los-angeles-basin-traffic-nightmare-no-escape

Could You Escape from LA?

los-angeles-basin-traffic-nightmare-no-escape

The following is a re-post of a (still) very relevant article which I posted during the year of 2010 — near the end of a decade+ period of time when I lived and worked in the Bay Area of Northern California (I’ve since moved to the north woods of NH – quite a change!)

The following is just as relevant today as it was back then; and for those who live in highly populated regions – you should think about this…


 
Originally posted August, 2010
 

Just recently, Mrs.J and I, her visiting parents, sister, and her two children from ‘back East’, we all traveled down to San Diego from Northern California in a rented RV to visit some of the area attractions for the kids to enjoy (e.g. the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park).

We had one particular experience that really emphasized something that could become a very serious disaster under certain circumstances.

Over the years, many numerous times I have had to fly down to the Los Angeles / Burbank area due to my job and career. During each trip after having picked up the rental car I had learned to expect the normal ‘nightmarish’ traffic conditions that often exists there. Although I fully expected it again while on this recent road trip, the traffic this time took on a whole new meaning of ‘nightmare’. As though it couldn’t get any worse than ‘normal bad’, the crawling slow stop-and-go traffic that I experienced this time was unbelievably horrendous.

Since I have been much more focused during this past year on preparedness and related issues, my first thought as I ‘crawled’ through 80 miles of very slow freeway traffic (from Burbank to Oceanside) was that these people that live in the LA basin will in NO WAY be able to bug-out (evacuate) or get out if the need arose. Although I pretty much knew this to be true, having seen and experienced it once again really hit home this time.

The Greater Los Angeles Area has an estimated population of 18 million people, and if you are a prepper and live anywhere in, near, or around this area, I’m sure that you know how you will need extraordinary preparedness plans and an extremely well thought out bug-out plan if you hope to survive any major disaster that may occur there (a regional power outage that extends beyond a few days, the ‘big one’ (earthquake), or any other highly impacting scenario).

The fact that there are so so many people that live there will probably completely and entirely clog ALL traffic routes out and around the city basin in a very short period of time. Most everyone will be trapped where they are and will be limited to the supplies that they already have.

I have not lived in LA, I have only traveled there and spent limited amounts of time there on business. I only know the freeway system and the surface streets around Burbank where I would frequent. However my instinct tells me that even knowing all of the surface street routes in the entire LA basin, there would be little or no chance whatsoever to get out in the event of an extreme disaster, except ‘maybe’ if you were to leave immediately.

What I took away from my road-trip experience is that anyone who lives in ANY major metropolitan area should be acutely aware of the extreme risk to their survival should the traffic come to a standstill due to a major disaster.

Any such person should have a ready-made evacuation plan (with alternative routes of travel) and a strategy to get out or bug out before it is too late. At the very least, a food storage and water supply will keep you alive for a time, but you may eventually be overrun and looted due to the very large number of unprepared hungry, thirsty, and desperate people in such a densely populated region. This type of threat is very real and could occur under a variety of very real hypothetical scenarios. Think about it, consider a plan of action, and be prepared.

Related:
Road Atlas Maps For Each State

107 Comments

  1. No, which is why one will NEVER find me there (same with DC, Philly, NYC, Chicago)

    1. @Cossack 55: You hit the nail right on the head: Getting trapped in a city cannot be cured, only prevented. thanks

      1. All ready out. Never going in. Do not have the skills. Too old to learn. Only visit my nearby town (30,000) once a week. Get lost all the time. I’ll stick to my island 10 people. Thank you very much.

    2. As a former Angeleno I can you tell that things are MUCH worse than depicted in the above article. Earthquakes (or other problems) can, and will, reduce many of the freeway overpasses to rubble which will render a bug-out plan rubble as well. Angelenos should plan to “bug-in” until things settle down and then make a decision as how to best secure their safety.
      Years ago a simple strike at three or four major food distribution centers rendered my local market bare of literally everything….except a single can of succotash (not kidding).
      Get prepared and get out of the L.A. Basin!!

  2. Ken, so you got out of the Bay Area. Due to a grandson, wifie won’t leave. FYI, the traffic here is insanely worse. I am semi-retired so doesn’t affect me as much. We are in San Ramon and have just one alternate route to Tahoe. Unfortunately, there are no side streets when you get out towards Tracy, so you have to get on the freeway for a few miles. (Great city planning, huh?!)We have plans for immediate exit and also to hunker down here. We often think & discuss what it would be like just losing one or two freeways.

    1. Route 50 “Loneliest Highway” that is the nickname for US RT 50. It sure is loneliest highway in Nevada. I do know during the winter months, RT 50 is closed west of Tahoe due to all the snow. At least it was closed when I lived in Reno. I would look to the Bakersfield, Lone Pine area or Yosemite in the winter months. Remember, it snows in Tahoe in the winter. Mountain passes can be horrible in the winter. The higher you go, the colder it can be. I sure hope you never have to bug out in the winter on those roads. But, with all our preparedness knowledge – we would hopefully be smart enough to leave at the brink of disaster (If not before), while all the rest of the sheeple wait for aide to arrive and make it all better for them.

      1. Yo3 and PapaJ, The ironic thing is the people of Northern Nevada think that they will BO West into the Sierra Nevadan’s and the people from California are planning on coming East into Nevada. Where ever they meet is sure to be a disastrous scene that I don’t want to be anywhere near. I live in Reno and will likely have to BI at least until all the dust settles. There are worse places to be, but water is definitely the most valuable commodity in this area.

        1. Austin. or anywhere near there. Pick a direction. Its desolate. If I had to do it all over again. I would have chosen Austin (If I could have had a decent job near there). I loved that area. Heck… I loved all of Nevada except Clark County. LOL! I miss Reno. I still keep in touch with friends there. I think if you could get past Fernly/Fallon… You’d be ok. Or, just travel north or north east of Pyramid Lake… Not much going on up there either. That is… if you plan on “heading for the hills” Just make sure if you decide to go on dirt roads that you have 10ply tires. :) Be safe, and don’t go to Brockway… I think it could be a mess up there… Crystal Peak was cool. :)

        2. Yes, it is a beautiful part of the world! I go to Crystal Peak at least once a year on a personal retreat … also cut down our Christmas tree in that forest every year. Great tradition with the kids.

          You’re right though, If we have to hit the road north east of Fallon on a N x NE trajectory we should be fine. As I said, the biggest challenge is water. Thank God for Sawyer filters!

          What part of the world are you in now?

