Be prepared

While we cannot predict the future, it makes good sense to be prepared across all the facets of our lives.

We all can foresee some of what the future holds — colder, darker days, the switch to snow tires and the return of Chinook winds.

Last week, Southcentral Alaska was served an early notice of that need when a windstorm blew through the Anchorage area Sept. 4, interrupting key services like electricity, school and the Internet. Some customers in Anchorage were still without power by Saturday.

The day after the storm, Mat-Su Borough Emergency Management Programs Coordinator Beatrice Adler sent a note reminding us that September is National Emergency Preparedness Month and about a local preparedness fair next Saturday where people and businesses can get help preparing for the next emergency.

The kind of preparedness we are talking about here is a personal responsibility. The state, borough and cities have their own emergency response plans, but often at the personal and business level, emergency planning is overlooked.

While our neighbors to the south took a pummeling that will take weeks to put right, we in the Mat-Su Borough were largely spared the wind’s destructive force — this time.

That gale force winds will blow in the Mat-Su Valley this winter is a sure thing. Before spring’s return, it’s a safe bet that we will see uprooted trees fall into power lines and turn whole neighborhoods dark.

We all prepare for winter, but we suggest expanding those preparations to include the next windstorm, snowstorm or ice storm that knocks out the lights, closes roads and leaves all of us home in the dark huddling together around our woodstoves for heat.

Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management website — ready.alaska.gov — offers resources to help people known what to include in their emergency kits. The website includes a list for families with pets to use to prepare, including a current photo of the pet, food and water bowls, current shot and license records and a manual can opener.

It’s also a good idea to talk to your friends, family members and neighbors about preparedness. If they aren’t, when they run out of drinking water, flashlight batteries or gas for their generator or firewood, they’re probably coming to your house. Maybe make a gift out of a windup flashlight or a standard flashlight and a big pack of spare batteries to get them started. Following are some other resources that can help people and business craft plans to be prepared. Be prepared — it’s your responsibility.

To learn more:

• Mat-Su Borough Emergency Services has partnered with the North America Outdoor Institute and more than 20 others to present the fourth annual Mat-Su Safety Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sept. 15 at Mat-Su College. For more information, contact 373-8822 or visit naoiak.org.

Items included in a three-day emergency kit:

• One gallon of water per day, per person

• Nonperishable food

• Radio, battery-powered or hand-cranked, with NOAA Weather Radio reception and tone alert

• Extra batteries

• Flashlight and extra batteries

• First aid kit

• Cold-weather gear and blankets or sleeping bags

• Dust mask, plastic sheeting and duct tape

• Moist wipes, garbage bags and plastic ties

• Wrench or pliers

• Household bleach and a dropper

• Indoor-safe heat source such as hand warmers, Sterno, emergency candles or propane/butane heat source labeled for indoor use

• Cellphone with chargers, inverter or solar charger