SHTF - Thursday 12/15/05.

[Bruce Allen]

At about 0830 hrs.

A really bad ice storm came thru the upper part of South Carolina (where I live) and continued northward.
I think Gary Jeter even made reference to an ice storm in the DC area, and it probably was from this storm.

There was tremendous devastation to the electrical grid, with transmission lines being the hardest hit in memory, causing power outages to nearly 600,000.
As of 11 PM last night there were still over 100,000 without power.

My power came back on at 4 PM yesterday.

Everything within a 20 mile radius, extending up into N.C. was blanketed with a heavy coat of ice. The temperature was only 31 or 32 degrees in the lower areas, but was just enough for ice to form.

I have a generator system that was installed 6 years ago, and keep a minimum of 3 days of fuel on had, with more food supples.
This time I needed 5 days worth, running my 7000 watt generator 15 hours a day, consuming approx. 9 gallons of gas per day.
I cut it close and had about 7 gallons of gas left when I cut the generator off.

They are still finding dead people from the cold and dummies dead from carbon monoxide poisoning from having new generators inside there houses..

My point?
WE never know exactly when something like this will happen, so being prepared all the time is a must.

Could I have survived without the preparations?
Yes.
I could have taken my family 50 miles away (all the hotels were full that far away) and spent nearly $1000 for food and lodging for 5 days, or having $2500 invested in the generator system and $200 in gasoline present was absolutely priceless..
Oh - we put up two others for several days until their power got restored.

Lets see if the pics come thru from my yard:
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1399/5/25/46/46/52/0/52464625509_0_ALB.jpg
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1399/5/25/36/91/26/0/26913625509_0_ALB.jpg

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1399/5/25/26/49/96/0/96492625509_0_ALB.jpg

Oh - it was stunning how many people were critical of the local power companies great response and people even called up the talk shows and said someone owed all of them $100 for food that might have been spoiled in their houses..
Right.
Somebody ought to do something......... obviously not them, but somebody else.

[Temp]

We had a similiar situation two years ago. We had no electricity for 8 days.

It was a bit uncomfortable but I was never in fear for my life. There were lots of trees down so I just took my chain saw and turned them into fireplace fuel. We took the mattress off the bed and placed it on the floor in front of the fireplace,... cooked hamburgers and baked potatoes in the fire,...It was little more than a nuisance,... hardly a SHTF scenario.

[owlcreekok]

Where I grew up in SE Oklahoma, ice storms are pretty common. Every once in a while one comes along that will be remembered forever. I am reminded by your post, Bruce, of one that hit there while I was around 13 or 14 yrs old. Our Boy Scout Troop was on a campout when it hit. The campout was to be four days long. It was cut short on the second morning by the storm. Our Scoutmaster got us all home safely, BARELY. Power was out at our home for two weeks straight. No big deal by today's recent hurricane events. We were lucky to have a large fireplace and LPG heat in the old house. I remember little as far as exact details, but through the years the family recalls and discusses it over again. We cooked on the coals of the fireplace, melted ice for water to drink. Toilet flushing was done sparingly with water from the stock ponds, AFTER the ice was chopped twice a day so the cows could get to water. Dad and I built an elevated platform out of fenceposts to put the contents of the deep freeze up on. We tied a tarp over it and only lost one package of beef. In broad daylight, a pair of coyotes came up and one had managed to jump up on the top of the platform and had chewed through the tarp and was knawing on the frozen package when Dad shot him with his Hi Standard .22 pistol. THAT I remember. The coyotes were emboldened and instead of running off when they saw us, they bared their teeth at us, I remember it scaring me some. Mom & Dad never seemed to be much exasperated by hardships like these. Turning the power off and the running water stopping was a minor inconvenience to them. I thank God for my having been blessed with parents like them. Much of today's populace has no harder times than having to wait until the store opens. This may well prove to be the undoing of many person's tenure on this old planet.

SHTF can happen in the blink of an eye, from circumstances never anticipated. Anyone who cannot sustain themselves for a week with what they have on hand NOW, best be making different arrangements PDQ.

