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Author
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Topic: News from Lance
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varmit hunter
Knows what it's all about
Member # 37
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posted December 12, 2007 09:09 AM
Just got off the phone with Lance. He got hit hard by the ice storm. Home is O.K.,but lost all his trees. He has sent his wife and kids to her mothers, and he was going a 150 miles to try and find a generator.
He was told they would be out of power for four to five days. He just got news that a major transmission line went down this morning. So that could impact his outage time.
He said to tell everyone hello, and he would fill us in a soon as he gets back on line.
I know it has to be bad up there. Some years we don't get Robbins down here. Haven't seen a one in this 80 degrees weather. There were about 200 in the yard this morning with the Geese right behind them.
Will update if I hear more.
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Make them pay for the wind.
Posts: 932 | From: Orange,TX | Registered: Jan 2003
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted December 12, 2007 09:18 AM
Wow, bad news! Hope he pulls through it, unscathed? I thought CA was the disaster capital?
Good hunting. LB
PS got down to 39º last night....BURRRR!
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 31459 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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NASA
Knows what it's all about
Member # 177
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posted December 12, 2007 09:22 AM
It's gotta be tough on ya' LB. It was 6 here last night. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Posts: 1168 | From: Typical White Person | Registered: Apr 2003
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Jrbhunter
PAYS ATTENsION TO deTAIL
Member # 459
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posted December 12, 2007 10:04 AM
High of 77 here yesterday... high of 44 today... low of 20 forcasted for Saturday.
Wasn't there a book somewhere that said something about unpredictable weather? Maybe Santa Clause AIN'T coming!
Posts: 615 | From: Indiana | Registered: Dec 2004
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CrossJ
SECOND PLACE: PAUL RYAN Look-a-like contest
Member # 884
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posted December 12, 2007 04:46 PM
The weather came through here saturday night. Finally got power back monday at 7 pm. Many arent so lucky, and still don't have power. Could be up to 2 weeks for some. Had to use the chain saw and skid steer to get out the road from my shop. If it weren't for global warming, this would have been snow .
Maintain
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A friend will help you move. A good friend will help you move a body.
Posts: 1025 | From: on a water tower | Registered: Jul 2006
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Locohead
World Famous Smoke Dancer
Member # 15
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posted December 12, 2007 09:50 PM
Man, that first picture is really cool! Literally I suppose. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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I love my critters and chick!!!! :)
Posts: 2219 | From: CO | Registered: Jan 2003
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happy trapper
Knows what it's all about
Member # 1016
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posted December 12, 2007 10:31 PM
The temp here is -18 cel or O your temp. With the wind chill it feels like -24 cel.
We have a lot of drifting snow also. Most of the back roads are getting pluged with snow.
The ice is a lot worse than the snow with the damage it can cause.
Posts: 17 | From: margo sk. | Registered: Nov 2006
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted December 13, 2007 05:56 PM
I'm alive! Barely. LOL That first pic looks somewhat like the field behind my house, but not quite. We got about 3 inches of rain over two days with temps right at 30-32 degrees. I'd rather have the cold. It was preceded by a day of off and on sleet and some snow.
At most, I think we had 150k people down here and a huge number more in OK. Abilene has been completely off the grid three times and we're currently tied into the distribution lines that feed Salina to our west, but they say it is tenuous at best and if it goes down again, we'll be adrift for 4-5 days.
In my neighborhood, probably 2-3 dozen houses have been dead since Mon night when transformers were exploding like IED's in huge fluorescent balls of neon blue and green fire. I stayed up all night listening to the stately elm over my house drop tons of limbs and debris on my dining room and kitchen. At about three in the morning, most of the maple tree in my backyard came down and took out a service line to the street light at the end of my driveway. The live wire shot back into my backyard sending arc-ing balls of fire all over the yard. That line is still live and still in my backyard this evening.
On Tuesday night, most of the houses south of me were deadand remain so until, by their best guess, the 22nd. My son and I were at the dining room table, wincing every time a load of limbs and branches crashed onto the roof overhead, and he asked me what we would do if OUR power went out. I just told him that we'd just have to rough it and try to protect the house as much as possible when there was this deafening ripping sound, then a crash, the the whole room lit up with bright blue light as a large branch off that damned elm ripped our meter box and mast off the side of the house, sending a basketball sized ball of fire across the deck right outside the door. My wife screamed, my daughter yelped, I uttered an mild expletive and the house went dark except for one light in the kitchen and the microwave. I looked at my son whose eyes were wide open and he looks at me and says, "I'm sorry." LOL It was perfect timing and, despite the situation at hand, funnier than hell.
