Power outage throughout town last Thursday

Driving back from Olympia last Thursday I thought it odd to see someone standing by the side of the road looking first one way, then the other, with a puzzled look on his face (didn't look the "puzzled" type to me). As I go thru the first traffic light I thought Strange... I couldn't really tell that the light was green. By the next traffic light I realized that that light wasn't green nor was the one I was going through at the moment. The traffic lights seemed to be off.

I started checking out the businesses - all dark. The next traffic light was being handled as a 4-way stop by the polite folks up here in the NW (you go, no you go, no you go :o) The parking lots of the grocery store - empty. Traffic lights, not working. Gas stations devoid of cars because the pumps no longer worked.

I pulled into the WalMart parking lot, eerily empty, with less than a dozen cars when it should have been full. There were 4 ladies (employees) out front of one of the sets of doors. I rolled my window down and asked What's up? None of the town has power. They said the power went out about 2 1/2 hours earlier. One said she thought she heard that the power plant caught on fire. No one had any idea of when it might be back on. I commented that a fire at the power plant sounded much better than aliens or getting hit with a CME (coronal mass ejection). All I could do was head home.

It's at a moment like this, when you have barely a quarter of a tank of gas (I was going to fill the tank as soon as I got back to town), WalMart and Safeway are dark and closed (had a list of things to get from both places), when nothing is open, that you think to yourself:

Why didn't I get gas before going to Olympia?  Do I have enough food for the cats?  For how long?  What about food for me?  Is the power on at home?  Why did I wait until I only had a quarter tank of gas??  What was I thinking?  What if the power stays off for days?  What'll happen to the food in the fridge?  All that food in the freezer?  What if the water is off as well?  Did I fill any jugs of water for emergencies?  How many candles do I have?  Do I have ANY batteries left at all for the flashlights?  Heck, can I even FIND the dang flashlight?  What if this is IT????  The Big Kahuna Mother of All CME's (Coronal Mass Ejection) from the sun frying the entire grid for YEARS????  I don't have enough food, enough water, (thank GOD I don't still smoke!), definitely not enough wine, not enough toilet paper, do I even have one 5 gallon can of gas for the generator?  Please PLEASE don't let this be the Big Kahuna Mother of All CME's destroying the electric grid for YEARS!!!!

Now, since I am probably more prepared than some because I live off the grid, I didn't go through every one of those questions - I know I'll still have power so I can check the TV and the internet to see how big this thing is (as long as it wasn't caused by the Big Kahuna Mother of All CME's, and I figured that it wasn't because my car still worked).  And I'll still have water because of things like a 1500 gallon tank of water that was part of the water system, and a handpump on the well.  And I have a propane range and fridge so I'll still be able to cook, and the food will be fine.

But still.... It was definitely a wake up call to assess what emergency supplies I have and what I needed to get or restock up on. Once I got home and checked the news and internet, I found it was only our little city that lost power. I called a friend who lived outside of town and while she didn't lose power at home, she was really freaked-out from driving through town and seeing everything dark and empty and quiet. She too thought What if this is IT? What if power never comes back on? She doesn't have a hand pump on her well, or stored water. She has an electric range and no portable stove. She doesn't have a water filter. Or gas, or a wood stove for heat in the winter. She caught a glimpse of just how prepared she was (or wasn't).

Everyone can take steps to be more prepared right where they are, a little at a time. Water, food, light, warmth. Just start with something, now. To get a better idea of what you might need read this article What You Need, found here www.optimumpreparedness.com/what_you_need.html

The Sun's Shining, the Sky is Blue, and I'm Talking About Heaters???

Here in the Great Northwest, we have awesome summer weather. Right now it's a quarter to 6 in the afternoon, the temp is around 73, there's the tinyest of breezes making the windchime make little pleasant sounds. Not the time one would normally think of power outages, failing economies, the potential End Of The World As We Know It via 2012.

But here's the thing. This is EXACTLY when we need to think about, talk about and plan for things like no electricity, no heat, etc. What exactly would make you not be able to stay in your home if 'IT' happened? Some common things like a snowstorm or bad windstorm (let's stay simple here for a bit and leave out things like asteroids hitting the earth or Planet X or Nibiru).

This winter is supposed to be bad here in the NW this winter like it was last winter in the North East - New York, Boston, Philly, the whole northeast all had some doozies for winter storms. So how did you guys there fare? What did you do with frozen pipes and no power and 4 frickin feet of snow and the road not plowed, and what? How did you cook? How did you stay warm? What did you eat? (could you take showers still?)(ewwww - if the pipes froze then the toilets wouldn't flush, so what did you do about THAT? We'll save that for another day.)

Everybody over 30 oughta know that the time to get a generator isn't after the first blizzard/power outage. The time to buy an air conditioner isn't 3 days after the temps hit 102 degrees. You've been in the lines at Home Depot or Costco or Walmart (or got there too late to even BE in a line). Nope, the time to get the generator is in the summer when no one wants them. Same goes for the propane heaters.

For heat, something that is flat hands down brilliant (after I got mine ALL my friends got one) is the Mr Heater Big Buddy Heater along with the hose/regulator that you need to hook it to a propane tank (buy both, not just the heater). This thing is way up towards the top of my ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE items, whether you live in the desert or in Bemidji Minnesota (now THOSE guys get some cold winters :o)

I love this heater for several reasons: first, it is designed to be used indoors and has a special oxygen sensor that will turn the unit off if it becomes unsafe for any reason. It also has a low and a high setting (don't be fooled and get the Little Buddy heater that gives only 9,000 BTUs of heat - it's only good for a bathroom sized space, you want the 18,000/9,000 BTU Big Buddy). It also has a built in fan that runs on D cell 8 batteries that seem to last forever.

You put the heater on high with the fan on and it really spreads the heat around the area. Then you turn the heater to low and let it run (still with the fan on). It is safe to use indoors, is lightweight, you aren't having to mess with kerosene, and wicks, and smell - just nice cozy heat when you need it most. And best of all, since it's summer, no one will be beating down the doors to get the last one. You'll want to have some D cell batteries (don't install them in the heater, just put them in a baggie in the heater box so you can find them when you need them) and a few of the 5 gallon propane cylinders (like they use on the BBQ's) in your storage area and you'll be way better off next time the power goes out in the winter.

I heat with propane heat and a wood stove and I STILL have and use my Big Buddy heater. Why? Because sometimes it's just quicker and easier to turn the heater on for 20 or 30 minutes rather than build a fire. They're very handy to have around, especially if the power goes out.