# Bug-out and evacuation: bags and routes · Dark Grid Prep > Source: https://darkgridprep.cc/bug-out ## Bug-out and evacuation When to stay and when to go, what goes in the bags, which vehicle, which route, and where the family meets. ### Latest in Bug-out and evacuation [ ](/bug-out/bug-in-vs-bug-out) #### [Bug in or bug out: how to decide before you have to ](/bug-out/bug-in-vs-bug-out) Stay home unless water, fire, toxic air or an evacuation order makes the house the danger. The triggers, the questions and the prep that let you decide in minutes. 8 Nov 2026 Other sections * [ Threats and scenarios](/threats) * [ Grid-down living](/grid-down) * [ Stockpiling](/stockpiling) * [ Home defense and security](/home-defense) * [ Communications](/communications) * [ Medical when help is delayed](/medical) * [ Family emergency plans](/family-plan) [See all eight on one page](/topics) ### Staying put is usually the plan For most families, home is where the water, food, beds and medicine are. Leaving trades all of that for a car full of gear and a road full of other people with the same idea. That is why we treat leaving as the backup plan, and we spend as much time on the decision to go as on the gear. There are clear reasons to go: a wildfire or flood heading your way, an official order, a chemical release, a house that can no longer be heated or defended. Ready.gov's evacuation page is the baseline for the official version ([Ready.gov, evacuation](https://www.ready.gov/evacuation)), and our guide to [deciding whether to bug in or bug out](/bug-out/bug-in-vs-bug-out) turns those reasons into triggers you can write down. This section covers the rest. ### What this section covers #### The bags A small kit in the car or office to get you back to your door, a 72-hour pack per person, and the heavier INCH bag for people who expect not to come back. What goes in each, what to leave out, and how much a person of 60 can realistically carry. #### Vehicles and fuel Keeping the tank above half, storing fuel safely, and what an older vehicle can and cannot do after an EMP. We separate what is tested from what is forum folklore. #### Routes and maps Paper maps, three routes out in three directions, and the choke points that jam first. #### Rally points and destinations Where the family meets if phones are down, and the friend's farm or relative's house you have arranged ahead of time. ### Where to start Decide your trigger now: the specific events that make your family leave. Write them into your [family plan](/family-plan), put a get-home kit in each car, and buy paper maps of your county and the next two over. For staying put, go to [grid-down living](/grid-down). ### Common questions about Bug-out and evacuation Should my family bug in or bug out? Stay by default, since home holds your supplies. Leave when staying is more dangerous: fire, flood, an official order, or a house you can no longer heat or defend. What is the difference between a bug-out bag and a get-home bag? One carries a person for about three days away from home. The other only has to get you from work or the road back to your own door. How heavy should a bug-out bag be? Many guides suggest staying under about a quarter of body weight, and lighter for older adults. Pack it, walk a few miles with it, and cut what you can. --- [ ](/) Dark Grid Prep is a survival magazine for American families who want to be ready when the grid, the economy or the supply chain fails: the threats (EMP, long blackouts, collapse, civil unrest), and how a household plans, stockpiles, communicates and secures its home through them. [newsroom@darkgridprep.cc](mailto:newsroom@darkgridprep.cc) ### Prepare * [Threats and scenarios](/threats) * [Grid-down living](/grid-down) * [Stockpiling](/stockpiling) * [Home defense](/home-defense) ### Plan * [Bug-out and evacuation](/bug-out) * [Communications](/communications) * [Medical](/medical) * [Family emergency plans](/family-plan) * [All articles](/articles) * [All topics](/topics) ### About us * [About](/about) * [Authors](/authors) * [Editorial policy](/editorial-policy) * [How we make money](/how-we-make-money) * [Contact](/contact) * [Terms](/terms) * [Privacy](/privacy) © Dark Grid Prep. Written for American families getting ready for grid-down emergencies. Some links may earn us a commission. It never decides what we write. [How we make money](/how-we-make-money)