels), utilities may turn off power on purpose to keep lines from starting fires. Avista and other Northwest utilities have shutoff programs for high-risk areas; check your utility's website to see if you're in one. These shutoffs can last a day or more after the wind dies down, while crews inspect lines.

Treat a red-flag forecast like a storm warning: charge batteries, freeze water, and have backup power ready for medical devices.

Wildfire smoke

Smoke can blanket the region for days or weeks, even from fires hundreds of miles away.

• Check the air: AirNow.gov shows current air quality (AQI) by ZIP code.
• Stay inside with windows and doors closed when AQI is unhealthy (151+), or above 101 for sensitive people (kids, older adults, pregnant people, anyone with heart or lung disease).
• Make a clean room: pick one room, close it up, and run a HEPA air purifier.
• DIY box-fan filter: tape a MERV-13 furnace filter to the back of a 20-inch box fan. It's a surprisingly effective, cheap air cleaner. Never leave it running unattended.
• Masks: a well-fitted N95 blocks smoke particles. Cloth and surgical masks don't.
• If your home has central air, set it to recirculate and use a high-MERV filter.

Heat waves

The June 2021 heat dome pushed Spokane to an all-time record of 109°F and caused rolling outages. Heat kills more Americans than any other weather.

• Know where your cooling centers are (libraries, community centers)
• Have battery fans, spray bottles and plenty of water
• Use window coverings: reflective film or blinds on sunny windows
• Check on older neighbors twice a day
• Never leave kids or pets in a car — even for a minute

If the power goes out in a heat wave, see Staying cool for heat illness signs and first aid.

Sources: Ready.gov — Wildfires · Ready.gov — Extreme Heat · AirNow · EPA — Wildfire smoke and indoor air · NWS Spokane

Our local hazards

Who to call and where to look

Power outages

• Avista: myavista.com/outages — outage map and reporting
• Inland Power & Light: inlandpower.com
• Others in the region include Modern Electric Water Company, Vera Water & Power, Kootenai Electric Cooperative and Northern Lights. Check your bill for your provider, and save the outage number in your phone.

Alerts and emergency management

• ALERT Spokane (Spokane County's alert system): alertspokane.org. The county moved to a new provider in 2026, so if you signed up before, register again.
• City of Spokane Emergency Management: my.spokanecity.org/emergencymanagement
• Spokane Valley alerts: sign up through the city at SpokaneValleyWA.gov
• National Weather Service Spokane: weather.gov/otx
• NOAA Weather Radio SAME code — Spokane County 053063, Kootenai County 016055 (see Communication)

Roads and air

• WSDOT mountain passes and road conditions: wsdot.wa.gov
• Air quality / smoke: AirNow.gov

Local resources for off-grid and self-reliance skills

• WSU Extension (extension.wsu.edu) — Master Gardeners, food preservation classes and free pressure-canner dial-gauge testing at many county offices. Highly recommended if you can food.
• University of Idaho Extension — the same for north Idaho.
• Local amateur radio clubs give license exams and run emergency nets.
• CERT training — free community emergency response courses.

Elevation notes for canning and cooking

Spokane sits around 1,900–2,000 feet, and much of the region is higher. That matters for canning:

• Weighted-gauge pressure canners: use 15 pounds of pressure above 1,000 feet (instead of 10).
• Dial-gauge pressure canners: the pressure needed goes up with altitude. Check the USDA table in your recipe — many vegetables need 11 lb up to 2,000 feet and 12 lb from 2,001–4,000 feet.
• Boiling-water canning: add time per the recipe's altitude chart (often +5 minutes from 1,001–3,000 feet).

See Preserving food and the free USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.

Rainwater and water rights

• Washington: rooftop rainwater collection generally does not require a water right under Department of Ecology policy, as long as the roof is part of a building used mainly for something other than collecting rain. Drinking-water use may be restricted by your county. See Ecology — Rainwater collection.
• Idaho: collecting rooftop rain is generally allowed if it hasn't entered a natural waterway. Check with the Idaho Department of Water Resources and your county.

