Yes, it’s Fire Season again. Even if there isn’t a fire nearby, the smoke blows far and wide. Sometimes, it’s hard to breathe; sometimes, we just get pretty sunsets. But, when you live in the West, you need to be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
Contents
Recommendations for Fire Season:
Here are our recommendations for preparing for Fire Season, keeping your data safe, and making sure your technology continues to work wherever you land.
Use a laptop or Macbook for your daily computer:
- For most people, there isn’t a huge difference between a desktop and a laptop. Get the computer that ill allow you to grab it fast. You can still have a large monitor and keyboard on your desk. If you need to bug out, just unplug everything, grab the notebook, and go!
Get two charging cables for your laptop:
- Keep one at your desk and the other in your laptop case. This way you can just grab the computer and GO.
Fire Season or not – Store your files in the Cloud:
- Make sure you use the Cloud to back up your data. An external hard drive can accidentally get left behind. Or worse, you may not even have time to grab your laptop. (One of our customers was evacuated during the recent Lake Shore fire west of Boulder. He didn’t have a chance to grab anything, but did have his files uploaded to Dropbox. And, yes, his house was ok, but it did have a lot of smoke damage.) I’ve been using Dropbox for years, and I like its ease of use.
Get a Hot Spot:
- Talk to your cell phone provider about turning your cell phone into a hot spot. As long as you have access to a good cellular signal, you can send a good wifi signal to your laptop from anywhere.
- Speaking of “Hot Spots”, here’s a great video from Jefferson County Fire Department on what to do if you think you spot smoke or a wildland fire:
POWER!
- Make sure you have several fully charged battery packs. I recommend getting two of these Power Banks. Keep one in your laptop case and the other in your car. Make sure it’s kept charged!
More Tips for Fire Season:
- Keep the Geek For Hire phone number handy. We can talk you through most of the issues you may be having. Remember, if you just have a quick question, we don’t charge for phone calls under 10 minutes.
- During Fire Season, remember to keep your precious photos and other valuables in a bin by the door, ready to go in case you do get evacuated.
- Keep your fuel tanks at least half full throughout Fire Season.
- Grab your laundry basket. All of your favorite clothes are already in there!
Keep Informed about Fire Season:
There are several websites I check on during fire season. One tells me where the smoke is, another tells me where the fires are, and another tells me about the winds.
AirNow.gov shows the smoke plumes:
Inciweb shows where the fires are right now:
Earth::Wind is one of my favorite apps. My only complaint is that there aren’t enough features to tell where you are. If you know your lat/long to 20 degrees and all the major rivers, you’ll do fine!:
On the bright side, we’ll be treated to some amazing sunrises and sunsets throughout fire season!
I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!
INFORMATION ABOUT GEEK FOR HIRE, INC.
Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.
We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free and fast shipping. With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. You can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
If you’d like to receive our newsletters in your email, please click here.
