THE WOOD ZONE: LDS AVOW - SOMETHING TO CONSIDER WITH ALL THIS COLD WEATHER

I snagged this from an LDS-AVOW mailing. It is good material to think of:

Surviving a Real-World, Potentially Deadly Power Outage

This article is about the six-hour power outage we experienced in much of South East Idaho on Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013...during sub-zero weather conditions. I'll relate it as it happened, in a timeline fashion. I'll integrate "lessons learned" throughout, but will also include a summary lessons paragraph or two at the end.

A caution: my tale is a lot more boring than it might have been...because we well prepared. Things could have been a lot different...we're grateful for the counsel of our religious leaders to prepare for such events, and to our friends in the Prepping Community, including LDSAVOW.com, that offered the great advice that inspired and taught us to be prepared.

5:22 am, Wednesday, December 4th, Somewhere in Southeast Idaho

I wake up suddenly, completely in the dark...unusual for our bedroom due to the many LED lights on various electronics.

Somewhat confused, but sensing something is wrong, I search my senses and surroundings for what might have caused me to wake up so suddenly. Ah, there it is: a faint beeping coming through our closed bedroom door.

I start to get up...and realize that it's dark. Really, REALLY dark. Pitch black, in fact.
Ah, I've got power outage. Fortunately, I've prepped for this.

I reach over to my nightstand, open the top drawer...and right there is my tactical flashlight. (I keep this away from my family at all costs, so they don't drain the batteries on me; pain and peril be unto any that drain The Dad's TacFlash batteries!)
I turn on the TacFlash, and LO and BEHOLD...there is LIGHT! I choose the dimmest setting, which is still quite bright from this high-lumen light.
I shortly also consider the need to arm myself...is there a threat somewhere in the home? Could someone have tripped the breaker hoping to defeat the security system (fat chance, I have it all on backup batteries)? I spend about 60 seconds listening and decide: NO THREAT. If there had been, I was prepared to find my self-defense weapon completely in the dark, even if my TacFlash had failed. (I'll leave out the details of what/where/how...just know that if I had needed a self-defense capability, it was at my fingertips.)

I investigate that beeping sound; turns out to be my oxygen concentrator--when it loses power, it alarms quite loudly.

I note that my alarm must have been going for awhile...the volume is down considerably from "full-charge." Amazing that the alarm managed to wake me...we keep the oxy concentrators in a room down the hall and run the oxygen lines to our bedroom; this is to keep the noise levels bearable to allow us to sleep.
My wife's oxy concentrator isn't alarming at all...gotta remember to check that battery after all this is over.
I turn off and unplug off both concentrators...when we regain power, I don't want to stress either the electrical grid, our in-home circuit breakers or the circuitry in the machines.

Next order of business: Is this isolated to our home, or is it wide-spread?

Quick look out the windows tells me that the outage is affecting every home that I can see...because there aren't any lights nearby, except an occasional car driving by. Boy, those stars sure look bright!
I do see some light reflecting into the sky to the northeast...that is probably the town's Police Department's lights driven by a generator, and/or the County Sheriff's Department, ditto.
To the south, I do see a lot of light in the distance...several miles away. I presume this is Idaho Falls...but it doesn't matter, power at OUR home is off, and it is COLD outside. Dangerously cold, in fact.
Next, I check my smart-phone to add some situational awareness.

Hey, it is MINUS 3 degrees out there...that's cold!! Ah, my home security system tells me that power dropped at precisely 5:11 am--that's a handy feature I didn't know the system had. (Note to self: It took 11 minutes for those alarms to wake me...should I rig an in-room alarm to warn of future power losses? Having lost my younger brother to severe but untreated sleep apnea...we take that problem seriously in our home. File for future action.)
Temps in the house are still normal...I'm glad I spent time this fall adding some insulation, caulking & adjusting/replacing weather-stripping around the hacienda! That buys me some reaction time. Yes, such simple things are a part of prepping and self-reliance!
No regular internet/email...my home wireless network is deader than a doornail. Cable TV is also deader than a doornail, meaning I'm not going to get internet, VOIP telephone or any TV station info. OKAY, time to get out one of those cool little Eton crank emergency radios. It works...but the batteries don't seem to hold a charge for more than 15 minutes: (NOTE TO SELF: gotta test, perhaps replace batteries in all of the emergency radios. Still, I get enough radio to know that several stations are off the air...meaning that at least part of Idaho Falls is impacted by the power outage.)

My wife stirs, asks what the problem is. I explain the power outage, the inside/outside temps, the info I gained from investigation/observation and the smartphone...and she yawns and says she's going back to sleep. I decide that she's got the right idea; there's nothing to be done right now, except be glad that we've improved our home insulation, caulking and weather-stripping. Besides, most power outages around here resolve themselves within an hour or so. Thus, I add a comforter over our bed (smart purchase, that), say a prayer for the power company maintenance troops no doubt already working to fix this problem...and crawl back under the covers to enjoy the sleep of the well-prepared.

8:30 am, Wednesday, December 4th, somewhere in Southeast Idaho
I finally wake up...probably because my nose is cold! That's the only part of me sticking out from under the covers. I recall there was a power outage and that cold-nose-test tells me the power is still out.