Thanks for posting Bruce. Brought back some warm memories of cold times !

[Sig220]

Heck Ole Owl, didn't know they had boy scouts back then much less electic city!!!! Talk about old!!

[owlcreekok]

Heck Ole Owl, didn't know they had boy scouts back then much less electic city!!!! Talk about old!!


Out of respect for Bruce, I will not say what you deserve to hear.

:angel:


:mad:

[Sig220]

Well good...........at least you are paying attention!!!

We had an ice storm back in 97......1997. No power for right at 9 days or so. I think I was the only house on the block that had a genny running, fireplace agoing and had a gas stove to boot. The kicker was I had gas heat....so I just hooked up the heater blower to the genny and had a toasty house.

Of course the kids still had computer, some lights and the TV....to say all the neighbors were jealous was an understatement!!

You have to be prepared these days.........for just about anything.

Now back to your regular programming!!

[steadfast]

Bruce, where you at in SC? I'm in Hickory NC + we got hit real bad also...
steadfast

[Jez Cruzen]

We got the storm here in Central Virginia as well. When it hit last Thursday, I was 190 miles away attending an emergency management course in Virginia Beach. How ironic! The power flickered here numerous times, but we never lost it.

I live in a rural area close to the city of Lynchburg. Some years ago we had two severe ice storms within several weeks of each other. I was prepared, or so I thought. I had three five-gallon containers of water stored in the basement, camping gear, and a fireplace in the den w/three days supply of wood under cover.

I soon found that it took almost five gallons of water to flush a toilet and that a fireplace is mostly just for looks, not heating! Luckily, we were only out of power but for three days each time.

After the second event, I purchased a 4kw generator in order to have a few lights, maintain both the freezer and the frig., as well as to be able to run my well pump when necessary if a similar event ever occured in the future. I also built a chimney flu and installed a wood stove in the basement. After all, having heat during a dark, cold winter's night is certainly a morale booster!

Its scary how we condition ourselves to take for granted many of the small conveniences of life, isn't it? Once the power goes, they go, too. I guess that I miss the microwave most. :smile:

[Bruce Allen]

Originally posted by steadfast
Bruce, where you at in SC? I'm in Hickory NC + we got hit real bad also...
steadfast

I live roughly between Greenville and Easley, SC, in an area known as Powdersville... About 5 miles from the intersection of Highway 85 and SC 153.


Temp: Not to start something, but everyone's situation is not the same.
Seven years ago we had a power outage for 3 days in colder weather with Donna's father who was disabled from a lung disease, and all we had was gas logs for heat. I had my Coleman camp stove, two Coleman lanterns and 6 kerosene lamps with a box of decorative mirrors (to reflect the lamp light and double it's light).
Other than getting 45 degrees in the house at night we managed fine, BUTT others in the affected area died.
My wife was amazed to watch me cook a full breakfast including coffee.
I also am an old Boy Scout!!!

BTW - I figure when people die, it is not to be taken lightly.

Did they die of stupidity?
Some.
Others died because of being in bad situations - disabled, old, sick, etc...so for them it was truly a SHTF scenario.
Because of my efforts and prepartions my 5 year old grand daughter thinks it was an adventure.

Hey Owl............................ I am so old I can remember when the Boy Scout Manual had the recipe for biscuits.. a real recipe... then it changed to "peel wrapper from container and strike against a hard object".. heh heh heh..
I learned those lessons well and am a true believer in the Boy Scout Motto.

Oh - are the pics visible???

[Sig220]

Nope the pics are the dreaded red "x"'s.

[ronnieb]

Originally posted by Sig220
Nope the pics are the dreaded red "x"'s.

Right click on red X's
select properties
Highlight the address listed
rightclick and "copy" the source
Click your address bar and paste it there and click go click your back button to see it in the post
Old tricks are sometimes the best:)

I'm glad all is well with you fellows in the Carolinas and elsewhere. Here in FL I have to listen to the wife complain that 68 in the house is to cold :(

Part of me thinks the pics are pretty.

Keep the preps up and merry Christmas.

