preparedness stuff & Reverse 911

Here is the sun oven that we got a few weeks ago.

You may have heard me talk about our friend, Derek from Mapleton who head up the Preparedness Class for the Mapleton Stake...well, he got me this sun oven to try out in the name of preparedness research.  (can you see Hooee's reflection in the top pic?)

I was a skeptic.  However, I am slowly becoming a believer.  It does take some practice.

I have been reading up on the internet for tips and tricks.

This thing heats up.  Hot.  and quick.

Almost immediately upon opening it up towards the sun, you can see the temperature rise--quickly.

Bread doesn't really brown like it does in the oven.  

So, you have to watch to make sure it isn't getting too done which is the same as too dry.

But, the best part is that you can do all sorts of cooking and baking outside and not heat up the entire kitchen/house.

If you can cook it in an oven or a crockpot, you can cook it in the sun oven.

(the container that you use might make a difference.  So will the time of day/amount of direct sun.)

Bread in the sun oven.

 I made 2 batches of this jam--rhubarb orange.  pretty good.  I added some pink food coloring to the second batch because it seemed weird to eat green jam.  It was mighty tasty on the bread from the sun oven.

Back Packs & 72 hour kits...

 Rick has also been doing some research for Derek on backpacks and 72 hour kits.  

It's actually been pretty awesome for us because when we opened up our 72 hour kits to evaluate them we discovered that the last time we updated them we took out the clothes...AND forgot to replace them.  DUH.  There weren't any extra clothes in our 72 hour kits.

Derek and Rick are doing some research and trying to find some options for people to come to one of the preparedness meetings, find out about different first aid kits, and then mix & match to put together their own kit on-site to take hope with them.

Not really sure how it will work, but we're learning a lot along the way.

Pellet Grill

This is Rick's father day gift (to himself).

It's a pellet grill.

That means that it uses wood pellets to burn and create the heat to cook/smoke the food.

The brand is Traeger and Rick has wanted one for a long time.

I'm quite impressed.

Our favorite so far has been the pizza.

and the last preparedness item is Reverse 911.

We learned about this a few months ago at the preparedness class on Communication.

The Mapleton Chief of Police was one of the presenters.

Mapleton City has implemented the Reverse 911 program and has utilized it on a few occasions such as alerting residents of temporary water main shutoffs and other utility concerns.

What this system does is allow the city to be able to call any of the residents through a mass phone call followed by a recorded message.  It is linked through the Mapleton City utility system, so if you are a Mapleton City resident and you pay utilities, you can be on the Reverse 911 system.

Our home phone number is NOT listed so we are not on the reverse 911 system and have never received any of the alerts.  I kept thinking that I should check into it, but I neglected to do so.

well, when Scofield was evacuated 6 weeks ago, I know that the Reverse 911 system was activated there because after we finally were able to get to the house in Scofield after the evac was lifted, there were several messages on the answering machine with recorded updates regarding the fire.

And that was great, except that we were not able to get to the house to answer the phone and get the updates.

So, it reminded me that I should probably make an effort to get my home phone number registered with the Mapleton city reverse 911.

That was easy.  I called Lani at the city offices (489-6253) and she was able to add my home phone number to the system.  And she also added my cell phone and Rick's cell phone.  Because, really, we are NEVER home.  Of course our cell phones should be listed in the system.  

And how nice would that have been to have our cell phones or home phones in the system in Carbon County so that we (extended family) would have first hand information regarding the fire and the Scofield Evacuations???

And then I found out how to register my number with the Utah County Reverse 911.

go to this link to register your phone number (it may already be registered, mine was not because my number is unlisted).

The above picture is Timp.  I love that view, it makes me think of being young and growing up in Orem and looking up at the view every day when I walked to school.  One thing I noticed when I took this picture on July 4 was that it was nearly clear of any visible snow.  That is unheard of on July 4.  Usually the snow doesn't completely melt until late August and some years it doesn't completely melt at all before the snow appears again.

So, we are certainly in a drought.  

And with all of the fires and potential for more fires, I felt that it was more important than ever to be on the Reverse 911 system.  

If you live in Mapleton, will you call Lani and make sure your phone numbers are registered? or add your cell phone(s)?

If you do not live in Mapleton will you see if your city has Reverse 911 and make sure your numbers are registered? (sorry mom, Highland does not have Reverse 911)

If you are in Utah County will you make sure you are part of the Utah County Reverse 911?

And one more thing...if you are in an emergency situation.  Don't call.  Text.

Your message is much more likely to go through because a text will take significantly less band width than a phone call at a time when a huge number of people are trying to make phone calls.