House temps are down to 64 degrees...that's cold for us, we keep a pretty warm home.
Use the smartphone to call Rocky Mountain Power...they estimate power to return about 12:30 pm. Okay, power has been off for 3+ hours, and is likely to be off another 4 hours...time to implement the Family Emergency Response Plan -- Power Outage.
My son and I dig out the cold weather gear, get prepped and head outdoors.

First priority is to get the bigger generator running. Our analysis told us we'd be able to run about 80% of our household systems on that particular genny...time to find out if we were right!

Step #1 is to head to the circuit breaker box. Shut down ALL circuit breakers including the MAIN. Engage the generator interlock device, which will prevent us from shocking any electrical workers with backwash power from our genny.
Next, I pull the specially-designed genny-to-house cable from its position on the wall hook over the circuit breaker box.
My son heads for the fuel shed to get gas...it is too cold to use our "standard" genny fuel, which is propane. That tri-fuel generator mod was worth its weight in gold, as it allows me to run the genny on propane, natural gas or gasoline...but we don't yet have a natural gas hook-up and outside temps are low enough that I'd have trouble starting the genny on propane. So, gasoline it is! Sure glad I treated that 18-month old gasoline with Pri-G!
Son meets me in the shop with the fuel. My very strong son opens the garage door manually, naturally...then wheels the gennie out to our pre-established location for power outages.
I plug the interface cable into the house plug...sure glad we had that installed back in 2012...makes genny hookup a breeze, now. The other end plugs right into the four-prong outlet on the generator. My goodness, things are going smooth...my wife is going to be SO proud of me!
Time to pour in the gas...but now things start getting messy. First, my son didn't install the dispenser spout correctly...and our first attempt to fuel up resulted in a very wet generator housing...and a gasoline-soaked sleeve on my coat. [Until I get a shower later that day, I will REEK of gasoline odors!] Okay, tighten that spout and let's try again. UH-OH! For no apparent reason, the metal spout strainer end comes clean off. Okay, we can live with that, strained it when we stored it. UH-OH!! Second refueling attempt causes the long nozzle to sheer clean off from the nozzle base; more gas is spilled.
We move the generator away from the spilled gas--sure glad I bought the LONGER genny-to-house connecting cable-- and get some shop rags to clean off the gas. Fortunately, I also brought along a large-mouth funnel, so we can still pour the gas safely, and on the third try, we finally get it right. The genny is fueled...now it is time to hit the start key (we have an electric start due to my back problems).
Here, I'm saying a silent prayer. Just back in early October, I did a functional check on our genny...and the battery was dead. I mean, it was DEAD-dead, non-recoverable, dead and gone. I ordered a replacement battery...AND a float charger to keep that battery charged! Fortunately, it came within a week, and all is well.

I crank the genny for perhaps 3 revolutions...and it starts right up! Boy, that sounds nice!!! We stow the fueling supplies and head indoors.

As I head indoors, I look back at the genny...and realize that is just sitting in the yard, with no security measures at all. UH-OH! Another mental note to install an eye-bolt into our concrete foundation, and then get a strong chain and lock to make it harder to steal. [Don't laugh...during every major disaster, many generators are stolen outright. Happens EVERY time!]

Back at the circuit breaker box, we now have generator power coming in...but need to start flipping circuit breakers back on. We start cautiously, communicating with my wife inside the house, via cell phone.

First circuit breaker on: electrical outlets in Family Room, as they provide power to the natural gas fireplace. IT WORKS, my wife happily annnounces. Great news...we'll not freeze to death, I guess.
Another key circuit breaker is for the house furnace...and this is a biggie. Despite all our other preps, we'd not gotten around to testing out the full load capacity of our generator to run our entire household. In theory, it should work...but the proof is in the pudding!
EUREKA! The furnace is running, and hot air is coming out of the vents! HURRAY!
Eventually, we end up putting every single breaker "on," and all seems kosher. (In reality, it wasn't, but more on that later.)

Sure glad my friend and prepping mentor, Christopher Parrett, posts often about the value of pre-winter, under-load generator function checks...if not for him, I might have slacked off and had more problems this morning.

8:58 am, Wednesday, December 4th, 2013...still in SouthEast Idaho
We now have heat and power, and the freezer and refrigerator are running just fine. We also have television...except that the cable (TV, phone, internet) is still out-I guess Cable One is being hit by the power outage, as well. Okay then, back to the portable hand-cranked emergency radios; I tune in AM 590, one of the local talk radio stations, which I've found to be the best local news station. (Note to Self: need to install a standard TV antenna somewhere on the property, with a switch-over capability for just such emergencies.)

While we were busy outside, my wife went throughout the house, unplugging every excess appliance she could, turning off power strips for our electronics gear, etc. Her purpose is two-fold:

Minimize the power draw on our generator, thus preserving valuable fuel.
Setting up for the eventual switch back to main power--it helps the power company if we all shut down unnecessary draws when the system comes back on line.

Having taken care of first things first...assuring our own safety in still-below-zero conditions...it is time to start thinking BIGGER. Time to start thinking of OTHERS that may be in need.

Reaching Out to Others -- What Works,

What Doesn't

Now that we had assured a warm home for our family...our thoughts turned to our friends and our church congregation.