        3. Y03 & Ser, yep, thought about the snow issue in winter. I have several plans that will be evaluated at the time. With trailer, with out, Stay here in Bay Area. :-( The one thing, is here, I can grow food easier, but security sucks big time.
          My son is in Reno and has routes to Tahoe too. I think the most important thing, is to have different plans that you can choose in that moment. I have my lists and can be fully packed in 2 hours, or less if no trailer. I don’t think there really is a perfect plan.

      2. I live 30 miles off of hwy 50 about 80 miles SW of Fallon, the highway is the mountain and high plains majesty at its best, no houses, no people, no traffic, yea team. I drove to Fallon yesterday to shop (80 miles one way) saw maybe 2 vehicles, a few cattle, couple of wild horses, and one deer. I moved there to have a retreat that provides even more retreats, live in Nye County with 22,000 sq miles of quiet and peacefull open space (yep twenty two thousand sq miles). I do not ever regret doing this and my inner Chi says “you got it right”. I hope more people make the break from the “norm” and get their feet moving if LA is the worst case then where I am at is on the other end of the graph…Yahoo

        1. NRP Have one in Fallon and a Mickie D’s also smile, and that is as close as I want one, as far as anyone coming here, we have a well armed town and 2 shooting ranges, several of us including myself are open carry types, no this town will do just fine Thank You

        2. Man you shouldn’t have posted that. All the wannabe Rambos and hangers on will be moving there.

        3. Illcat We welcome one and all, since we are a very small bump in the road not many will come and even fewer could make it here in rough times, truth is the roads will be blocked, unusable parking lots and few will spend the time without the means to even try it. Those that are a kindred spirit will be welcome, so long as they bring an attitude and their own provisions the rest will find a hornets nest and will (if they are able) to move on down the road, kinda like in the book one second after. There are no shepple here, just ex military, ex law enforcement, a few Mormans, some mine workers and just plain country folk who have a survival vien.

  3. I wrote in a comment last week, or the week before… If you are in a city, get out now IF you can…

    Some people wonder how they would make a living. Well, the co$t of living can be cheaper in smaller towns, therefore, you wouldn’t need as fat of a paycheck.

    Some smaller towns etc don’t have emissions tests for vehicles, which means, less cash needed for that. There is advantages to smaller towns.
    There are many advantages of smaller towns.

    The people are less stressed (See Ken’s article about elbow room).

    Smaller towns tend to stick together through rough times…

    I lived in Las Vegas during the R.King LA Riots. They rioted in Las Vegas too… correction – North Las Vegas.
    It wasn’t near as bad as the LA Riot, however, it DID happen.
    I was a few blocks away. The best thing about living in large cities was leaving them behind me.

    You can find decent homes for less money. My home is sturdy. GrandPa built it near or over 100 years ago I suspect. The homes in my neighborhood are going for 80k to 120k currently. One home is a “Sears” home.
    There is info on this online.

    Most homes in my town are 3 to 4 bedrooms with 1-1/2 to 2 bathrooms. Most have basements (Great for food storage).

    Most have backyards for gardens. Most have driveways.

    Our town has two grocery stores that are 24 hours. We have a multitude of 24 hour quick stop stores and 24 hour gas stations etc.

    We may not have a Macy’s or Victoria’s Secret, but the beauty of the internet lets us have just as much as the big cities, we just have to wait for it to arrive via courier. Its ok with us.

    If you are used to sitting in your car for 45 mins and upwards to 2 hours to get to work, consider driving only 15 minutes for less money, because you won’t need it, because you won’t be paying 350k or higher for a small home. You can have a large home for less than half and drive less. “But, I wont make as much money if I live in a small town.” — True. But, the cost of living is less… Its safer, and you have more elbow room.

    The way I see it, the fastest way out of any LARGE city is to have a helicopter sitting on your roof. I don’t think there are too many of us with choppers parked on our roof tops.

    Consider smaller towns or remote areas if you can be mostly self reliant.
    You’ll be glad you did.

  4. It seems to me that emergency evacuation would be taken into consideration by city planning and emergency control personnel. Obviously the best route is to try to be a step ahead and not get caught in the melee. You were probably wondering, “what would we do right now if blank ocurred”. Good article, probably makes you VERY glad that you moved to NH.

    1. @cr, in So Cal, the evacuation routes are pretty much a joke. There are just a few highways that will get you from south to north, or from west to east; those would be instantly congested. Depending on the emergency, you could also have a damaged road (earthquake or wild fires burning) that would close one route leaving maybe only more more option available – and countless vehicles trying to get through.

      I’m sure it’s that way in other areas – floods, hurricane or tornado damage, blizzards, landslides, civil unrest (yes, we’ve had protesters on foot block a freeway here) etc… you just can’t count on being able to get out once an emergency hits. I remember seeing footage of people evacuating an area (can’t remember which one) where a hurricane was coming. Even with reversing traffic flow on all highways the lines of cars were hours and hours long – a terrible mess – and that was with a couple days warning.

      1. Don’t forget to keep your gas tank full. When Hurricane Katrina hit, my daughter was in Waveland MS. She wanted to get out, but the gas stations had no gas. So she and 4 friends waited it out in the 2nd story of an apartment bldg. At one point, the water was up to their chests, but the building stayed up. Then help didn’t arrive for weeks. Everyone thought that anyone left in town was dead. There were some other people there, too and they broke into the grocery stores, according to my daughter, for cigarettes. The water had ruined what supplies were left, but they found some cans with the labels missing, and ate whatever they found inside the cans.

      2. Here in SoCal, if there is some sort of major emergency, I bet the feds or whoever will shut down all of the freeways in SoCal, and not allow people to get out. Especially if a lot of violence breaks out. We’ll be trapped. I could probably get to the Temecula/San Diego area, or the desert regions. There is a lot less people in these areas.

        1. I’m in San Diego…do not be fooled. There are lots of people here. Maybe not elbow to elbow like LA but plenty enough people to make trouble. On top of the that, the border is a hop, skip and jump away. Can’t even imagine what that mess would be like in a SHTF event.

  5. My husband and I have lived all over the US (inc Alaska) and we are now living in a place truly in the middle of no where. We paid %16,000 for 11 acres of raw land, had a manufactured home moved in and pay about $500 a year in real estate taxes. We also had a well dug for $5000. We are in the Mountains, have 4 seasons, but the winters are aren’t bad. The work has been hard, but we are really enjoying our elbow room. There are disadvantages in “frontier” (our designation was lowered from rural) living. It is 70 miles to a grocery store, 140 miles to big shopping and any specialized medical or the VA. Being raw land we have all kinds of animals wanting to eat our garden. We have made a completely fenced in garden and a fruit orchard in lick tubs,also enclosed, and have left the front to junipers, the only thing the pocket gophers won’t eat. But at the end of the day when we sit on our deck and look out over the hills and mountains we know we made the right decision.