Sources: Avista storm report, 2015 · HistoryLink — 2015 windstorm · NWS Spokane · Spokane County — ALERT Spokane

Off-grid is a spectrum

You don't have to sell your house and move to the woods. "Off-grid" ranges from:

1. Resilient on-grid: a normal home that can run for two weeks without the grid (backup power, water, heat, food). Most people should start — and many stop — here.
2. Grid-tied with backup: solar panels with batteries that keep running in an outage, plus a wood stove and a well with a backup pump.
3. Mostly off-grid: a rural homestead that makes most of its own power, heat, water and some food, but keeps a grid connection or propane delivery.
4. Fully off-grid: no utility connections at all. Total self-reliance — and total responsibility.

The further down the list, the more money, land, skill and daily work it takes. Each step also makes you far tougher in an emergency.

The five systems

Every off-grid home — or emergency-ready home — has to solve the same five problems. Each one links to its own page.

Before you buy land

If you're planning a real off-grid move, check these first. They make or break a property.

• Water: Is there a well? How deep, and how many gallons per minute? If not, what do local well logs show? (Washington's Department of Ecology has a searchable well report database.)
• Water rights and rules: rainwater, springs and surface water all have state rules.
• Septic: will the soil pass a perc test? Composting toilets are legal in many counties but often still need a septic system for gray water.
• Sun: south-facing open ground for solar and a garden. Steep north slopes and tall trees can mean months of shade.
• Access: year-round road? Who plows it? How far to a hospital, fire station and school?
• Wildfire risk: fire history, defensible space, insurance availability.
• Building codes and zoning: many counties require permits for cabins, solar, wells and septic — even off-grid. Check before you build.
• Internet and phone: cell coverage and satellite options (like Starlink) matter for work and emergencies.

A realistic path

1. Year 1: build a 2-week home kit, a two-bucket toilet kit, and a power station. Learn to cook on a camp stove and can a few jars of food.
2. Year 2: add a wood stove (installed to code), a generator with an interlock, a garden, and a few weeks of deep pantry.
3. Year 3+: solar with batteries, rain catchment, a hand pump on the well, chickens, food preservation as a habit.

Each step is useful on its own, so you're better prepared the whole way.

Skills beat stuff

Gear breaks, runs out or gets left behind. Skills come with you. The most valuable ones for off-grid life:

• basic plumbing and electrical repair
• small-engine maintenance (generators, chainsaws)
• gardening, seed saving and food preservation
• splitting wood and running a wood stove
• first aid and CPR
• cooking from scratch with basic ingredients

See Tools, fuel & fix-it skills.

Sources: Energy Saver (DOE) — off-grid and stand-alone systems · WSU Extension · Ecology — Water wells

How an off-grid solar system works

1. Solar panels turn sunlight into DC electricity.
2. A charge controller (MPPT is the efficient kind) safely charges the batteries from the panels.
3. The battery bank stores energy for night and cloudy days.
4. An inverter turns battery DC into normal 120/240-volt AC power for your outlets.
5. A backup generator (or a grid connection) charges the batteries during long cloudy spells.

A portable power station is the same system in one box — battery, charge controller and inverter — and you just plug in a folding solar panel.

Watts, watt-hours and amp-hours

• Watts (W) = how fast something uses power right now. A 60 W bulb.
• Watt-hours (Wh) = power over time. A 60 W bulb for 10 hours = 600 Wh. 1,000 Wh = 1 kWh, the unit on your electric bill.
• Battery capacity is often in amp-hours (Ah). Multiply by the voltage: a 12 V 100 Ah battery = 1,200 Wh.

Step 1: Add up your daily use

List what you want to run and for how long:

Check labels or use a plug-in watt meter for real numbers. Heat, AC, electric water heaters, dryers and stoves use far too much for small systems — use wood, propane or gas for those.

Step 2: Size the battery

Battery Wh = daily Wh × days of backup ÷ usable fraction

• Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries can use about 80–100% of their capacity and last 3,000+ cycles. They're the standard now.
• Lead-acid batteries should only be drained to about 50%, are heavier, and wear out much sooner.

