I'm "back" after a very bad ice storm situation in ARKANSAS. Electric company restored me after 4 days of no electricity and sub-zero temps at night. People who don't live in forests in the middle of nowhere don't really "get" what this is like, and I didn't either when I lived in civilization LOL.
Many of my friends and neighbors are still w/out power but they are 2 miles further out, I think they will get power today though. On top of having no electricity they also had no water, since they have wells and you need a well pump to make the water happen. I called another gal pal who lives further out, she was taking ice off her roof edge and melting it, another one has a pond. They had generators for the well pumps but they either broke down or ran out of fuel.
To be honest, I was somewhat fearful for my wellbeing and safety. Trees fell across my electric lines, and then 2 trees fell across my road to get out of here. Most of that first evening it sounded like GUNSHOTS going off, all night, in the utter darkness, as trees were falling over, and/or tops of trees falling down.
I would not have survived w/out my woodstove. I was able to make coffee and soup, and keep warm. I really didn't vape much, it was everythign I could do to keep things going here---
vaping was sort of an afterthought but I did vape a little.
I forgot that I needed C
batteries for a radio (you always forget something), day 3 I was able to get a neighbor to bring some over on their Kabuta tractor. So I was in darkness, and no communication as most of our phones didn't work at the outset, I plugged in my princess non-electrical phone but nobody I called had working lines.
What was really annoying was that our NOAA weather transponder which is only 300hertz in town never stays up. I DID remember batteries for my weather radio, and yet all I got was static all week. Really annoying they don't have backup for the transponder.
People say stuff like "hope you got out" but they don't realize, there IS no where to get out. Where do you go? WALMART was closed on Friday. YOu know it's like armeggedon when Walmart closes.......they were unable to get their generators up.
By day of storm, there was no gasoline left at any pump. Anwywere in town. Next town is 80 miles away.
This is why I keep to a Thoreau's Walden like model. Keep it simple. I did have neighbors down the road I called and they had generators, but belts breaking, then having to have fresh gas, and enough to keep it going for days on end. I am not strong enough to move a generator anyway, living alone out here. And can't fix a generator anyway.
I do not burn candles during weather events. I have a ton of LED flashlights. When you start researching statistics on homes burning down, it is always due to candles and flame-related light sources. Headlamps with LEDs are the best......it lights you in whatever you are doing. Batteries are worth the $$$ IMHO.
I have a tremendous amount of damage to trees here, and a few 60' high pines that are "leaners" now right by the house, but if they haven't fallen yet they probably won't, though I do have calls into several tree guys. They are overwhelemed. I can't leave my animals and let my house freeze up anyway, so there was really no where to go during all this. My neighbors not much better off.
Theres hundreds of miles of trees in the 2 counties here, they had to call in crews from Texarkana, etc. and they have been working the areas non stop. I can't even imagine how many trees and branches fall onto electric lines for so many miles and miles of power lines.
Town got electricity back on day 2. They of course even have cleared roads. Walmart openeed again on Sat. But out here, 15 miles out, many roads still had trees acorss them, as well as ice, and nobody near me got electricity til last night (Sunday).
I am calling my other friends today to see if they get electricity.
I've made a list of stuff I'd like to have for next time, like a coffee press. More batteries, etc. I lost my entire month's groceries though, as my fridge stopped of course, and you just cannot keep a ton of coolers and such in a small cabin, they were down on other side of property and I could not get to them. Besides, you have to weigh them down with heavy bricks as the racoons will open just about anything out here once it is placed outside! Next time I will just do protein bars and soup.
People do really stupid things though, and you do not want to be outside "getting things together" because tree limbs come down and hit poeople on head and kill them. I did have friend who can't be in a cabin for a week on end and did drive to town, even though they didn't have to, but you are still taking chances, anything can come down on you. I tell people to stay inside unless they absolutely have to go out.
AND.......If I ever hear dumb complaints about USPS I will scream. Our postal guy drove 30 miles over ice to man the PO here, and he arrived to the little rural metal bldg. and no electricity and no heat. He went out to his truck to warm up every 1/2 hour.
https://twitter.com/anthonywx/status/410017060081893376/photo/1