That branch took down the power service line, our cable TV line and the phone line in one fell swoop. Only one leg of the service line was broke off, and the other stayed intact but only juices on circuit on the breaker panel. I called my electrician and we checked for odors, smoke, and the like. No problems, so we've been running off four outlets in the kitchen for two days now. I ran long cords from those to the furnace and the fridge, with another one to the television in our bedroom and our cable is till up and running. So, we sit around in candle light watching re-runs on TV, glad that we have furnace heat.Tuesday night, just after the power went out, Matt showed up with a case of beer, The neighbor was over because his house was too cold, so we all sat around in the candlelight, talking and drinking beer.
Yesterday, when I spoke with Ronnie we were at the starting end of a day long search for generators. I finally found one about three p.m. in the afternoon and have had it on twice today when the power went down. May be the best $850 I ever spent.
My wife went to her mom's a half-hour west with my little girl. My son and I are holding down the fort in the dark. he's pissed because I won't trade power to the fridge so he can run his Play Station. LOL I could. I just don't wanna.
The temps got up to about 37 today and a lot of the ice came off the power lines, but whipping caused several outages. My damage is not as bad as I first thought because everything was encased in ice. My new barbecue grill took a beating when a branch came down and took it and the gazebo frame over my hot tub out. But, the frame protected the spa, so I'm happy about that. At least half of the fence around my backyard is ruined and will have to be replaced
The mast and box are off the side of the house, but my electrician was here today and he said he thought he'd have me back up and running tomorrow afternoon. Other than that, some gutter and siding damage from branches bouncing off here and there, and whatever roof damage we find once it's safe to get up there and assess things. We're far luckier than most around here.
Looking across our neighbhood, and the entire town for that matter, it looks like a tornado came through here. My neighbor is a squad leader for an artillery unit just back from Iraq and he says it looks like a treetop level bomb was detonated. By late today, you drive down any street in town and you're just going down a tunnel formed by piles of tree branches and debris six to ten feet deep on either side of the street. They have tree cutting and lineman crews from 17 different states in Salina tonight, being briefed and assigned to different areas starting tomorrow. I've been through ice storms, and I've worked tactical and admin positions on state and federal disasters, but this is one of the worst I've ever seen.
I think Matt summed it up right yesterday when he told Dalian that he just didn't feel like his normal self. Under these circumstance, we couldn't begin moving debris because there were power lines tangled in everything. You desparately want to do something - anything -but you just can't. It's too dangerous and you're at everyone else's mercy. Westar, our utility, was running every man they had on big lines and no one saw any of them in the first two days. I had fire trucks on my street three different times for meter boxes and transformers exploding and starting fires. At one point, the four water towers in town were empty and the city had one hour of water pressure left. Emergency Management was desperately trying to get the Army to bring us a big generator from Fort Riley or Topeka, but all that stuff is deployed in Iraq these days. Most of the state has been declared a state and federal disaster area and for the first time in my life, I registered my family at a Red Cross Shelter for hot food. I pride myself on having spent my life up to now as a firefighter, fire company officer, street medic, EMS officer, and on many occasions, Incident Manager/ Commander. It's always been my job to get there and make things better. Making the decision to leave the house, even temporarily, to find food because we couldn't do anything for ourselves here at the moment was like abandoning ship. Sending my wife off with my daughter to her mom's because no one could tell me for sure that the electrical line situation outside my dining room was or was not a house fire waiting to happen has kept me in a very light sleep for three nights now while I wait for the electrician to get to me. Making my son sleep in the front room outside my bedroom because we would be able to get out faster in the event of a fire or one more chunk of that tree coming through the house has us both a little off our game, but he's being a good sport about it and refused to leave me here alone.
It's a small house, and it's just a house, but it's my house, dammit. I just can't leave it to the forces of nature and the grace of God. But, through luck and prayer, the house, garage and spa all sustained very minimal damage and if you saw my yard, you'd wonder how. I have a lot of pics for the insurance people and will post them when I get a chance in the next couple days. But, it's getting cold in here and the cord running my PC needs to be reattached to the furnace. Brrrr.
Oh, BTW, we have six inches of snow and single digit lows coming in here tomorrow night. Lucky us!
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5438 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted December 13, 2007 06:10 PM
Hang in there, Lance.
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 31459 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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TRnCO
FUTURE HALL OF FAMER
Member # 690
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posted December 13, 2007 06:40 PM
Sounds bad Lance. I still can't get ahold of my buddy Rick P. east of Clay Center. I did call his place of work and confirmed that he is without power and phone service. My folks and brother east of Miltonvale were only without power for about 12-14 hours. SO, maybe not quite as bad that way.
If there is a bright side, at least all that tall CRP grass will be laid down enough to see a coyote coming to call now!
hang in there bud, if we can do anything, let us know.
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Is it hunting season yet? I hate summer!
Posts: 996 | From: Elizabeth, CO | Registered: Aug 2005
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Tim Behle
Administrator MacNeal Sector
Member # 209
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posted December 13, 2007 08:56 PM
Lance,
Those coyotes are going to be cold and hungry too.