  6. I lived in Los Angeles for 20 years. Everyday I would drive 14 miles to work, and it would take an hour and thirty minutes (unless there was an accident or construction, then it took longer). I now live in an area with far fewer people, and laugh when people complain about “traffic” around here.
    Los Angeles is an awful place full of awful people. I am glad I left, and I hope to never see the place again.

    1. “Los Angeles is an awful place full of awful people. I am glad I left, and I hope to never see the place again.”

      ~ I’m so sorry.

    2. While I don’t actually live in L.A. – I can say that yes there are some terrible people here (like any major city) but not all of us are awful : )

  7. 03.45hrs., 17 January, 1994 – I kissed my fiance goodbye, got in my car and left North Hollywood, headed toward Fresno, to start a new job, my first day!

    Northbound on I-5 I crossed under the Fwy 14 overpass at around 04.15, at around the same time LAPD motor officer Clarence Dean was headed down 14 towards I-5. I thought about stopping to pee, but figured I could make Bakersfield, or at least Gorman. So I continued north on I-5.

    At 04.31 the AM radio station I was listening to went dead. No biggie, I’m in a canyon between mountains, climbing out of Castaic. Then suddenly *BAM*! Whumpa whumpa! Sh*T! A flat tire, right? Then the whole front end of the car starts thrashing… Broken axle? Then I noticed the Semi-trailer next to me is swaying wildly back and forth. Suddenly, it dawned on me… this was an Earthquake! Just then the radio crackled back to life: “Umm, yeah, are we on? OK. Umm, ladies and gentlemen, you are listening to KNX 1070, now operating on emergency power. There has been a large earthquake, preliminary epicenter in the San Fernando Valley. Stayed tuned…”

    Aww Damn! I got off at Hungry Bear Road and got in line to use the pay phone to call home. No one could get a line into SoCal. My car door was open, radio still on. KNX was now reporting that there were “unconfirmed reports” that I-10 had collapsed and that Freeway 14 had also collapsed onto I-5. They said that CHP was en route to close the freeways. My gut told me to get the hell out of there and get back through the Newhall pass, before CHP got there to shut it down! The minor detail of a freeway COLLAPSE momentarily escaped my mind. Now southbound I-5 at ~90mph I’m calming a bit and listening to the radio more carefully. 14 overpass collapsed onto I-5. LAPD motor officer fell to his death. I-5 not passable. It dawned on me… this was a choke point. It was the only path between southern and central California. I was stranded with no way home.

    I thought about taking a run through the desert down Pearblossom all the way across the desert to I-15. But that is a crappy route under normal circumstances. If I got stuck out there, I might never be found. So I decided to bail off the freeway and take 126 out to the coast, then double back into the valley on 101. I tucked in behind a tractor-trailer that had the same idea. The further west we went, the more severe the pavement cracks were. The eastbound lane of this two lane highway was fractured and crumbling down the hillside. Aftershocks were coming regularly now. The truck ahead of me could hardly continue. But hey! At least the sun was coming up! Right? That orange glow on the horizon. But… it’s too early for sunrise. And… the sun doesn’t rise in the west!

    That comforting glow on the western horizon was actually the Moorpark oil fields on fire. And I was headed straight for it, on a road that was crumbling down a hillside beside me. The road was so bad I had to go in reverse almost a mile to get to where I had enough pavement left to do a ten-point turn around and haul ass back to the I-5 junction. Once back there, I notice some folks, mostly in 4 wheel drive vehicles, who had followed some fire trucks up into a network of fire access roads that went in between the collapsed freeways. I motored right in behind them. We got only so far and the fire department went off to the east, we needed to get south to re-enter the valley. A group of us were stopped on high ground, peering down into a topographical depression under what was left of the 14 freeway. By now the real sun, really was rising – in the east. And we could clearly make out a rapidly growing cloud of white vapor collecting in the low ground area below. This turned out to be a 30 inch natural gas pipeline the shoved up out of the ground and ruptured. I looked at the folks around me, some were smoking cigarettes. I decided to move on. Some guy with a hopped-up 4×4 and a winch had just busted open a fire access gate towards the south. I followed him. Within thirty minutes or so this fire trail led to a trailhead that exited right next to the aqueduct spillway over Granada Hills. And just like that, I was on a very damaged Devonshire blvd.

    Slowly I made my way south and east across the valley. All of the cars parked on the east side of Reseda blvd were on fire and exploding. It’s a hill. So the lead car was on fire, gas tank ruptured, flaming fuel now spills into the gutter, rolls downhill and catches all the other cars on fire. One after the other – Boom-Boom-BOOM!

    The radio reports now have a fix on the epicenter and extent of damage. The closer I got to home, the worse the damage was. I was really scared of what I might find. I passed the 7-11 around the corner from where I lived. “Habib” was outside at the curb selling gallons of drinking water for $10. He was later indicted by the LA County DA, along with dozens of others who sought to take advantage. Turning down my street, broken glass everywhere, buildings broken off their foundations and leaning to the side. People in the street, panicked. I turn in the driveway where we lived with 7 other families. Broken window glass everywhere. Foundation was cracked but standing. And thank God! There was my fiance, standing outside in the parking lot with all the other neighbors.

    Preparedness took on a whole new level of importance in my life that day.

    1. Wow McGyver68, that’s a hell of a SHTF scenario to survive. I wonder how many of those people became Preppers after that earthquake.

      1. It was the first time I thought about prep… as I sat in one of our cars, in our driveway, in the dark, thinking about how screwed we were as I listened to the news reports. I sat through after shock after aftershock in that car, in the dark, while my then BF was looking for our dogs, who ran off after all the cinder block walls in our backyard fell down.

        After that, I always had at least some food, medical supplies and a transistor radio in the house. Always. Now, I take prep far more seriously, but it was a real eye-opener.

    2. @McGyver, I now longer live in the San Fernando Valley, but during the Northridge earthquake I lived and worked there… frighteningly close to where the 118 freeway fell and not too far from the fires you wrote about. I could see them in the near-distance from our driveway.

      The ground rose and fell so hard in that quake that I could not keep my feet. We scrambled from the bed, over fallen furniture, in the pitch dark, and roaring noise of things falling everywhere (inside and out) to the doorway. I really thought the house was going to fall down on top of us. I never thought a house could take those kind of violent movements and still stand. I never before or since thought I was going to die, but in those long moments I actually thought that was it.

