Who else is being impacted by CA fires?

Drmnez

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place.

On the topic of collecting I'm pre-evacuating my house. I grabbed all my convention mf, all my sealed sets, a few star wars mini figs, I debating on the brickheadz from the conventions and my sh figs. Everything else is being left behind to make room for my irreplaceables. 

Is it worth trying to rebuild my collection in the event that my house is destroyed? I feel like if the worse comes to worse it's not worth trying to make a collection again. Thoughts?

vwong19

Sorry to hear that you are being evacuated. I hope your neighborhood is spared.

The thought has crossed my mind about what to take in the event of an evacuation. Lego minifigures, especially SDCC minifigures, are among the few things that I would take since they are small and portable. I would probably dump some of the old retired Modulars in a big tub. I would leave the majority of my collection behind also. 

The other things i would take would be important documents.

I would probably start collecting again, but not replace most of it. 

Drmnez

Thank you.

I think ultimately I would sell a lot of what i brought, but keep certain things. Probably sell my ucs sets and maybe my convention mf but I'm not sure yet. 

I might give up on Lego "collecting" and just do sets I really really like. Idk yet though

bea

I've been thinking about what I would bring if I had to evacuate based on how much I could likely fit in my car. So far, lego is not making the cut. Items which are more useful or more meaningful would take precedence even if they are not worth as much in monetary terms. 

Hanzo

Can't imagine being put in a position like this.  I pray you and yours come out unscathed.

Not knowing anything about the logistics or timing of the evacuation, would it be possible to rent a U-Haul and load it up and drive to a safe area?

akunthita

My heart goes out to anyone who has to think about these decisions. We were getting very close to being evacuated during Irma, and frankly, LEGO didn't even come to my mind. We boarded up the windows, gathered important documents and electronics into a waterproof tub in case we needed to leave quickly, then stayed up all night in the dark, hoping that the roof will still be there in the morning. 

No matter how deeply I love this hobby, when it comes to crucial decisions like evacuation, LEGO doesn't make the list. We were out of power and internet for a week, and our city is still partially flooded and have tree debris in huge piles everywhere. When you live through hurricanes, tornadoes, fire, floods, and other major disasters, your perception of what's important shifts very quickly. One thing I resolved though is that for next time I will have a better prepared list of what to take and what not to take in case of an emergency.

Hanzo

I don't think any sane person would put their hobby over the well being of their family, but in a situation like this there may be ample time to evacuate, in which case after everything else is secured (documents, pictures, heirlooms etc) I can't see the problem in trying to salvage that which you enjoy.  

Drmnez

Well, no worries everyone, all the important non-lego things are taken care of and located in a safe place. We moved them all when we thought there was a possibility of evac. Everything else can, one day hopefully, be replaced. Insurance should cover the replacement of big ticket items

My wife and decide that having our tv/bed but no home is kind of useless. I wanted to bring somethings with us that we can sell in the event of the fire doing its worse. Her expensive purses, my Lego and Comic statues. 

Pertaining to Lego, I don't know if it's worth replacing things. I got most of my cool sets/Exclusive when they were cheaper. Trying to get it now will probably be next to impossible. I don't know if that effort is worth it

gmonkey76

Hope everything turns out ok. If possible i would take any Comic-Con and expensive sets. If worst case scenario at least you have something to sell so you have some money until you can get back to normal. Good luck.

samiam391

@Drmnez - So sorry to hear this news. Hoping and praying that the fire goes out entirely!

Glad you and the wife are out of harms way.

Drmnez

gmonkey76 said:

Hope everything turns out ok. If possible i would take any Comic-Con and expensive sets. If worst case scenario at least you have something to sell so you have some money until you can get back to normal. Good luck.

That was my thought exactly cuz I can't save my whole collection so I might as well sell a good chunk to help pay for expenses. 

samiam391 said:

@Drmnez - So sorry to hear this news. Hoping and praying that the fire goes out entirely!

Glad you and the wife are out of harms way.

Thanks for the vibe and prayers. We wanted to make sure we didn't wait until the last minute. Stuff is stuff but we wanted to make sure we were safe and had a means outside of our job that we could use for expenses. 

I do think that at least for a while, if my house burns down, that Lego will take a huge backseat and I will focus on my photography and woodworking so I can hone my skills and make some side cash. 

77ncaachamps

Be safe. If the air quality down in the South Bay is any indication of how bad it is up there, I cannot even begin to fathom what you and your community is experiencing.

Hope your area is spared and they're able to control the fireS.

Switchfoot55

Definitely take pictures of anything you leave behind. Homeowners insurance can do miracles when things are well documented. Sure it will take time, but will save a ton of frustration in the end. 

Here's hoping it will be a non issue for you and yours!

77ncaachamps

Switchfoot55 said:

Definitely take pictures of anything you leave behind. Homeowners insurance can do miracles when things are well documented. Sure it will take time, but will save a ton of frustration in the end. 

Here's hoping it will be a non issue for you and yours!

This is a very good suggestion.
Take pics and store them in the cloud.
It will help you feel better because the agent/s can see the physical goods you are claiming in the loss.

samiam391

Any updates? I hope everything is well.

PapaBear

I feel so sorry for everybody affected by the fires.  I know wildfires are such a big problem for Californians.

I pray that they will not reach your neighborhood.

vwong19

Obviously family and pets are the number one priority. An evacuation procedure should be practiced and survival supplies always maintained. At least hurricanes and wild fires there is adequate warning, but when you live in an earthquake or tsunami zone, an evacuation drill is a matter of minutes. 

What are items that you are taking?

The things I would take if given minutes to go...
- Documents bag (birth, marriage, deeds, trusts, passports, etc)
- wallet
- cell phone
- medication
- pets

if given an hour...
- baby books
- jewelry
- Change of clothes
- tablets, chargers
- battery chargers
- camping gear bin (tents, sleeping bags)
- laptop
- jackets
- blankets
- kid's toys
- baseball gloves
- Lego (SDCC and select minifigures, early Modulars)
- water and bottles
- food
- pet food
- vehicles
- bikes

in the event of a disaster you would want to take basic nessicities even if you think you can buy it later. Always carry some water and a first aid kit in your vehicle. Many stores will be effected, closed or out of stock during a disaster.

I lived through a couple of local wild fires, a major state wide power outage, but no major earthquakes. We maintain reserves in case an earthquake does happen.

Drmnez

Fire update: Fire fighters have been able to contain a lot of the fire, but I'm still being cautious and keeping our irreplaceables at an offsite location for now. Parts of our community is still being threatened because of winds. 

A lot of my wife colleagues at her sister hospital lost everything because they were evacuating patients instead of going home. 

@vwong19 we grabbed those important items and my wife took stuff that we would have been able to sell just in case we lost our home is SDCC/NYCC/NYTF SH mf, some purses, etc. 

Thankful in our area no lives/homes were lost. From reports it doesn't look like the fire currently took any new homes, but Ppl are still missing. Hopefully they are ok.