Sounds like a good time to go calling until the power company gets to your area and makes things safe.
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Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take
an ass kickin'.
Posts: 3160 | From: Five Miles East of Vic, AZ | Registered: Jun 2003
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JD
HONORARY OKIE .... and Tim's at fault!
Member # 768
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posted December 13, 2007 09:10 PM
I feel your pain Lance, one year ago we got smacked with 2 ice storms about a week apart. Some of us were without power for weeks, I personally only had to endure 7 days. I love my family dearly but after 7 days of huddling in front of the fireplace with them & sleeping on the floor only to wake up every couple hours from the shivers & restoke that gawd awful fireplace.....well, that was enough "family" time for all of us, about one more day & I would have been loading a u-haul.
Hang in there, it`ll work out.
I did talk to Andy today & they got hit hard too, it sounds like he & his family are alright but it will take some time to recover & repair everything.
My mom & Dad are still without power in St.Jo. & the driveway is blocked with trees, I may have to make a run down there with a chainsaw & generator.
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Jason
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What do Obama & TA17Rem have in common........both are clueless asshats!!!
Posts: 1456 | From: NE. | Registered: Dec 2005
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted December 15, 2007 06:09 PM
I'm back on the grid, boys!!! And damn, is it good to have lights. Sheesh, what a bitch. We got our new meter box and mast put on first thing yesterday morning and word was that I would have power by the end of the day.
Wrong!
With the power completely cut off from the house, the fire threat was now gone, but I was on sole generator power all night. And we got nearly a foot of snow last night on top of the ice.
With forecasts of heavy snow and lows in the single digits Sunday morning, I was getting really concerned about the spa. My brother bought one just like mine, so I had him do some research to find out how to tie it into my generator and he did that for me this morning. Good damned thing, too. When it powered up, it showed my water temp at 34-degrees! Took everything that 8500 watt generator had to pull it along and heat it up into the 80's by mid afternoon when a bunch of big hairy angels from somewhere in Ohio showed up with bucket trucks. Got my power back about 3:15 and powered the house up at about 4.
Got a bunch of pics for the album and for the insurance man and thought I'd show a couple here. The entire state has been declared a federal disaster area for the third time in a year. That sucks.
Anyway, this is what I found on morning number 1 (Tuesday) when I went to my old truck to go to work - a duplex line that fed my street light draped over the side view mirror. This line is the one that sent the first round of fire across the yard. I ended up taking my son's car to work that day. A buddy with the Fire Dept pulled some strings and managed to talk an electric service crew to swing by and get it off the truck for me and shut it down so I had my pickup back to use.
Here's a pic of my backyard showing one of two main culprits in this adventure - what we Midwesterners affectionately call a "piss elm". I've watched this tree warily since we bought the house and by the end of summer, it will be severely topped out. I won't go through this crap again.
This is from the west side, same tree, showing how my hot tub is trying its best to hang in there. Check out all that ice.
On Wednesday, the last day of the official precipitation (3.2 inches of measurable precip, I guess), that damned elm dropped three more branches, one of which scored a double and killed my grill and the frame for the gazebo awning over my hot tub. Also took a bit of guttering with it. That gazebo frame gave its life doing what it was supposed to do - protect the spa from overhead threats. I did find a couple small holes and a tiny rip or two in the spa cover today, and no leaks, so I guess we cruised through relatively unscathed.
All told, I lost part of the grill, the gazebo frame, my meter box and mast and the fence around my backyard in three different places, but the house, shop/ garage and spa came through no worse for wear. We were being watched over. What a scary night Monday and Tuesday were.
Talked to a bunch of local old timers - some as old as Higgins, ya know. They said this one reminded them of another big storm that about killed our elm pop'n in 1973. I remember that storm as I was 9 at the time. This one, they said, was more intense, lasted longer and was far more widespread. I wouldn't mind never seeing another in my lifetime. It was like being in a 36-hour tornado warning.
Thanks, Ohio.
[ December 15, 2007, 06:10 PM: Message edited by: Cdog911 ]
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5438 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted December 15, 2007 08:19 PM
You should move. Out here, all we got are brush fires, mud slides and queers. No ice storms. A race riot now and then, a very few earthquakes, but other than that, nice weather, you'd like it. LB
Old as Higgins? Must of took a long time, eh?
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 31459 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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TRnCO
FUTURE HALL OF FAMER
Member # 690
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posted December 16, 2007 08:03 PM
Sounds like there's still a lot of folks that are still without, and will be without, power for another week, possibly more!
Glad ya got through without more damage than ya had. Someone back there must have prayed really hard for moisture, and they weren't specific enough about which "form" it was to be delivered in! ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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Is it hunting season yet? I hate summer!