      Had I and others been at work at least some of us would have been killed (I worked in Northridge at that time) as huge, incredibly sharp chunks of windowpanes fell and were found everywhere – including imbedded in the tops of parked cars. A nearby Kaiser (medical) office building pancaked and you could see everything from desks & chairs to copiers sticking out between the collapsed floors – thank God it was early and the building unoccupied. A local apartment building collapsed – people were killed.

      We were lucky, we shoveled (literally) all of the food in the house off the kitchen floor into trash cans, along with everything breakable in the house. But, we were okay, all pets were eventually accounted for, and I no longer live in that area. I learned a lot that day, during that time, and I do things differently when it comes to how and what I store.

      I consider myself a novice prepper because I never used to look at having emergency supplies as prepping – I just kept stuff on hand. I finally admit to myself that I am (and aspire to be) a more prepared person, whatever label you stick on it. And, I know anywhere in So Cal would be instantly congested in an emergency, so we have to plan to bug-in for the rest of the time we live here. At least in the early stages of an emergency. I’m glad you and yours came through it okay.

      1. @ So Cal Gal & McGyver68
        Both of your stories are compelling and good you made it without to much worse for ware,
        I believe your points are well proven, a SHTF can happen anywhere at any time. An earthquake is only one of hundreds or thousands of “things” that can/will happen. Heck even here in the “good old country” we’re certainly NOT safe from problems. Even where I live/work I would have a short jaunt to get home. This would be just as dangerous as you’re getting to your safe-haven.
        I guess it’s more of the people and the attitudes of those we associate with that makes a difference. Ideally when a SHTF the people would unite, but more than likely this will NOT be the case, for the first of the event anyways. Being a study of people over the past 62 years, I have noticed the tendency of “what I have is mine and what you have is also mine” this becomes very evident in a disaster mode.
        Finally I would like to note that not all disasters or SHTF will one have the option of “staying put”. Lest say a nuke or dirty bomb hits LA, there is going to be little chance of “staying put”. Relocating may become a must, as it would here, so being mobile should also be a part of one’s plan, Bugging Out, must follow careful consideration, but may also be the only choice. Having a backup plan to a backup plan to another backup plan is never a bad idea, just something to think about.
        NRP

        1. @NRP,
          Yes… if we were forced to bug-out that would be a really bad deal for us and our options would be very limited. That scenario would be a worst-case, and depending on the affected area(s) and severity we would be looking at trying some side streets (limited choices and likely every street a parking lot), or going on foot or bicycle with backpacks. These are the kinds of back-up of back-up plans that can keep a person awake at night. But you are right (you are right a lot I have already noticed : ) )- I can’t ignore these possibilities just because I don’t like them. Ugh!

      2. I think what amazed me the most is how fast the “Red Tags” went up on buildings. Seems like the city had half our block condemned before noon that day. Criminal charges if you are caught re-entering. And yes, there was a building or two that bore the spray-painted marking “DB” (dead body). Not something I’d ever care to experience again.

    3. A friend I used to hang with in high school was on that 14 hwy when it collapsed in front of her and she stopped just in front of the collapse. I never heard the harrowing story from her like you just gave. Wow!

      I think a bug out vehicle best suited to bypassing traffic jams and traveling bad roads when shtf in the California fault areas would be an on/off road motorcycle. I used to race MX back in the day, and I went for miles down deer paths, up and down rocky mountains, jumped off cliffs, and through creeks and spillways where a 4 wheel couldn’t go. Yeah, I used to be a dare devil, and when I was in La on business, I was the only one in my company who could drive those freeways and get where we wanted to go by putting on my racing face. If those LA freeway drivers can get anywhere, they can race MX in my book!

      1. I think you are exactly correct. The best single thing you could have post-earthquake is an enduro type bike. That BMW Dakar has been calling my name for a while. Trouble is, you can’t take it with you on a car trip. It is definitely on my long term wish list.

        LA Drivers are fine. Rude and self-absorbed, yes. But not nearly as dangerous as other places. Try driving through Brooklyn or Queens… or Taipei for that matter. All places I’ve had to drive for work.

        1. I went to NYC and took the bus and then Taxis who knew where I had to go with the least traffic. Saved me a lot of grief, but if NYC and all their boroughs had to evacuate, it would be impossible.

      2. I used to ride motocross bikes too. Since I had to work in LA, and if there was a large earthquake, I had planned on “borrowing” an mx bike to get home to the Inland Empire.

    4. McGyver68, Wow! I’ll bet!! That’s some serious stuff!
      Thankfully you and your fiance survived!
      Amazing! Thanks for sharing that with us!

    5. McGyver68, Say you didn’t have the instincts or where with all to take those routes and escape; did you have provisions in your vehicle to get you through for a while? Or were you not preparedness minded before then? Just curious because that’s one of the things that came to my mind while reading your story.

      1. I’ve always had a bit of a preparedness mentality. But back then it consisted primarily of: extra gas, a tire repair kit, tools, water. None of that would have helped this situation. Come to think of it… nothing I do today would have made a difference. A “get home bag”? Sure. Just a small issue of descending into a natural gas pool and somehow climbing through and over broken concrete. Home is only 25 miles after that.

        The people who were adequately prepared in this case were the guys with the big trucks that had winches on the bumper and lots of auxiliary lighting. I’m not “that guy”, never have been.

        I think the important take-away is that when things go bad, we truly will need each other. I need Mr. Macho Truck and maybe he needs some gasoline and food.

  8. We occasionally have a friend come to visit, and two comments seem to come out almost everytime: it is pretty, but you are really isolated! We moved from the big city to the country in 2000, and it is nothing short of spectacular. We watch the news of major traffic jams, 100+vehicle accidents on Interstates….wow, we have 4-numbered roads and love it. We are thankful everyday for being here, health problems brought us, but we feel the man upstairs was looking out for us. We totally agree, if you can, get out, you will never regret it.

