Watch this video

Watch the video at the top of this story.  WATCH IT.

This man and his family are on the run for their lives.  Obviously they made it, we have the video.  I’m happy for them, because it was a very close run thing.

We can Monday Morning Quarterback this to death, but I’m not going to do that.  The Gatlinburg wildfires blew up so fast that a lot of people got caught with their pants down.  This wasn’t a hurricane that was forecasts days in advance, nor is it stupid people who ventured into a desert with inadequate gear.  This is people who were going about their normal lives and suddenly the maw of hell opened up around them.  The fires were many miles away and then suddenly, they weren’t.  Sometimes, shit does happen.

What I want to say is that this is the best thing you can show people who don’t understand why you prep.  Show them this and tell them “This is why you need to be situationally aware. This is why you have go bags.  This is why you have your plans already made and your evacuation routes already planned out.  You don’t want to find yourself dodging wildfires, dodging downed trees, dodging downed power lines and dodging neighbors trying to get out at the last minute.”

The 21st Century has given us wonderful tools.  We can do things that would appear to be magic to someone from 200 years ago.  But if you don’t use them, one day you may find yourself dodging a wildfire–or a riot, or a flood, or caught in the aftermath of an earthquake or a fire in your house–dazed, confused, maybe panicked, not knowing what to do or where to go.  In an emergency, you will not step up to the needs of the emergency.  You will default to the level of your planning and training.

Tell your “don’t get it” friends that you don’t want to see them on FOXNews–or in the funeral home at a closed casket ceremony.