Example: 2,000 Wh/day × 2 days ÷ 0.9 = about 4,400 Wh of LiFePO4 (roughly four 12 V 100 Ah batteries, or one 48 V 100 Ah).

Step 3: Size the panels

Panel watts ≈ daily Wh ÷ peak sun hours ÷ 0.75 (the 0.75 covers real-world losses).

"Peak sun hours" is the equivalent number of hours of full, strong sun per day. It changes a lot with season and location.

Example: 2,000 Wh/day in summer (6 sun hours) needs about 450 W of panels. The same load in December (1.5 sun hours) needs about 1,800 W.

Batteries in the cold

• Don't charge LiFePO4 batteries below freezing (32°F) — it can permanently damage them. Use batteries with built-in heaters, or keep them inside the heated space.
• Lead-acid batteries lose capacity in the cold and can freeze if discharged.
• Keep any battery bank ventilated, away from living spaces if lead-acid, and protected by proper fuses and a disconnect.

Safety and permits

Getting started small

A great first step: a 1,000–2,000 Wh power station and a 200–400 W folding panel. That runs a fridge for part of the day, lights, phones, internet and a CPAP — and it teaches you how much power you actually use before you spend big.

Sources: Energy Saver (DOE) — Off-grid systems · NREL — PVWatts solar calculator

If you have a well

A typical submersible well pump runs on 240 volts and needs a lot of power to start. When the grid goes down, so does your water. Options, from simplest to most robust:

1. Store water (see Water) — the baseline for everyone.
2. Generator + transfer switch/interlock. A ½–1 hp pump needs roughly 1,000–2,000 running watts and 2,000–4,000+ starting watts — usually a 5,000 W+ generator, 240 V capable. Run it to fill a storage tank, not around the clock.
3. Pressure tank and storage: a bigger pressure tank, or an above-ground storage tank, means fewer pump starts.
4. Hand pump installed in the same well, alongside the electric pump. Modern hand pumps can lift water from 200+ feet, and some can pressurize your house plumbing. A hand pump is the ultimate backup: no fuel, no electricity, works forever.
5. Solar well pump (DC pump with its own panels) that fills a cistern during sunny days.

Rainwater catchment

A roof is a big water collector. The math:

Gallons = roof area (sq ft) × rainfall (inches) × 0.62

A 1,500 sq ft roof collects about 930 gallons from one inch of rain. Spokane averages roughly 16–17 inches of precipitation a year, mostly from October through May — so a typical roof could catch well over 10,000 gallons a year, if you can store it.

A basic system

1. Clean roof and gutters — metal roofs are best for drinking water. Asphalt shingles are fine for gardens.
2. Gutter guards / leaf screens to keep debris out.
3. A first-flush diverter that sends the first dirty water from each rain away from the tank.
4. Storage: rain barrels (55 gallons), IBC totes (275–330 gallons), or a cistern (1,000+ gallons). Use opaque, food-grade containers to prevent algae. Screen every opening against mosquitoes.
5. Overflow directed away from the foundation.
6. For drinking: filter (sediment + a filter that removes bacteria and protozoa) and disinfect (UV or chlorine), or boil. Test it periodically.

Is it legal? In Washington, rooftop collection generally doesn't need a water right; in Idaho it's generally allowed if the water hasn't reached a natural waterway. Drinking-water use can be restricted by your county. See Spokane & the Inland NW.

Springs, creeks and lakes

Surface water almost always contains germs, even when it looks crystal clear. Always filter and disinfect it. Taking water from streams or springs for regular household use usually requires a water right.

Filtration for off-grid water

Get your well or catchment water tested by a certified lab at least once a year, and after floods. Your county health district can point you to labs.

Using less

Off-grid, every gallon is pumped, hauled or collected. Low-flow faucets and showerheads, a composting toilet, and reusing gray water (from sinks and showers) for gardens can cut use in half. Gray water rules vary by state and county — check before plumbing a system.

Sources: CDC — Private wells · Ecology — Rainwater collection · EPA — Emergency disinfection · Army ATP 3-50.21 Survival (water procurement)

Why wood heat

A wood stove heats a home with zero electricity. In a winter outage, it's the difference between camping in your living room and living normally. Off-grid, it's the most common primary heat in cold, forested country like ours.

