Great snow storm and power outage of 10/12.

[Marveltone]

Okay, where do I start? We've been in drought conditions, along with much of the country for a couple of years. About 14" below normal rainfall at this time. Wild fires have been sprouting up, endangering forests and towns alike, with no relief in sight. Well, it's not over, but we did get some much needed precipitation in the form of 14" of snow in mostly one day! It helped put out some of the fires, but threw another little issue at us: Power outages all over the place! At the time of this writing, we're going on our third day without electricity. We're glad we've made preparations for such an event, and now we have a chance to see where we've done our homework and where we've missed the mark.

Here's what we've learned so far:

1. Water is your friend... No, it's your source of life! My wife had the presence of mind to run the bathtub and fill everything she could get a hold of as soon as the lights started flickering. I brought some more from town on my way home from work. We'll be fine, but need work on this to avoid the scramble.

2. We really like LP and wood heat! 'Nuff said.

3. Kerosene cook stoves are your friend, but practice is essential. We bought a kerosene cook stove a couple years ago in case of such an emergency and have made it a point to always keep several gallons of fuel around. Our only flaw in this was failure to use the stove when it wasn't critical, so we could fall back on electricity if needed. Fortunately, no food was ruined, so all is well. Still, practice can make it a much more pleasant ordeal.

4. Kerosene lamps only work if they have wicks. We have lots of lamps, but only three of them have serviceable wicks. Make a shopping list!

5. Freezers and refrigerators are only good for a couple of days without power. I made a trip into town to get our generator from the other house to run a couple hours every day just to keep our frozen food frozen. Perhaps we'll can more and freeze less in the future.

6. Contact with the outside world helps to cure a little cabin fever. A little internet can bring a whole lot of relief to the psyche. Run laptops and router when running the generator for the freezer.

7. Coffee. French press is a good thing. Why slum it just because there is no electricity?

8. Everything is going to be okay! In spite of our lack of preparation in some of these areas, we're warm and well fed. Much better off than many.

Joe

Now for the pics:

 

[fdcapt50]

Good luck, looks like a long winter for you guys!

 

[texasjohn]

Glad you're ok AND will continue so.

Snow? I heard about that once in a Xmas Carol.

 

[scesnick]

I live in on top of a very snowy mountain and the trees continually fall over the powerline in the winter. I know exactly how you feel. But, if your prepared it isn't that bad. I always have about 30 gallon of gas for the generator. i even put in a transfer switch to get rid of all those darn extension cords through the house. I would say that was one of my better investments for sure. I can now run my well pump, freezers, fridge, a few lights and the ever important TV..

We also have plenty of oil lamps just in case, a wood stove that we use daily anyway,and a gas cook stove.

 

[BobRip]

You probably need to run your refrigerator and freezer more than 2 hours a day to keep them cold. My experience shows 12 hours a day. If it is cold where they are it may be a lot less.

 

[Marveltone]

You probably need to run your refrigerator and freezer more than 2 hours a day to keep them cold. My experience shows 12 hours a day. If it is cold where they are it may be a lot less.

Actually, we're running the generator at least 4-5 hours a day, as it will run a full eight hours on only two gallons of gas . My use of the term "a couple" was probably a gross misrepresentation of our actual use. We're monitoring the food and adjusting the run time accordingly. In the end, we'll run for however long we need. Good catch.

Joe

 

[dex3361]

We had a long term power outage in early July of this year that lasted for 9 days. I have a diesel generator and usually have about 20 gallons of fuel on hand. I made a few changes after the outage. For one I noticed that for a wide area outage fuel will not be available. As the fuel stations come back on line gasoline will be biggest demand and will run out fast.

 

[BobRip]

We had a long term power outage in early July of this year that lasted for 9 days. I have a diesel generator and usually have about 20 gallons of fuel on hand. I made a few changes after the outage. For one I noticed that for a wide area outage fuel will not be available. As the fuel stations come back on line gasoline will be biggest demand and will run out fast.

My belief is you cannot count on outside resources during an outage. Gas stations can't pump gas without power, roads are blocked by trees wrapped in power lines, food spoils at grocery stores, generators and parts for them are sold out quickly, etc.

 

[dave1949]

Sounds like your preparations are in order. Freaky weather this Fall season, well, I guess it's a continuation of the streak of freaky weather this year.

Hope your power is back soon. I think the downside to canning versus freezing is taste and nutritional value suffers more with canning. You could can some and freeze some. The kerosene stove would make a good outdoor canning stove in the summer when it is already warm and humid enough in the kitchen.

 

[cqaigy2]

Looks like you did a pretty good job of getting ready. Good luck and hope the power gets fixed soon.