North County Preppers plan first meeting Feb. 7

A new group is forming to assist anyone interested in being prepared in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.

North County Preppers will hold its first meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 14211 Twin Peaks Road, Poway. The free meeting is open to the general public.

“‘Prepper’ is the term for those neighbors who have stored water, food and probably guns to be prepared for anything that may come their way,” said Merrilee Boyack. “You know them — they’re the house you’re going to go to if there’s an emergency.”

Boyack’s husband, Steve, is heading the new group.

“We are excited to get together and share information, learn skills, and figure out what we can do to be a lot more prepared,” said Steve Boyack, who has been prepping for 30 years. Meetings will focus on topics such as evacuation planning and acquiring skills such as gardening, shooting, fishing, and storing food and supplies.

When asked for what he was preparing, Boyack replied, “Well, we usually keep a year’s supply of food. We’ve eaten that three times when I was unemployed. Our city has burned twice. Frankly, we’re trying to be prepared for anything that comes our way.”

For more information, email Steve Boyack at preppers@boyacks.com.