Stove, insert or fireplace?

Buy an EPA-certified stove. They burn cleaner, need less wood, and are required in many areas. Installation must meet code — clearances to walls, floor protection, and a proper chimney. Get a permit and inspection; your insurer will ask.

How much wood?

A cord is a neat stack 4 ft high × 4 ft deep × 8 ft long (128 cubic feet). A "face cord" or "rick" is usually only one-third of that — ask what you're buying.

Rough guide for the Inland Northwest:

• Backup / outage heat: ½–1 cord gets you through several long outages.
• Supplemental heat (evenings, cold snaps): 1–3 cords a winter.
• Primary heat for an average, reasonably insulated house: 3–6 cords a winter.

Common local woods: tamarack (western larch) and Douglas fir are excellent; ponderosa pine burns fast and lighter; birch is good; seasoned cottonwood is poor.

Seasoning: the most important part

Wet wood barely heats, smokes, and coats your chimney with creosote. Firewood should be below 20% moisture.

• Cut, split and stack wood 6–12 months before burning (softwoods) — longer for dense hardwoods.
• Stack off the ground on pallets or rails, bark up, with air gaps between rows.
• Cover the top only. Leave the sides open so wind dries it.
• A moisture meter ($25) removes all guesswork: split a piece and test the fresh face.
• Seasoned wood is lighter, has cracks in the ends, and makes a hollow "clack" when two pieces hit.

Burning well

1. Top-down fire: big splits on the bottom, smaller on top, kindling and paper on the very top. Light the top. It burns down cleanly with little smoke.
2. Open the air control fully while starting, then turn it down gradually once the fire is established — but never so low that it smolders.
3. Look at your chimney from outside: clear or white wisps are good; thick dark smoke means wet wood or too little air.
4. Burn hot fires regularly. Long, smoldering fires build creosote.
5. Never burn trash, cardboard, painted or treated wood, plywood, or driftwood (salt).

Chimney fires

Also: keep a CO alarm and smoke alarm near the stove, a fire extinguisher in the room, and a 3-foot clear zone around it. Store ashes in a lidded metal can, outside, on a non-flammable surface.

Splitting and safety

• A splitting maul (6–8 lb) or a modern splitting axe does most work. Split on a chopping block, not the ground.
• Wear safety glasses and boots. Keep your feet wide and bystanders well back.
• Chainsaw work needs chaps, eye and ear protection, a helmet, and training. Most chainsaw injuries come from kickback. Never cut above shoulder height or alone.
• Know the rules for firewood cutting on public land — the Colville and Idaho Panhandle National Forests sell personal-use firewood permits.

Sources: EPA — Burn Wise · Chimney Safety Institute of America · NFPA — Heating safety

Start small, start now

Gardening is a skill that takes a few seasons to learn — the time to start is before you need it. A 4 × 8 foot raised bed is a great first garden: easy to manage, warms up early, and produces a surprising amount.

Grow what counts

If the goal is food security, focus on crops that give lots of calories or nutrition per square foot and store well:

Inland Northwest growing calendar

Spokane is roughly USDA zone 6 (colder in the hills and valleys around it) with a short-ish season: the last spring frost averages around early-to-mid May, and the first fall frost around late September to early October (varies a lot by neighborhood and elevation — valleys get frost earlier).

Check with your local WSU or University of Idaho Extension office and Master Gardeners — they know your exact area.

Raised beds and soil

• Soil is everything. Fill beds with a mix of topsoil and compost. Add compost every year.
• Water deeply, less often — about 1 inch a week, more in July heat. Drip irrigation on a timer saves water and time. Off-grid, a rain barrel with a gravity drip line works well.
• Mulch with straw, leaves or grass clippings to hold moisture and block weeds.
• Rotate crops so the same family isn't in the same spot every year.

Stretch the season

• Row covers (frost cloth) add several degrees of frost protection.
• Cold frames — a box with an old window on top — let you grow greens into November and start early in March.
• A hoop house or greenhouse can add a month or more on each end.

