Those of us who are affected by the Station Fire in La Canada, Pasadena, and other areas, may need to remember some safety tips and other information about cell phones, smartphones, and wireless services during a disaster.
The view from our office is truly horrifying, the mountains that usually set a green jagged frame to the sky, are aflame with smoke so thick the air smells like we are in a fireplace.
The first time, we'd like to remember from the "Hitch Hikers Guide to Universe is "Don't Panic" and instead of "bring your towel," we'd like to add, "bring your charger, car charger and extra battery." If you are relocated, and running out of the house quickly, you may forget essential communication tools, you will need while away form your home.
Here are our general reminders.
- Be sure to keep your cell phone charged.
- Send
text messages to save bandwidth - frequently during a disaster the cell
tower traffic can get overloaded. Sending text takes far less
bandwidth and can notify your loved ones without tying up resources. - Keep your cell phone away from extreme heat such as the dashboard of your car, or fires.
- Don't let your cell phone be exposed to water.
- A car charger, battery booster or other form of charger such as a the fuel cell Medis 24-7 is good to have Solio also makes a solar phone charger.
During a power outage it is important to have another way to charge your cell phone.
- Backup
your contacts, in more than one place that you can access when away
from you home or office. BlackBerry and iPhone users can backup
contacts online with iDrive Lite. If you put all your data on a portable USB drive, take the drive with you. - Designate
a person outside your area as family contact for the rest of friends
and family to contact if you are unable to reach everyone. - When
cell towers are lost due to fires, the major carriers usually send out
COWS ( cell towers on wheels) to cover the area and set up temporary
centers for charging, Wi-Fi access and assistance. We will keep you
updated to the latest information from the wireless carriers. - There
tends to be a lot of cell phone traffic which can overload the system
during a disaster. If you can find a landline, you may be able to get a
call through.