  9. Moved to SoCal in 71, left in 81. Was not soon enough. I will admit I did enjoy the time there, and would not replace the memories for nada. When I hit Calif, San Diego was around one million people, in 81 it was 3 million and growing like a virus. I moved to the Four Corners with $10 in the pocket, a 24 foot motor home and no job lined up, when I did get to work it was a 70%, yes 70%, cut in pay from CA. And guess what, I DON”T MISS IT A BIT!!!!!!!
    In the 35 years I’ve been here I have visited Ca a few times, I will NEVER EVER go back again. I remember the drive through Camp Pendleton from SD. to LA. 85MPH 10 feet from the car in front of you and 3 feet to the side, with 6-10 lanes each direction. Now as I sit here in Farmington with 2 cars in front and 3 behind it feels like a traffic jam. HAHAHA
    I would give advice to any who are reading this; get the HELL out of the cities, period. Money, Job, Family (take them with you), Status, NOTHING is worth living that way. Read My Lips, N-O-T-H-I-N-G is worth living like that.
    I don’t care how good of prepper, survivalist, mucho-dude, military-trained person you think you are you will NOT escape the hoards. Even if you think you can “Hunker-Down” and outlast the SHTF; it ain’t going to happen. Now don’t misunderstand me, I know here in the pho-dunk country if the SHTF it won’t be a bed of roses either. BUT I’ll bet dollars to a cops years’ worth of donuts there is a LOT better chance of “making it” than in ANY city. AND living here is different, hard to explain, but it’s a different feeling, the people are different, the lifestyle is different, it seems odd to say, but being somewhere you can actually see the stars and smell nature a person changes after a while, I guess it’s might sound stupid to some, but one becomes yourself and not just a “growth” just going through the motions of life.
    Get out of LA/Cities? Do it before you lose. I know I was there and managed to escape.
    NRP

  10. When my DIL moved to Pasadena about 10 years ago we drove down to see her, As we turned off of I-5 onto to the 134 I looked at my wife and said do you realize that in the next 5 minutes we are going to see more cars then we will see in the next year where we live? A few years later we had to drive our old F-350 though LA while towing a 27 ft 4 ton sailboat on a 30 ft trailer.
    Do you think any of those idiots would allow us to change lanes? Not once! Too busy jockeying for advantage because it might get them where they are going 30 seconds sooner. Rudest drivers in the world! Imagine trying to bugout through that kind of traffic. We were able to get into the lanes we needed to by using an unofficial traffic law. “Tonnage rules!” When your little Prius or whatever is going to get squashed like a bug by that big old sailboat slowly moving into your lane you will move.
    For those of you who live there you seriously need to consider target acquisition. Do you have any idea where LA county and it many smaller cities are on the terrorist lists? This is speculation on my part but I would imagine that if suicide bombers were to hit anywhere on the west coast it would be targets like the three major theme parks in LA County. Biowarfare would probably start in the hotbed of debauchery where the big sign is on the hill. I’m sure you all know which one I mean. Long Beach is another city in LA County and it is the largest port in the country. Shut it down either with a suitcase nuke or dirty bomb and the term serious disruption to our economy would be a very serious understatement. Even in a localized cyberattack the casualty rate could be in the millions. I’m so glad DIL is no longer living there. As far as that target acquisition goes. It’s the bad guys making there lists and they have some pretty bright people working for them. Do you think this list isn’t on their future play board? If you live in the LA area you need to move, the sooner the better and preferably yesterday!

    1. The other drivers could have just been wondering what in the heck was someone doing, bringing a sailboat to Pasadena. It’s like carrying a surf board in Palm Springs.

      Did you notice both the 710 and 134 freeways dead-end at Pasadena, you have to go around the city. They are a special kind of snowflake. Pasadena has effectively blocked freeway development for 70+ years. As a result, traffic is always snarled in that area. Try not to take it personally. I’m glad you made it out safely.

      1. That trip wasn’t through Pasadena but coming back for Mexico. You have to go through LA or deal with some serious mountains. Even an F-350 can be challenged on them.

  11. When DH and I met, he was living in L.A. and I lived in Toronto Ontario. We worked for the same company and I had gone down to Cali for a vacation. Had always wanted to see the Pacific Ocean. My boss had arranged for me to go into the L.A. office to meet my co-workers. Who knew that anything would come from that chance meeting.

    I was supposed to move to L.A. after my paperwork for immigration came through. Hated L.A. and the traffic but his job was better than mine. His step-dad mentioned that he had heard the move was to be to Canada. That stopped us in our tracks. Turned out to be the best thing that ever happened. He loves this rural area and says it reminds him of growing up in Indiana.

    We drove to Santa Barbara once to visit his mom. Loved the trip until we got to Cali. It was a nightmare.

    My apologies to those who live there and would never leave. No offence intended, its just that for me, I could never consider it. I figure if you can hardly drive down the road without that much congestion, you’ll never get out during an emergency. Feel that same way about the city I grew up in too.

    kk

    1. “you’ll never get out during an emergency.”

      Where would we go? Everyone who got out early now tells us how many guns and cases of ammo they have to defend against the marauding zombie hordes fleeing the city. I don’t want to be anyone’s zombie they would have to shoot.

      I’m good at home. Defensible position. If needed we could block vehicular access to the entire neighborhood with 3 strategically placed trash cans. I got my dogs, my tools, my stuff. No need for a days-long ruck march to my non-existent BOL in the hills. I’d probably never make it anyway.

      1. I am a California native, born and raised in Northern California(100 miles north of Sacramento, we raised our children in south Orange County. I was a federal law enforcement agent and was detailed at one point in time to a FEMA “task force” to come up with a Disaster Evacuation Plan, for all of the seven southern California counties…(and then, the 32 million folks in those counties).
        The first day we met, we realized there is NO feasible plan nor methodology that can be utilized (even with the military) that, so many people could be mobilized out of the earthquake or other natural disaster area.
        SigAlerts, are an every day event in SoCal, the Bay Area and the Sacramento metro area; this is where one or more of the major arterial freeways are closed due to traffic accidents or “police activity”. I’ve seen far too many times where every single freeway in the SoCal area was flat out closed due to “police activity”(code word for local SHTF/thugs going nuts/active shooters/add your disaster here, kind of a thing.
        WHen we experienced the Landers, Northridge and Big Bear quakes, we realized bugging in, was THE only viable option. If I was “at work”, I would necessarily have to “fight my way home”, provided I had enough fuel to do so, a viable vehicle to negotiate compromised infrastructure and the attendant civil unrest. Same thing for my wife. IN the meantime, we had to make sure our then teen kids at home, had the materiel support at home, to defend themselves from predation, looters, and had plenty of food, water and fuel to survive.
        WE sold our home and moved out 10 1/2 years ago, and haven’t looked back “longingly” at all.
        The “crush of humanity” as Ken sorta describes is far worse now, and cannot possibly be imagined by anyone who had not actually lived it in real life.(kinds like Ken and family did in their motor home journey,which was a MINOR NORMAL event.(Sorry, Ken, it wasn’t a special event that happened to you and yours, either…not to take away at all at the specific points your article makes!)
        Ken is correct as are many of the posters above who have fortunately lived through the “events” they have described in MINOR detail here. Yeah, it was a huge wake up clarion call to us as well that our family was flat out not safe in a metro area. Yes,m the suburbs are a tad safer, until the idiots start going house-to-house, even in the San Gabriel Valley or the other bedroom communities. Without potable water, you are doomed to death. And no, I wouldn’t even try to desalinate either Port of Los Angeles or Long Beach’s toxic water. far more toxins in there than people realize.
        The Los Angeles Basin (7 counties and about 33 million people now) is not a place to get stuck in. There is no way out, even with Snake Plisken’s screen writers trying their fictional magic.
        Off the soap box and apologies for the long-windedness.