Save your own seeds

Seeds are the ultimate renewable resource. Grow open-pollinated or heirloom varieties (not hybrids, marked "F1") so the seeds grow true.

• Easiest to save: beans, peas, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers.
• Harder (they cross-pollinate): squash, corn, cabbage family.
• Dry seeds well, label with variety and year, and store cool, dry and dark in jars or envelopes. Most stay viable 3–5 years.

Perennials: plant once, harvest for years

Fruit trees (apples, pears, plums and cherries do well here), raspberries, strawberries, blueberries (with acidic soil), asparagus, rhubarb, and herbs. Plant them early — they take years to reach full production.

Sources: WSU Extension — Gardening · USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map · University of Idaho Extension

Pick the right method

Canning: the one rule

Pressure canning (low-acid foods)

Vegetables, beans, meat and fish must be pressure canned. Boiling water only reaches 212°F, and botulism spores need 240°F to be destroyed.

1. Inspect jars for chips, and use new flat lids.
2. Prepare food and fill jars per the recipe, leaving the stated headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, apply lids finger-tight.
3. Put 2–3 inches of water in the canner (or as the manual says), load jars on the rack.
4. Lock the lid and vent steam for 10 minutes before adding the weight or closing the petcock.
5. Bring to the right pressure, then start timing. Keep pressure steady — if it drops below the target, bring it back up and start the time over.
6. When done, turn off the heat and let pressure drop to zero on its own. Wait 10 minutes, open the lid away from you.
7. Let jars sit undisturbed 12–24 hours. Check seals: the lid shouldn't flex.

Altitude matters (Spokane is ~2,000 ft)

Always follow the altitude table in your specific recipe. Have dial gauges tested every year — many WSU Extension offices do it free.

Water-bath canning (high-acid foods)

1. Fill the canner with water and preheat. Load filled jars on a rack.
2. Water should cover jars by 1–2 inches.
3. Bring to a full rolling boil, then start timing. Add time for altitude.
4. Remove jars and let them cool undisturbed.

Tomatoes are borderline acidic — add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to every jar as the recipe says.

Drying

• Dehydrator: fruit at about 135°F, vegetables 125–135°F, jerky with meat heated to 160°F first (or steamed/roasted) to kill bacteria.
• Oven: lowest setting, door propped open an inch.
• Sun drying works in hot, dry, sunny weather — eastern Washington summers are good for it. Use screens and cover with cheesecloth against insects.
• Dry food until leathery or crisp, cool it, then store in airtight jars in a cool, dark place. Use oxygen absorbers for long storage.

Root cellaring

A cool (32–40°F), humid, dark space keeps many crops for months with zero power.

• Potatoes: 38–40°F, dark, humid. Keep away from apples (apples give off ethylene, which sprouts potatoes).
• Carrots, beets, parsnips: in boxes of damp sand or sawdust, 32–35°F.
• Winter squash, pumpkins, onions, garlic: warmer and drier, 50–55°F — a cool closet or basement shelf.
• Apples, cabbage: cold and humid, stored separately because of smells.

No cellar? A buried trash can, an unheated garage corner (that won't freeze), or a basement window well can work.

Fermenting

Sauerkraut needs only cabbage and salt: about 1½–2 teaspoons of salt per pound of shredded cabbage, packed tightly and kept under its own brine at 60–70°F for 3–6 weeks. Keep everything under the brine, and toss anything with fuzzy mold or a bad smell.

Free offline reference: USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (193 pages, every tested recipe and table).

Sources: National Center for Home Food Preservation · USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning · WSU Extension — Food preservation

Start with chickens

Chickens are the gateway animal for good reason: they're cheap, small, and turn kitchen scraps and bugs into eggs and fertilizer.

