What would you grab if you had one hour?
My husband’s phone buzzed first.
He picked it up, read it, and went quiet for a second too long.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Another evacuation,” he said. “Looks like the fire’s moving.”
I pulled up the Watch Duty app to see exactly where. The Level 3 evacuation zone cut right through the neighborhood where I grew up.
That one hit different.
Joe was already bouncing between the Watch Duty and the Flightradar24 apps, tracking the air tankers and watching the fire move in real time. The power had gone out an hour earlier, so I stood there in our dark house watching over his shoulder. Then I looked around our own house.
If I’d had even an hour to pack, I would have been caught with my pants down. We just didn’t have enough in place.
The city of Spokane held its breath on Saturday, August 1st. Red flag warnings, power outages, phones buzzing nonstop, three wildfires across town, and thousands of people evacuating while trying to reach friends and family.
Scrolling through social media was devastating on Sunday morning. Part of town looked like an inferno: smoke plumes over the city, houses burned to the foundation, ponderosa pines fully engulfed.
By the afternoon, friends who lived in those neighborhoods started learning if their houses were still standing. Some got lucky and the fire missed their homes by a few blocks. Others weren’t so lucky. A couple I did my master’s with lost everything. Someone my husband used to race road bikes with also lost everything. Seeing their photos and videos of what was left of their homes hit different than watching it on the news. There were no words.
It’s one of those moments that reminds you how little control we actually have. Even in town, in an established neighborhood, the right conditions can take everything in minutes.
So this past week, I did two things. First, sat with gratitude that Joe, our pup, and everyone else we know is safe. Second, rethought the practical stuff (like where our important documents and insurance policies are) and what I’d actually grab if I had one hour or less to leave.
The Prep Nobody Wants to Think About
We can spend so much energy getting out of debt and building wealth that it’s easy to forget the boring, unsexy layer underneath it: can you actually protect what you’ve built if you had to walk out the door in an hour or less?
Here are five things I’m double-checking right now (and what I’d encourage you to check, too).
1. A portable battery, charged and ready.
Power was out for a lot of people that day. Right when they needed their phones most to get alerts, check on family, and coordinate with neighbors. A charged battery pack can cost less than a nice dinner out and can be the difference between staying connected and going dark at the worst possible time. This is the portable battery Joe and I use for camping. It came in good use on Saturday when we didn’t have power.
2. Insurance policies, actually up to date.
Not just “I have homeowners insurance” (or renter’s insurance, if that’s you), but do you know your coverage limits, whether you have wildfire or evacuation-related coverage, and where to find your policy number when you’re not calm and your hands are shaking. Schedule time to review it this week while you have the bandwidth to actually read it.
3. Photos of everything you own.
Walk through your house with your phone and film or take photos of every room, every closet, every drawer. Insurance claims typically move faster and go smoother when you can prove what you had. It takes 15-20 minutes and it’s the kind of thing you’ll only regret not doing. Then email the photos or video to yourself and save it in a folder, or save it straight to a folder in the cloud, so it’s not just sitting on a phone that might not make it out with you.
4. Important documents in one place.
Marriage license, birth certificates, passports, Social Security cards, anything you’d hate to spend months replacing through a government office. Keep them together in a folder or a small fireproof safe you can grab without thinking. Worth backing up too: scan copies onto a password protected thumb drive, external hard drive, or folder in the cloud, so you’re covered even if you can’t grab the physical originals.
5. Family photos and small heirlooms.
The stuff insurance can’t replace. If it matters to you and it’s small enough to grab, know exactly where it lives so you’re not digging through closets while smoke is rolling in. For example, my late mother painted a ceramic Halloween black cat over forty years ago. Something about it just reminds me of her. If I lost it, I’d be crushed. But I know exactly where it is, so I can grab it if I ever need to.
None of this is about living in fear. It’s the same principle behind an emergency fund: you do the unglamorous work now so you're not starting from zero when things hit the fan. Financial peace of mind and being ready for the unexpected aren't as separate as we like to think.
I keep coming back to that moment sitting in our dark house, watching Joe bounce between apps, realizing how little we actually had in place. That’s not a feeling I want to have again. Next time a phone buzzes with an alert like that, I want to already know where our documents are, what’s backed up, and what I’d grab without having to think twice. That’s the goal here, not fear, just being ready.
➡️ Have you ever had to evacuate your home? What did you grab? What advice would you pass on to others?
👋 Hi! I'm Jeannette and I help professionals ditch debt without the overwhelm and build wealth without the stress.
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Friendly reminder: The information shared is for educational purposes only and isn’t a substitute for financial, legal, tax, or mental health advice. Please consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.
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