        1. @TPSnodgrass

          “The first day we met, we realized there is NO feasible plan nor methodology that can be utilized (even with the military) that, so many people could be mobilized out of the earthquake or other natural disaster area.”

          Even the FEMA “task force” is realizing this 10.5 years ago, can you even imagine today?
          Thanks for the truthful info TPSnodgrass.
          My question would be with the “flavor” of the country in recent years, why would anyone even think of staying there? And PLEASE don’t say “job”.
          “The Los Angeles Basin (7 counties and about 33 million people now” OMG!!!! How in the hell could anyone survive a SHTF there.
          NRP

        2. We got out ten years ago, and our friends in SoCal remain too oblivious to what is coming to preach anymore to them, sad to say. I don’t get that mentality at all.

  12. On the topic of ‘bugging out’, the sad fact of the matter is that when you finally realize that ‘it’s time to bug out’, it’s already too late. Those who think they can beat the crowd – well – it’s like betting on the Lottery.
    You’re chances are pretty darn slim! Just the thought of being caught on the road away from home is your worst nightmare!
    Those who wait until the time when the S*** actually does Hit The Fan, are going to face ‘the maddening crowd’. You’re not going to get much sympathy from those who went before you. However, I’m sure you’re going to get a lot of ‘I told you so’s’!

    1. I agree that when it’s obvious to bug out, it’s too late. The problem is when to know it getting close enough to leave.

  13. This re-post is very timely for me. I had a post on yesterday’s thread about elbow room where I talked about So Cal being packed, and that there’s no way we could try to bug-out and hope to make it to one of two safer places where we would be welcomed. It would be too far to go and way too crowded. Like McGyver, the last thing I want is to be on the road, hoping someone takes mercy on us during a worst case scenario event somewhere between home and a safer place.

    I also realize that even with our preps, we can only stay home for so long, as we live in a tightly packed neighborhood with no defensible space… we (and our supplies) are simply too vulnerable where we are.

    One option is that we have a couple of VERY close trusted friends who live within short walking distance. Neither prep (or know that we do beyond some extra canned goods in the house) but we would take them in to add to our numbers if possible. I feel like we would be safer with a few more of us, but that also means supplies to support more people – goes back to one of Ken’s recent posts about the unprepared and security, and planning for various options.

    All of which leads me back to our plans to relocate, and our hope that a worst case scenario does not happen for a while. We simply need more time, and I know we may or may not get it. We’ll continue to prepare ourselves in the meantime, that’s the best we can do for right now.

  14. Dh took me to his home L.A. to meet his grandmother back in the late 1970’s after we married. I am from a town if you blink you have passed through, then a drive in the LA area. An experience I would not want to subject any person too unless blinders are provided as part of the traveling equipment.

    Where we live at present it is being over run with those from down south to the north, and their nasty habits with them. Do not need to say any more.

    Were offered to purchase my uncles ranch before he passed, but thankful we did not as Oregon has gone over to the dark dark side of brainless. The town had one traffic light, no major stores to shop at, no fast food places, miles to get to any big ‘convenience store’, my kind of place in the middle of no where. :-)
    Oh, almost forgot ‘outlanders’ are not welcomed by any of the old families unless you have a family connection or were born there.

    1. should have stated: We offered to purchase my uncles

      Mind going one way and fingers going another…..yah it is not Monday.

    2. @antique, so if I read you right, you are saying that you live in a very, very small community and no one from outside the community is welcomed as a new neighbor unless they already have family or other ties to the community?

      If that is what you are saying, I think it is a shame. A new family might add a retired doctor, or a talented farmer, or just plain nice people who would add to the community. As an “outlander”, I guess I have to hope we do not stumble on your community as we scout out places to relocate to. I would be heartbroken to find out that I was ostracized without given a chance to prove to my new neighbors that we are good people who are not takers.

      1. ATTN: SoCalGal
        You say it would be a shame that the locals where you want to relocate to should not pre-judge you, and that they should wait to see if you turn out to be OK people. This just goes against human nature. I would say to you, why have you waited until you had no other alternative, but to show up here? Why haven’t you even visited here, and try to get to know us before hand? Now, out of desperation, you show up and expect us to welcome you.
        Good Luck with that dream!

        1. @ Drifter
          Believe the reference was in purchasing and moving and relocating there with hopes of settling in for a lifetime, not a SHTF scenario. I have seen the same block that when buying and moving to a new area if you’re not one of the old crowd or the clan that you’re not welcome period, regardless of your attitude.

          “no one from outside the community is welcomed as a new neighbor unless they already have family or other ties to the community?”

          Had nothing with showing up out of desperation or just showing up for someone else to take you in.
          NRP

        2. @NRP, you are exactly right, that is exactly what I meant, and it is a real concern. Thanks!

        3. @Drifter, NRP is right. My comments were about looking for a place to relocate as a permanent move, not about walking into a community with our hands out in a crisis. As I have posted elsewhere on this and other threads, I have no illusions that we should wander into some rural area and ask to be taken in, or that we would be equipped to suddenly start fending for ourselves outdoors.

          No, as it relates to this post, our goal is to find (we are already looking) an area that is at least somewhat rural, where we can become productive members of a neighborhood or community sooner rather than later. I realize that in small communities we would be outsiders at first, that we would have to earn the trust and friendship of locals… I just want to find a place where we would be given that opportunity rather than be shut out forever solely because we do not have family established in the community.

      2. SoCalGal
        Not where we reside now.

        The old home front in Oregon does not welcome new people into the fold if you want to put that way. Come visit and leave. Even for us, and I was born there. Another reason we did not purchase the old ranch from the uncle, he knew it would be ruff since dh was a So Cal person. They do not like people from California…period!

        1. Oregon began changing a few decades ago when people from Cal. began migrating up, many retirees, and the housing costs went through the roof due to the price difference between the markets. It put many Oregonians in the position of being forced out of the market. Yes, I do remember the ads saying come visit but don’t stay. : ) It’s certainly not the state that I remember growing up in but then our country isn’t the same either.