• Eggs: a good laying hen gives about 4–6 eggs a week in her first two years, less in winter (they slow down with short days) and as she ages. Three or four hens keep a family in eggs.
• Space: about 4 square feet per bird inside the coop and 10 square feet per bird in the run.
• The coop needs: roosting bars, one nest box for every 3–4 hens, ventilation up high (moisture, not cold, causes frostbite), and predator-proof walls with hardware cloth — not chicken wire, which raccoons tear through.
• Food and water: layer feed, oyster shell for calcium, grit, and fresh water every day. A hen drinks about a pint a day.
• Winter: chickens handle Northwest cold well if they're dry and out of the wind. The big problem is frozen water — a heated waterer base (or two waterers you swap) solves it. Cold-hardy breeds: Buff Orpington, Australorp, Wyandotte, Plymouth Rock, Brahma.
• Predators here: raccoons, coyotes, hawks, owls, bobcats, dogs — and occasionally bears. Lock the coop every night.

Rabbits

Rabbits produce more meat per pound of feed than almost any other livestock, are quiet, and need little space. A doe can raise several litters a year. Their manure goes straight onto the garden without composting. They need shade and cool air in summer — heat is a bigger risk than cold.

Goats

Dairy goats (like Nigerian Dwarf or Nubian) give milk, cheese and butter, and clear brush. They need:

• at least two goats (they're herd animals)
• strong fencing — goats are escape artists
• shelter from rain and wind, hay all winter, minerals, hoof trimming, and a vet who knows goats
• milking twice a day, every day while in milk — a real commitment

Keeping animals through an emergency

• Store 2–4 weeks of feed and bedding, in rodent-proof bins
• Have a way to water without power: stored water, rain catchment, a hand pump
• Keep a livestock first-aid kit (wound spray, bandage wrap, electrolytes)
• Have carriers or a trailer and a place to evacuate to during wildfire season
• Keep records and photos of each animal

Sources: WSU Extension — Small farms & livestock · Ready.gov — Pets & animals · University of Idaho Extension

Composting toilets

A composting toilet uses no water and turns human waste into a stable, soil-like material over time. There are two main types:

• Self-contained units (commercial): waste and cover material go into a built-in chamber, often with a small fan and a urine-diverting seat. Easy to install in cabins and tiny homes.
• Bucket-and-cover systems (DIY "humanure"): a bucket toilet with sawdust as cover, emptied into a dedicated, well-managed outdoor compost pile that gets hot and sits for at least a year before use on non-food plants or trees.

Keys to success:

• Lots of dry cover material — sawdust, peat, coco coir.
• Separate urine if you can. It keeps solids dry and nearly odor-free.
• Time and heat: a hot compost pile (130–160°F) kills pathogens. Let finished material age at least a year.
• Check local rules. In Washington, composting toilets are allowed under state rules, but most counties still require an approved system (often septic) for gray water from sinks and showers.

Septic systems

Most rural homes use septic. A healthy system can last decades:

• Pump the tank every 3–5 years (more with a garbage disposal or big household).
• Don't flush wipes (even "flushable" ones), grease, chemicals or medicines.
• Spread laundry out over the week.
• Keep vehicles, livestock and building projects off the drain field.
• In an outage: gravity systems keep working. Systems with pumps (mound or pressure systems) can back up — cut water use to a minimum until power returns, or put the pump on your generator.

Gray water

Gray water is used water from sinks, showers and laundry (not toilets). Reusing it for landscape irrigation can cut water use a lot. Use plant-safe, low-salt soaps, send it under mulch (not sprayed), and never onto root crops or leafy greens you'll eat raw. Washington allows small gray-water systems under Department of Health rules; check your county.

Composting yard and kitchen waste

Compost turns scraps into the best soil amendment there is.

• Browns (carbon): dry leaves, straw, shredded paper, sawdust.
• Greens (nitrogen): vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, grass clippings, chicken manure.
• Mix about 2–3 parts browns to 1 part greens, keep it as damp as a wrung-out sponge, and turn it every week or two for fast compost, or just pile it up for slow compost.
• Leave out meat, dairy, oils and pet waste from a backyard pile (they attract animals and can carry disease).
• Finished compost is dark, crumbly and smells like the forest floor — usually in 2–6 months for a hot pile, a year or more for a cold one.

Burning trash?

Burning household trash is illegal in most of Washington, including Spokane County — it releases toxic smoke. Outdoor burning of natural yard debris has its own seasonal rules and burn bans. Check with Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency before burning anything.

