Watching the news about the big fires in San Diego yesterday and today prompted me to review our farm emergency plan. We used to live in Ramona, San Diego, one of the towns in the path of the fires. The latest data indicates that our old house was either on the very edges or was burned. The information varies, but it was clearly in the evacuation area.
When we lived there, we were primarily raising horses. We had a clear evacuation clipboard in the barn, halters and lead ropes for every animal labeled with their name, and a priority list of who to evacuate first. We even had luggage tags of laminated plastic on each halter with a description of each horse, our names, our phone numbers, vet info, and other critical information. This way, if we had to leave animals behind, there would be identification on each one in case someone else evacuated them. If we evacuated ourselves, we planned to put the same tags on as we loaded horses into trailers, just in case we got separated.
When we got the sheep, we had enough small pens that we were able to keep critical sheep separate. They also got added to the list. I had a paper with ear tag numbers and data on every individual. I still carry a full listing of every sheep with me at all times, in a belt pouch with my camera, a small notepad, and a pen.
Our priority list looked at the relative value of the bloodlines represented by all of our animals. In an emergency, we would of course try to save them all. However, if time was short, we might not be able to. If we had to make those tough decisions, at least we’d done it in advance.
This past lambing season, we were faced with a similar instance. An odd, heavy snowstorm in the middle of lambing had us racing to create shelter. We brought in hay bales to make windbreaks, and we built small pens for the most critical ewes and lambs. I was woefully underprepared to triage the lambing ewes on pasture and save critical bloodlines. I spent valuable time deciding which of several ewes and lambs were most important, as we could not make shelters for all of them. Thankfully, everyone pulled through okay. While Black Welsh Mountain ewes are extremely good mothers, it was a particularly stressful time.
A task I’ve set for myself for the next few weeks is to again develop an appropriate disaster plan. In our area, the likely natural disasters are either blizzards or fires. The appropriate response to each is obviously different. Sheltering in place is fairly easy for us, and we typically have plenty of hay on hand during blizzard season. With several ponds on the property, we’re also fairly well protected in case of major fires.
However, what if we had to evacuate? Which animals would be the top priority?
In our case, our sheep flock contains all of the bloodlines of Black Welsh Mountain sheep that exist in North America. We’d need to try and evacuate critical breeding members of each bloodline. Without our guard dogs, the sheep would be easy targets, so we’d need to bring at least some of them. If we were unable to evacuate everyone, we’d have to leave some guard dogs with those left behind.
Our horses are also fairly rare, but in terms of overall value to the breed as a whole, they are not unique. All of our horse bloodlines are represented in breeding herds elsewhere. The other stock, including chickens, donkeys, and geese, although important individually to us, are not critical or rare. They’d have to take a back seat to getting the sheep and horses out.
What I plan to do is put in place a list of all animals in order of priority. This’ll help provide a streamlined “rescue” list in case of an emergency. Thinking now about those decisions allows me to do so calmly, rather than stressed. Responding quickly and efficiently is critical in the event of a disaster, and the faster we can move, the more we can potentially save.
I’ll also be reevaluating our personal evacuation plans. Do I know where critical papers are, and can I grab them in a hurry if I need to?
For shelter in place, I will be looking at whether we have a plan to provide for our own food and water. We need to be able to sustain ourselves for a while in case a blizzard or other event keeps us on the farm for an extended period.
These plans can be adapted to other potential disasters. What if there is an outbreak of a major disease? Do we have disinfectant? Can we lock the gates to prevent visitors? What medications and first aid items should we have on hand for us and our animals?
I’d urge all farmers to look at their own situations and develop a disaster plan for the most likely problems. Every part of the country can experience disasters, even though they may vary geographically. A bit of time spent now making a plan to handle it could save lives in the future. If nothing else, you will save time, as the really hard decisions will already have been made. Whether it’s fire, blizzards, flooding, rain, tornadoes, hurricanes, or something else, now is the time to prepare.