        2. @antique, that’s depressing! I am not a stereotypical Californian, and it is really sad that there are some places where I would not be welcomed into a new community. I had not given this enough thought until now; we may need to be looking at larger communities than I originally planned on – may be the only way that we would be accepted. Sigh!

        3. So Cal Gal
          One lesson I have learned when looking for land in other states, rent a car with that states license plate on it, you get a better reception from the locals. I know that sounds hard, but most states do not care for those from CA, due to the ‘nasty attitudes’ that others have brought with them. Those of us who would be the nicest of neighbors and help each other are demonized by those who went before us.
          Do not take it personally. Our new neighbors are from Wisconsin and I like them.

        4. @Antique, thanks for the tip. You’ve given me very good food for thought on this topic. : )

  15. Ken, this is as good a post as any for airing an observation, then some advice.

    For years, in Texas and some other states I’ve visited, they have been constructing concrete barricades separating opposing traffic on all interstate highways and all major routes entering and leaving the major population centers. Even after many miles of barricades, they continue for, in some cases, hundreds of miles with high tensile, double steel cables, make it nearly impossible to alter direction by “jumping the ditch”. These road ways are limited access roads, requiring few law enforcement officers to deny entering and leaving the highways. This in effect, makes the PTB in total control of how you will “escape” not only L.A., but any large city. Once on one of these roads you WILL go where they want you to go.

    Now the advice. Scout for lower traffic volume roads that would be much harder for the authorities to control. Do this in advance. Know in advance where you are going. Map these roads and routes for reference when the time comes. Add a high quality hack-saw with extra high quality blades (cheap blades equal useless on high tensile steel) to your “G.O.O.D” kit (to cut the cables). A good set of bolt cutters could also prove invaluable.

    Just my thoughts.

    1. ATTN: Dennis
      Your suggestion to carry a good (and I emphasize GOOD) set of Bolt Cutters is a very wise suggestion!

    2. I don’t think cutting those cables would be recommended. Unless you are FAR from the recoil/whip effect that they will have. Look for an off route side road if possible… Or, better yet – don’t live in a large city. I can’t stress that enough. NRP has been saying the same thing. GET OUT OF BIG CITIES. Yes, you will have a cut in pay. Yes, You will have a bit of culture shock. YES Its scary leaving everything you know and starting over. Heck. I’ve started over so many times, I feel like I’m ahead of the race! Take a look at a website called ‘city-data’ there are more statistics that you can imagine.

      1. Totally agree on whip lash effect– for bystanders– not for the one doing the cutting. I’ve cut many a tightly stretched barbed wire fence, no problem for the one cutting. Country folks I have helping have enough sense to stand back until the cutting is done.

        Good point though for those w/o experience. Just tell the clueless to stand back at least one foot farther than the distance to the furthest support post.

      2. In response to your ‘whiplash effect’ on cutting cables:
        I’ve worked the Florida Highways for years, and I can tell you that there are many, many miles of highway cables that are not under much tension.
        Before you attempt to cut any, feel for yourself, by hand, the tension. The chances are pretty good that there’s not much, and you can cut safely.
        I’ve done it!

  16. For those of you in areas with few road options for getting out, if you have a place about forty miles out to aim for, and a near-by open area to take-off from, you could consider trying a paramotor. It’s a personal engine and propeller, that you strap on your back, attached to a parachute wing. You would obviously need to train and practice with it, but it would offer a way out without using the roads. Prices are far less than a car – not sure how much weight you could take with you, doubt it’d be much, but if you have a cache at your landing point – perhaps a friend or relatives place, it could get you out of a sticky situation.

    1. Hey Phil QT –

      When sailing in your ‘Paramotor’, I would seriously suggest sitting on your Armor, to keep your ass from being shot off. That’s what helicopter crewmen did in ‘Nam.

  17. A powered boat is the way out.. Even with the Japanese Tsunami those boats under power had little issue. I have watched at least 50 of those vids.. Once you get out of the harbor, power into the wave, then pull off throttle on the crest. Just bob out off the coast until the outflow debris begins its transition out. then you shut the motor down and wait. Gather up with other boats so only one has to power at a time and ease back in after 12 hours or so. If they foul their motor then you fire yours.. Unless you can help, probably better to just wait a few days so things sort out.

    And this is worst case scenario.. If the EQ is not off the coast of cali, the wave won’t be so much an issue, but the panic will be. The “looting ticket” will be passed out and chaos reigns for a bit. Boat and a beer would still be my choice.

  18. All those accounts posted above have now amplified it’s self by 2x folds. Population has grown, we have more cars congestion on the roads & highways then they were originally designed for. The roads can not handle this many cars & people. I carry road maps in all the vehicles I own and along with supplies. These are things we must be aware off, and things we can learn from reading each others posts.. Be safe and Be ready..

  19. In order to escape someplace, you have to be there.
    Ain’t gonna be anywhere in Ca. , or any other HUGE metropolis.

    1. @Tango:
      You’ve got that right! If you’re not already there when ‘IT’ happens, you’re too late already.

    2. @Tango, there are still some places in California that are far enough off the beaten path that you are in a small community, or at least away from the crowds, but those places are fast disappearing. Especially those places that still have enough water after a number of drought years.

  20. Hey Ken, I was stuck working in LA for 8 years. I live 60 miles south of LA, in whats called the “Inland Empire”. I just retired, in part to the horrendous traffic in the LA basin. I would leave after 4 am in the morning to miss the traffic to my job in LA (about 75 minute commute). If I left later in the morning, it was at least two hours.
    If I left early enough (130 pm) in the afternoon, it was about 90 minutes if there was no traffic issues.
    When I had to work late (anytime after 4 pm) it was usually 2 to 2 1/2, three hours to get home.
    A couple of years ago, my buddies at work talked about a bug out place north of the LA Area (They lived in north LA). I told them I would never make it, I would get through the traffic, and some of the horrible areas with gangs. Heck, I would need a tank or APC.
    The entire LA basin area totally sucks.

  21. Ken, you should do a similar article on… can you escape from NYC… It is an island. The authorities like they did on 9/11 will shut down the bridges, tunnels and subways. The current in the Hudson River is too strong to swim. There will be no escape unless one has a small boat…. maybe a zodiac with a small motor.

  22. To: So Cal Gal

    I relocated from Central Cal to Oregon some 6 years ago. Oregonian sentiment toward Cali boys and girls is better now than 20 years ago when Vic Atayeh (mispelled last name) was the governor up here. (he is the one that put up the billboard on Siskyou Summit)

    I received a warm welcome up here but I was a different type of Cali retiree: I came up with job skills, professional license and a job waiting for me up here in the Willamette Valley. I still work for that employer to this day. So join us up here and bring your job skills with you. Hard working people with skills and experience are welcome in most places in the US at present time.