Posts: 996 | From: Elizabeth, CO | Registered: Aug 2005
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CindyTraps
Knows what it's all about
Member # 1893
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posted December 17, 2007 06:19 AM
That is some scarey stuff and here I have been complaining about my faucets being froze. Sure glad you made it thru with only material things effected and everyone is safe.
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Happy Trails
Posts: 113 | From: Seligman, Arizona | Registered: Oct 2007
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Locohead
World Famous Smoke Dancer
Member # 15
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posted December 17, 2007 11:11 AM
Happy to hear you're safe Lance!!!
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I love my critters and chick!!!! :)
Posts: 2219 | From: CO | Registered: Jan 2003
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BigO
Knows what it's all about
Member # 1062
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posted December 17, 2007 08:05 PM
Hey,
Just got my power back on yesterday. Then I had to work last night. I don't care if I never have to work an accident again. I bet our 20 man patrol division has worked 50 accidents in 4 days. Mostly due to people who forget you can't drive the speed limit on snow and ice packed roads.
My yard looks alot like Lance's. I have a big elm in my back yard that dropped most of it's limbs in my yard. One hit the awning over my back patio and tore it to the ground.
We lost power Tuesday morning at about 5:30. I stayed in the house Wednesday night. It was 56 degrees in the house when I went to bed. It was 50 degrees when I woke up. My wife and kids stayed at her dads, I don't think he ever lost power.
We got some little propane heaters and started running them on Saturday. When I turned the heaters on the temp in the house was 43 or 44. In just a matter of a few hours those little heaters had the temp up in the 50s. My wife decided she would stay at the house that night. By morning the temp was 68 degrees. Ran a carbon monoxide sensor along with the heaters and never had a problem.
Reno Co. has about 65K people in it. I think about 60K people lost power for at least a little while. We still have people without power. The electic company told my wifes brother that it may be January before his electricity is back on.
We had electric crews from all over the country here helping. If you are an electrician who came here, Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!! If you know one that came please relay my gratitude.
We had one crew from Ohio staying at a motel in South Hutchinson. After the first night they got up and found that some jerk had stolen most of the tools and all the copper wire off thier truck. I guess it takes all kinds to make the world go round.
Here these people leave their own families and lives behind to come help us out of a bad situation, and some of our "finer" citizens want to repay them by robbing them blind. Thankfully about 36 hours later, Rice County S.O. caught the thieves with the wire and tools still in the bed of their truck.
One of the little towns in this county has about 100 to 200 people in it. The whole town lost power. An emergency shelter was set up by the community at an old school. The town had a couple generators and a bunch of gas cans behind the building to power the heaters and a few lights. Some more of our "finer" citizens were caught trying to steal the gas and generators.
FROM AN EMERGENCY SHELTER!!!! How low can people be. I'm not a big fan of Muslim Law, but some people deserve to have thier thieving hands removed!!
Anyway, thanks again to all who came and helped. Hope I never have to return the favor, but know that If needed I'll be there in a flash.
Big "O"
Posts: 64 | From: reno co. ks. | Registered: Dec 2006
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted December 18, 2007 04:06 AM
Thanks to all for the good wishes, and "O", good to hear you're back up and running. Glad to hear damage was minimal.
Yeah, those thefts reports were pretty dismal. So far as I know, we had nothing like that up here. Good to have lights again, and I won't be selling my new generation cheap or otherwise for nothing. I'm missing and arm and a leg for what I paid for it, but I'll be damned glad to know where I can get one the next time around. As for my beautiful piss elm, I had a tree company gimme an estimate yesterday for what it will cost to top it down to half its present size. By Spring, it will be neutered.
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5438 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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Locohead
World Famous Smoke Dancer
Member # 15
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posted December 18, 2007 10:07 AM
generator/generation?
Glad to hear your safe too O!
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I love my critters and chick!!!! :)
Posts: 2219 | From: CO | Registered: Jan 2003
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted December 18, 2007 11:17 AM
Hahaha. Well, I wouldn't sell them cheap either. Well, maybe my 16 year old son. He'd be a good buy at any price. After all, he DOES know EVERYTHING!!!
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5438 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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BigO
Knows what it's all about
Member # 1062
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posted December 22, 2007 07:53 AM
I've noticed in the paper the last few days that there are alot of generators for sale around here. I'm guessing most people bought them with credit cards and are wanting to sell them before the bill comes due. I figure I'll wait a few months until some poor guy needs some money then I'll get a $850.00 generator for around $400 or $500. People just aren't smart enough to keep them. I'm guessing tehy will buy another new generator within the next year or two.
Posts: 64 | From: reno co. ks. | Registered: Dec 2006
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted December 22, 2007 10:47 AM
If people would just pay their bill, they wouldn't need a generator. And another thing, down in Mexico, they use ice chests to keep their beer cold.
More helpful tips as soon as I think of them........
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 31459 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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