F-16 Crash Sparks Mile-Wide Toxic Evacuation in Northern Michigan

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The Ready Brief #199

Practical preparedness for uncertain times

A family evacuated from Houston to Dallas during Hurricane Harvey. 240 miles. It took 9 hours. Normal drive time: 3.5 hours. They had a full tank, go-bags, and a plan. What they didn't have: enough water for a 9-hour drive in August heat, a way to use the bathroom without stopping at overwhelmed gas stations, or entertainment for two kids who'd been awake since 3 AM. The long-distance evacuation has problems that the go-bag doesn't solve.

Here's what I've got this morning.

The Long-Distance Evacuation: Beyond the Go-Bag

We covered evacuation planning (Issue 13), vehicle kits (Issues 45, 115), and social instability evacuation (Issue 132). This week addresses the specific challenges of driving 300+ miles to a safe destination when roads are congested, services are overwhelmed, and the drive takes two to three times longer than normal.

Water planning is the biggest gap. Standard go-bags contain 1 to 2 liters per person. A 9-hour drive in summer heat requires 2 to 3 liters per person. For a family of four, that's 8 to 12 liters (about 2 to 3 gallons) in the vehicle. Pre-fill reusable bottles or keep sealed gallon jugs in the trunk.

Fuel strategy goes beyond a full tank. Know the fuel capacity of your vehicle and its highway range. Identify gas stations along your route at 50-mile intervals. During mass evacuation, stations run out. Having a 5-gallon fuel can (properly stored, Issue 127) in the vehicle effectively extends your range by 75 to 100 miles.

Rest stops and bathrooms become scarce. A portable toilet option (even a bucket with bags, Issue 156) in the vehicle handles the reality of 8-hour drives without available rest stops. Privacy can be managed with a pop-up privacy tent ($20 to $30) or blankets.

Entertainment and comfort for extended drives with children prevents the emotional meltdown that degrades everyone's decision-making. Tablets pre-loaded with movies (no internet dependency), coloring books, snacks beyond the emergency food supply, and comfort items from the family kit (Issue 129).

Navigation must be offline-capable (Issue 31). Cell networks overload during mass evacuations. Your route should be loaded on offline maps with two alternate routes pre-planned. A paper map of your region (Issue 28) provides backup when everything digital fails.

The vehicle maintenance (Issue 166) is non-negotiable before any long-distance evacuation: tires, fluids, battery, belts, and wipers. A breakdown during an evacuation on a congested highway is a scenario you cannot afford.

Communication during the drive: the check-in protocol (Issue 163) tells your destination and your relay contact that you're moving and your estimated arrival. Update them at each fuel stop or every 2 hours.

Put 2 gallons of sealed water in your vehicle's trunk right now.

Not for drinking today. For the evacuation you haven't planned for yet. Two gallons covers a family of four for a long-distance drive in warm weather. Replace every 6 months. Costs $2.

US Drinking Water Infrastructure Just Earned a C-, With 657 Main Breaks a Day

The American Society of Civil Engineers gives the nation's drinking water systems a C- in its latest infrastructure report card. About 240,000 water main breaks happen every year, roughly 657 a day, and aging pipes lose an estimated 33.3 trillion gallons of treated water annually, more than 50 million Olympic pools worth. Nine million lead service lines are still in the ground, and ASCE puts the investment gap at $625 billion over the next 20 years just to bring the system current.

For anyone who assumes tap water is a given, it is worth remembering how much of it depends on infrastructure built decades before your house was.

Source: ASCE Infrastructure Report Card

Mykel Hawke's Family Survival Guide addresses family evacuation with the thoroughness of a Special Forces operational movement. His principle: a family evacuation is a military operation with civilians. It requires route planning, supply staging, communication protocols, and contingency plans for every phase.

Hawke's specific advice for long-distance evacuation: divide the route into segments. Each segment has a designated rest point, fuel point, and decision point ("if conditions change, do we continue or divert?"). The segmented approach transforms a daunting 500-mile drive into a series of manageable 75 to 100-mile legs.

Family Survival Guide by Mykel Hawke and Ruth England Hawke runs about $19 in paperback.

F-16 Crash Near Traverse City Sparks Mile-Wide Hazmat Evacuation

A Texas Air National Guard F-16 from the 149th Fighter Wing crashed Thursday afternoon near Blair Township in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, during a training exercise out of the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center. The pilot ejected safely and was treated at a local hospital, conscious and speaking with law enforcement within the hour. Michigan State Police first ordered residents to shelter in place, then upgraded to a full evacuation within one mile of the crash site over hazardous chemical concerns. F-16s carry hydrazine, a toxic fuel used in the jet's emergency power unit, and officials have not confirmed what spilled. The cause remains under investigation.

The order came with no warning and no connection to weather, fire, or anything forecastable. That is exactly the scenario a go-bag exists for.

Source: Stars and Stripes, Spectrum News

Long-Distance Vehicle Evacuation Kit (Trunk Box)

Separate from my go-bag and car kit, I maintain a trunk box specifically for long-distance evacuation: 3 gallons of water (in sealed 1-gallon jugs), a 5-gallon fuel can (empty, to be filled pre-departure), a portable bucket toilet with bags and cat litter, a pop-up privacy tent, 2 paper maps (regional and destination area), a vehicle tool kit, jumper cables, a tire plug kit, extra motor oil (1 quart), a cooler (for perishable food and medication), and a $50 cash stash in small bills.

The box takes up about 2 cubic feet of trunk space. It stays in the vehicle year-round. During non-evacuation life, the water rotates every 6 months and the fuel can stays empty. About $80 in supplies (excluding cash).

Budget alternative: Water (2 gallons, $2), paper map ($5), and cash ($50). The three items that address the three biggest long-distance evacuation gaps: hydration, navigation without cell service, and purchasing power when cards don't work.

Overrated: Evacuating at the last minute with "whatever you can grab." Rushed departure means forgotten medications, forgotten documents, forgotten water, and forgotten chargers. A staged, pre-packed system means a 15-minute departure with everything you need.

Underrated: Knowing your vehicle's actual fuel range. Not the optimistic estimate on the dashboard. The actual range at highway speed with the AC running and a full load. Test it during a normal drive. That number determines whether you can reach your destination on one tank or need a fuel stop.

Issue 200. The antifragile household. After four years of weekly preparedness, we define what it means to not just survive disruption but get stronger because of it.

PS: The Houston-to-Dallas family’s biggest regret wasn't the traffic. It was running out of water at hour 6 with three hours still to go. Their kids were dehydrated and cranky. The rest stops were packed. The lesson: water planning for an evacuation must account for double or triple the normal drive time. Two gallons in the trunk would have changed their entire experience.