    Los Angeles was so busy that my time as a paramedic was spent driving to the accident scene then being airlifted from the scene to the nearest Trauma Center so I spent a lot more time in helicopters than I cared for. (if accident victim was judged critical for loss of life or limb, we flew to hospital rather than drive.)
    At least if an earthquake hits LA, overpasses can be turned into 4 way intersections with earthmoving equipment within 48 hours of disaster (CALTRANS emergency manual) where as up here in Portland Oregon there are many bridges over water, mud and swamps. If a major quake hits this area, it will be much tougher to get around after the quake.

    Ken, good reminder article to get us thinking. Once you’ve worked emergency services, you tend to look for/at these considerations. That is why my family and me chose to live and work far outside the Portland Oregon Metroplex when we moved up here. What was brought up about LA can be said of any large Metropolitan Area.

    You might be in a Metroplex if: 1. Traffic reports on the radio. 2. Traffic cam footage on the local news station. 3. 2 or more reports of drive-by shootings or “gang related” items on the nightly news every night. 4. Police cruisers are a little dirty and beat up looking being driven by a serious looking individual that never leaves his unit. ( scrub marks on the push bumper, scratched plexiglass behind the drivers seat.)

    Been there, don’t miss it, you can have it, good luck making your escape.

    1. @Cali,
      Thanks so much for your response, and I’m so glad to hear that you’ve made a successful relocation to OR. With your experience in emergency medical care I can see you being welcomed with open arms, and it’s good to read that folks in OR are warming up a bit to relocating Californians. I think this is probably the case in larger small communities around the country, and we will have a better chance fitting into a larger small town than a very small “small town” if that makes sense. Adding Oregon to our places to explore, and thanks again for sharing your experience!

  23. Lived in Houston TX for awhile. Never so glad to eave a place. Never felt safe there and the traffic!

    Big cities are death traps!!!

  24. I drove the biggest uhaul there is towing my wife’s truck on a trailer down 1-5 and past L.A. when returning to Texas from Washington. This was probably the single most stressful thing I have ever done (and that includes twenty seven months in combat zones). I hate to say it, but I cannot see why anyone would live there or live like that. Now I live in a town of 1,058 and commute to work with zero stress.

    Mac

  25. I will stay right here in my small town. Going to bigger cities gives me anxiety. I cannot even drive on I35 here in Texas. There are wrecks on it daily. Its ridiculous.

  26. to all on this site: The importance of planning your bug-out/ Do not go from the frying pan into the fire.

    Statistics indicate there are areas with worse problems than Los Angeles to include the murder/homocide rates in cities like Fresno, CA, East Palo Alto, Stockton/Tracy/Lodi CA. Much of the problem stems from…you guessed it, gang related. I discovered this when I drove ambulance in those towns too.

    Homes and real estate are cheap in these areas. If you are there after dark long enough to see the freaks come out at night, you begin to get the picture why people are selling their homes at low prices.

    Dont forget to check your weapons before going to California. The state does not allow people to own high capacity magazines (10 for pistol or rifle) non-detachable magazines for rifles, or old Smith and Wesson revolvers with hammer mounted firing pins. (failed the DOJ drop test) The police do not respect the CCW permits of other states. Leave your valuable heirloom pieces at home.

    I still hunt pigs down there so I bring bolt rifles with me and i carry a Ruger LCR or Kahr CW9 in my luggage.

    1. CaliRefugee, the gang problem in California has a lot to do with the massive illegal immigration from down south. Many of them are already gang members when they arrive in CA.
      This is a fact. I had to work in the middle of all this in the worst neighborhoods in LA County.

    2. If anyone was on Venice Beach after 3:30 PM, they saw it getting very dark. Police showed up in force every 100 feet, vendors shut their businesses down and closed security doors. The beach was taken over with black leather jackets and street gangs, and decent people cleared out.

      1. @ Stardust
        Ya ain’t seen nada yet, heard of “Democracy Spring”? Wait till July 18 in Cleveland.
        It will be war in the streets.
        NRP

  27. In 71 the wife and I moved to one of the large cities in the Great Southwest gotta a good job loved the city. Then BAM in-laws took sick and we had to move back to the Midwest. It was a culture shock but we managed. After 15 years we got the urge to move back sold the house and hit the road. Got to the city we both loved and it had changed so much and not for the better I might add. I told her we are not living in this cesspool we bought a house and moved far enough away that we aren’t bothered.

  28. JF : Many gangs are from other lands and are first or second generation in the US. Other gangs (Aryan nation, KKK, and african american gangs) have roots going back hundreds of years within the United States. Some are a reaction to the “increasing mongrelization” they see happening within the US. Gangs happen and they are something to factor in when relocating. I am third generation Asian American myself and my relatives fought for the US in WW2. We did not join gangs when we grew up, Many of us joined the Police and Fire Departments.

    Our wives have pointed out that those that join Emergency Services agencies have many “gang type behaviors” to include: talking in code, hanging out with other EMS workers to the exclusion of others, gathering at the clubhouse on days off (BBQ’s and chili cookoffs at firestations)

    She was right, there are many similarities.

  29. I am taking my 4 year old son to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles tomorrow, located on Sunset in East Hollywood. I have a feasible plan to escape on foot if an emergency deems motorized transport unfeasible but without: knowledge of the area, a good stroller and stamina it would be nearly impossible. If you need to bug out on foot, bike, motorcycle etc and don’t want to wade through hordes of panicking people and who knows what else, head for Angeles Crest Hwy. Better to take your chances with the wilderness than the populace. And if you do, stay clear of me, I’m a dysfunctional Veteran and protective father ;)

    1. SapperPrep,

      Lifting prayers of healing for your son however needed and angels to watch over your travels tomorrow.

      Good Shepherd bless and keep you and your son and family~

  30. (babylonbee.com/news/u-haul-introduces-armored-war-rigs-for-californians-trying-to-flee-states-post-apocalyptic-wasteland)🙉😎

    Still thinking about being ready to bail the A.O.-
    I read about some people stuck in Louisiana after Katrina- there was no transportation, flights cancelled, no rental cars, so they pitched in and got a U-Haul truck…
    From the faq’s at uhaul dot com:
    Making a reservation online requires an American Express, Discover, Mastercard or Visa, but you are not required to use a credit card when paying for your rental. You may pay for a rental with cash… and debit cards with a Visa or Mastercard logo can be used to rent U-Haul equipment.

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