Sources: WA Department of Health — On-site sewage · EPA — Septic systems · WSU Extension — Composting

Why fire still matters

Fire means warmth, boiled water, cooked food, light, signaling — and a huge boost to morale. Practice in good weather so you can do it when you're cold, tired and it's raining.

The fire triangle

Every fire needs heat, fuel and oxygen. Remove any one and it dies. Most failed fires don't have enough small fuel, or they're smothered by too much wood too soon.

Gather three sizes of fuel — before you strike a match

1. Tinder — catches a spark or flame instantly: dry grass, birch bark, cattail fluff, pine needles, wood shavings, dryer lint, cotton balls with petroleum jelly, commercial tinder tabs. Pitch wood (fatwood) from old pine stumps lights even when wet.
2. Kindling — pencil-lead to thumb-thick dry sticks. Gather twice as much as you think. Dead branches still on trees (not on the ground) are driest.
3. Fuel wood — wrist-thick and up, added once the kindling is burning well.

Wet weather tips: split wood to reach dry insides, shave sticks into curly "feather sticks," and look under logs and dense evergreens for dry material.

Ways to light it

Carry at least two — "two is one, and one is none."

Using a ferro rod

1. Make a bird's nest of fine tinder (or use a cotton ball with petroleum jelly).
2. Hold the striker still near the tinder and pull the rod back toward you (instead of pushing the striker forward). This keeps you from scattering the tinder.
3. Use firm, slow pressure. Big, hot sparks land in the tinder.
4. Once it catches, gently blow at the base and add the smallest kindling.

Fire lays

• Teepee: tinder in the middle, kindling leaned in around it. Lights fast; great for boiling water.
• Log cabin: layers of sticks stacked crosswise around a teepee. Burns steady; makes a good bed of coals for cooking.
• Lean-to: kindling leaned against a larger log over the tinder. Good in wind — put the log on the windward side.
• Top-down: big wood on the bottom, smaller on top, tinder on the very top. Burns long and clean — great for wood stoves.

Putting it out

Drown, stir, feel. Pour water on it, stir the ashes, add more water, and feel with the back of your hand. If it's too hot to touch, it's too hot to leave. No water? Mix in dirt or sand and stir — but water is far better.

Free offline reference: the Army's ATP 3-50.21 Survival has a full chapter on fire craft.

Sources: ATP 3-50.21 Survival · Smokey Bear — Campfire safety

Why learn knots

A tarp shelter, a clothesline, securing a load, hanging food, lifting, towing — you'll use rope constantly in an outage or off-grid. Learn these six until you can tie them without thinking, even in the dark.

Practice tip: keep a 3-foot piece of rope by the couch, and tie each knot five times while you watch TV.

The six knots

Tying a bowline

1. Make a small overhand loop in the standing part of the rope (the "rabbit hole").
2. Bring the working end up through the loop ("the rabbit comes out of the hole").
3. Pass it around behind the standing part ("around the tree").
4. Bring it back down through the small loop ("back down the hole").
5. Hold the working end against the loop and pull the standing part to tighten. Leave a tail at least 10 rope-widths long.

Rope basics

• Paracord (550 cord): strong, light, lots of uses. Its inner strands can be pulled out for thread or fishing line.
• Rope for loads: use rated rope and straps for anything heavy. Never use household or paracord for climbing, lifting people, or towing.
• Keep rope dry and coiled, and burn (melt) the ends of synthetic rope so it doesn't fray.

For step-by-step animations of hundreds of knots, see Animated Knots (needs internet).

Sources: ATP 3-50.21 Survival (appendix on knots) · Animated Knots

Why paper still matters

Phones die, GPS needs batteries, and cell maps don't load without a signal. A paper map and a baseplate compass weigh a few ounces and never run out.

• Keep a road map of your region in every car.
• Keep a topographic map of anywhere you hike, hunt or might evacuate through. The USGS offers free topo maps you can download and print: USGS topographic maps.
• Download offline maps on your phone before you go (Google Maps, Gaia GPS, onX, CalTopo and others all support this).