[Sig220]

Originally posted by ronnieb


Right click on red X's
select properties
Highlight the address listed
rightclick and "copy" the source
Click your address bar and paste it there and click go click your back button to see it in the post
Old tricks are sometimes the best:)

I'm glad all is well with you fellows in the Carolinas and elsewhere. Here in FL I have to listen to the wife complain that 68 in the house is to cold :(

Part of me thinks the pics are pretty.

Keep the preps up and merry Christmas.

Good trick, Ronnie and it works!! I just thought I was old!!!
Yep, the pics look kind of pretty till you see them in your yard....:sad:

[W.E.G.]

I'm glad the ice storm got out of there.

I'll be down there in a few days, and I'm expecting sunny and 70 or I'll be complainin' for sure.

I'll even more for sure be complainin' if you don't take me to the range.

I need to confirm my 100-yard and 200-yard zeros so I can school dem fools in Georgia in March.

See if you can do something about the mud out there on the range too. :wink:

[Da Nerd]

Isn't it funny how 'everybody else' blames 'everybody else' for their misfortune, except themselves.
I learned early on....Be Prepared

[WannaFal]

Bruce, Im only about 60 minutes away from you down in Laurens. We were without power from Thursday night until sometime Sat. Had my genny running on Fri, but we left the house to go camping down in Charleston and had the in-laws watch the house.
Back in 2000 we had 13" of snow in my yard, the snowstorm was local to the Laurens, Enoree, and Clinton areas.
We were without power (in 2000) from Monday about noon until we woke up on Fri morning. Job was also down that whole week. Most of the folks on my street were coming to me with large coolers and the like getting water from my well as I had 1 of only 2-3 gennys out this way.
I had just gotten that genset about 2 years prior to that snow and my F-i-L was saying it was a sorry way to spend $. Actually I had gotten it n-i-b as trade for work done.
He sat in a cold house watching a little black and white batt powered TV cooking on a Coleman stove while I ran the genny with my M-i-l helping do all the cooking over here!

[ONG]

Last Christmas we had an ice storm in our part of Ohio. No electric for 7 days. We have wood heat and a genny so was not a big deal however alot and I mean alot of people in our area bought big ass natural gas generators. If they all fire up at the same time it will be interesting to see how long the gas in the lines will last.

[Bruce Allen]

Originally posted by W.E.G.
I'm glad the ice storm got out of there.

I'll be down there in a few days, and I'm expecting sunny and 70 or I'll be complainin' for sure.

I'll even more for sure be complainin' if you don't take me to the range.

I need to confirm my 100-yard and 200-yard zeros so I can school dem fools in Georgia in March.

See if you can do something about the mud out there on the range too. :wink:
The gun club has had some serious upgrades since a dyed in the wool pistol shooter was elected president last year, instead of one of the snooty shotgun shooters (real "high class" kind that looks down their noses at anybody that doesn't own a $1,000 shotgun),... heck we even got toilet paper in the bathrooms now!!!


I hear yah WannaFal!!!

When I made preparations for Y2K many made light of it and some mocked me lightly (I don't take well to heavy derision), BUTT in the 6 years since I have had to use the generator 6 or 7 times now, and everyone who remembers I had a generator - including the Chief of Police of Greenville PD called my wife (who is the Communications Administrator for the GPD see website for her pic: http://www.greenvillepd.com/Communications.htm) and asked about it.

After the second or third time of needing it nobody made light of it anymore.. it is a funny thing how people are. When you do something they don't think highly of they usually don't think you are too smart... but when they change their minds their estimation of your intelligence level rises dramatically..

[mosbysmen]

great post !
thanks for the update,
i have been without power twice for more then 20 days each time due to hurricanes..
i stop listening to other people along time ago .
but it is funny that after the hurricane trust worthy people were calling me up asking me for ammo ..

[ONG]

my wife (who is the Communications Administrator for the GPD see website for her pic:

Bruce,

Did you rob the cradle or what?

[Bruce Allen]

My wife will get a laugh at that.

Unlike some others on this board who married women 20 years younger than them, she is 6 months younger than me.

She is quite the woman, though..keeps me on my toes. :biggrin: