On Sunday, there were at least 180 wildfires reported across Eastern Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. South Carolina apparently took the brunt of them as the governor declared a state of emergency. Myrtle Beach, a place usually associated with sunshine, was shrouded in smoke thanks to a nearby forest fire.
OK Mother Nature, I can take a hint. I stepped up my wildfire prevention efforts.
Pump Trial Run
On Monday, I unpacked my new gas-powered water pump, added oil and fuel, rolled out the hoses, primed it, and gave the pull-cord a few pulls. Vroom! It roared into action and the hose filled with water. The resulting spray was pretty darn good for a $200 Harbor Freight pump, providing more pressure than I had expected. In fact, the 145 feet of hoses and nozzles cost more than the pump. That 100-foot long forestry firehose is expensive stuff. But the result is that for less than $500, I now have a way to knock down any brush fires that encroach on our homes.
Considering what I’ve spent on prepping over my life—hell, over last year alone—the $500 is a bargain.
I now have an inexpensive pump attached to a moderately expensive hose, with a cheap nozzle that sprays far more water than a garden hose a good bit further, too. That makes me feel happy. Of course, I’m also glad fires is covered by our homeowners insurance, unlike flooding.
After the test, I set my new firefighting pump and accessories up on a hand truck so I can wheel it across the property, instead of making multiple trips carrying gear.
Now all I need is some water storage tanks.
In Search of IBC Totes
I spent some time on Sunday evening searching for local IBC totes. One problem of living in the middle of nowhere is you can’t always find things locally. I could have them shipped to me, but only if I wanted to pay a fortune or get a truckload of 60. I found one on eBay that was about 75 minutes away. In the end, I strapped on my body armor and logged into Khazad-dûm, prepared to fight the balrog. Yes friends, I logged into Facebook to check out Marketplace.
It would be more accurate to say I tried to login. Facebook told me I had not logged in since May 2023, so my account was frozen until I proved I was whom I said I was. I gave them my login ID, my password, and the super-secret six-digit code they sent me, but that wasn’t good enough. I then had to bend over, stick my head between my legs, take a photo of my butt and send it to them. Well, that’s not exactly what happened, but that’s about how invasive I found the whole ID verification process to be. No wonder I stay off Facebook.
They got back to me the next day to tell me my identity had been verified and I should reset my password. Gee, thanks, FB.
One quick search later and I found IBC totes for less than they were anywhere else, and closer too. So, just as Frodo found out, it sometimes makes sense to brave the darkness of Moria and Khazad-dûm to save time and money.
I plan to pick up an IBC tote on Thursday, since I am already heading that direction. After I figure out things, like how long that will feed my pump, and do a little plumbing to attach the 2-inch tote pipe to my 1inch pump input, I may pick up a second. We’ll see.
Until then, we’ll have to count on the rain to minimize the chance of fire. I live in an area with plenty of rainfall; let’s hope we didn’t use up our annual allotment during Helene.