Reading a topo map

• Contour lines connect points of the same elevation. Lines close together = steep; far apart = flat.
• V shapes in contour lines point uphill in a valley or drainage (the "V" points upstream).
• Colors: green = vegetation, blue = water, brown = contours, black = roads, buildings and trails.
• Scale: on a common 1:24,000 USGS map, 1 inch = 2,000 feet.

Using a baseplate compass

Take a bearing to a landmark

1. Point the direction-of-travel arrow at the landmark.
2. Turn the bezel (housing) until the red orienting arrow lines up under the red end of the magnetic needle ("red in the shed").
3. Read the bearing at the index line. That's your direction in degrees.

Follow a bearing from the map

1. Lay the compass edge on the map from where you are to where you want to go.
2. Turn the bezel until the orienting lines run parallel to the map's north-south grid lines, with the orienting arrow pointing to map north.
3. Adjust for declination (below).
4. Hold the compass flat, turn your body until "red is in the shed," and walk toward the direction-of-travel arrow. Pick a landmark on that line, walk to it, and repeat.

Declination: true north vs. magnetic north

A compass points to magnetic north, which in the Inland Northwest is roughly 13–14° east of true (map) north, and it slowly changes each year. Many compasses let you set declination once. Otherwise, when going from map to field, subtract east declination; from field to map, add it. Check the current value for your location at NOAA's declination calculator.

No compass?

• Sun: rises roughly in the east, sets roughly in the west. At midday in the Northern Hemisphere, it's due south.
• Shadow stick: put a stick upright in the ground, mark the tip of its shadow, wait 15–30 minutes, mark it again. A line from the first mark to the second points roughly east.
• North Star (Polaris): find the Big Dipper; the two stars at the end of its "cup" point to Polaris, which is almost exactly north.
• Moss on trees is not reliable. Don't count on it.

If you're lost

S.T.O.P. — Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. Don't keep walking. Staying put makes you much easier to find. Make yourself visible, use three whistle blasts, and stay warm and dry.

Free offline reference: ATP 3-50.21 Survival covers land navigation in detail.

Sources: USGS — Topographic maps · NOAA — Magnetic declination · ATP 3-50.21 Survival

A practical tool kit

You don't need a full shop. This list handles most outage and storm repairs:

• Claw hammer, a set of screwdrivers, adjustable wrenches, pliers (slip-joint, needle-nose, locking)
• Utility knife and spare blades
• Tape measure, level
• Cordless drill/driver with two charged batteries and a bit set
• Hand saw (and a bow saw or pruning saw for branches)
• Pry bar
• Duct tape, electrical tape, zip ties, paracord
• Assorted screws, nails, hose clamps
• Plastic sheeting, tarps (several sizes), staple gun
• Work gloves, safety glasses, hearing protection, N95 masks
• Headlamp
• Wrench for the gas shutoff (stored at the meter)
• Pipe repair clamp and plumber's tape for leaks
• Shovel, axe or splitting maul, wheelbarrow
• Chainsaw (only with training and safety gear), spare chain, bar oil, mixed fuel

Fix-it skills worth learning now

• Tarp a roof: after storm damage, spread a tarp over the damaged area, extending over the ridge, and fasten it with boards screwed along the edges (not nails through the tarp alone).
• Board a window: keep a few pieces of plywood cut to fit your largest windows.
• Stop a leak: shut off the water main; use a pipe repair clamp or a rubber patch and hose clamp until it can be fixed properly.
• Reset tripped breakers and replace a blown fuse.
• Small-engine basics: change oil, clean or replace an air filter, change a spark plug, and drain old fuel. This keeps generators, chainsaws and snowblowers running.
• Light a pilot light on a gas water heater or furnace, following the instructions on its label.
• Jump-start a car, and change a tire.

Fuel storage at a glance

Keep fuel quantities within local fire code limits, away from ignition sources, and out of reach of kids.

Keep a repair binder

Put in one binder (and a copy in your offline phone files):

• manuals for your generator, furnace, water heater, well pump and stove
• model and serial numbers
• the phone numbers for plumber, electrician, propane supplier, insurance agent
• a sketch of your property showing water, gas and electric shutoffs and septic location

Sources: Ready.gov — Home safety · FEMA — Are You Ready?