Anyone want to go Ice Skating? Winter storm of 09!

Cedarman · January 31, 2009, 03:34:59 PM

The national guard showed up in Kentucky, but someone forgot to tell them to bring chainsaws. Worst power outages ever.

Tom, it is amazing how a disaster can be so beautiful.

Jim_Rogers · January 31, 2009, 04:35:26 PM

In early December, this last month, we had a bad ice storm in NH, and MA.
Here at the sawmill office, everything was fine, power ok .....
Go 15 miles north to my house, and it was like the end of the world..... trees down everywhere, and power out......

We lost power at 11:30 pm on Thursday night.
I had to drive down here and get my generator and go back home with it.
Got it all hooked up and running by 1:30am.....

It ran steady until noon time the following Tuesday.......

Put some 34 gallons of gas through it.....

Not something I want to do again, but I was glad I had my house set up to take the power from the generator and keep us going.....

Jim Rogers

WH_Conley · January 31, 2009, 06:30:17 PM

FEMA was here in '01, after the flood. 17 homes were destroyed, FEMA bought out 7 of them, the 7 familys that did not wark. The ones that worked for a living got nothing.

WDH · January 31, 2009, 11:44:45 PM

Larry, LeeB, & Arkansawyer,

It seems like about every 10 years y'all get a devastating ice storm in that area of the country. Hunker down. At least there will be plenty of fresh logs to cut.

LeeB · February 01, 2009, 02:51:09 PM

Looks like it could be a long haul. They're saying 4-6 weeks before they get power back to the house.

Radar67 · February 01, 2009, 03:36:50 PM

Lee, we heard 8 to 12 weeks after Katrina, ended up being 17 days. Y'all hang in there.

semologger · February 02, 2009, 12:11:07 AM

I dont know were i can get a total of people without power but i know its in the 100 thousands. I heard around 500 thousand but am sure there is more. Some people were lucky and never lost power. My granpa and grandma didnt and thank the man up stairs on that. My grandma cant get out of a bed for the last year and her health is real bad. I went and cleared out their driveway yesterday for them so grandpa could get out. My mom was on her way over to watch my grandma so grandpa could help me I busted my but getting it done before she got there so he didnt half to help me. I am going to go over and clean the rest up for him soon as i can. He has always been there for me time to return the favors. My Uncle had a building fall in at his mill its on top of there pendu machine and cut off line. My cousin had just took it over also bad luck for him.

I have all kinds of work to clean up around the house but That will come last. I am wondering what the patch of lobolly i am cutting looks like if it looks like some of the trees around here i am going to have a mess to clean up.

ARKANSAWYER · February 02, 2009, 10:41:38 AM

We have a population of around 21,000 in Marion County and Wednesday there was about 19,000 with out power. By Friday we were down to around 12,000. Some places will take another week or so. I figure LeeB's wife will be up by Wednesday this week. I saw an Entergy truck out our way this morning. If they would get out of town and just drive around they could find work. Most of the time you see 15 to 20 trucks just sitting around just waiting for someone to point them the right way. Signs are down and most roads are just passable. We spent most of yesterday just clearing our driveway. I fixed several down feed lines to local homes so when the power comes back it will get hooked up. Lots of weatherheads pulled loose from homes and wire pulled from the fuse at the pole.
Still have not seen FEMA.

Bro. Noble · February 02, 2009, 03:39:15 PM

We got our power back yesterday evening. We got by pretty well as far as I have been able to see. We lost a new calf and have a milkcow down on the ice that probably won't recover. I havn't been to the pine plantation yet. If we still have some, at least there will be a good market for them.

While we had the generator at the house a couple of days ago (we used it during the day, between milkings) the TV said they needed volunteers in our county (Ozark) to help clear roads. My son in law works for the forest service and is being sent somewhere east of here to help clean up storm damage.

I finally got the wife's car up on a level road to where she can get to town. It's amazing how much a warm house, a hot shower, and some warm food improves the disposition of a woman ;)

ARKANSAWYER · February 02, 2009, 07:22:20 PM

I was starting to worry about you Bro Noble. Fixing to get in the truck and see if I could cut my way in there. Figgured all your stupid cows slid down to the bottom of the holler and you was just milking them down there and making ice cream.

Bro. Noble · February 02, 2009, 07:41:00 PM

Thanks for the thought Arky. We havn't tried to go south yet. Wife wanted to go to Gainesville the other day till she heard on the battery radio that Gainesville was completely shut down. We couldn't get the car out of the drive till today anyway :

pigman · February 02, 2009, 09:36:23 PM

The electric company truck came up our road today while I was out feeding the stoopid cows. 8) But it was only a pickup and they were only looking for downed wires. :( He told the wife that the wires were down between the house and the county road. Duh, seems we already called them about the wires. They informed the wife that they were going to disconnect our branch circuit from the main line so the others on the road could get power, but didn't know when they would come back to repair the line to our house.

WDH · February 02, 2009, 10:05:55 PM

Hopefully tomorrow ???.

Larry · February 03, 2009, 07:58:44 AM

Instead of watching the weather forecast on the TV we watch the electricity forecast. Chance of electricity this week...slim to none. Next week...anything is possible. >:( Our power company CEO is so popular he even called a press conference yesterday to let us know how much progress they are making.

LeeB · February 03, 2009, 05:30:41 PM

Lindy has no idea when they'll have power back. There were a few trucks in the close area Monday, but now they have all gone to surrounding towns. She was an unhappy camper when I called.

ARKANSAWYER · February 04, 2009, 01:47:27 PM

Well this morning Entergy said that there were 4,500 places with out power in Marion County this morning, a week after the storm hit. LOTS and LOTS of power company trucks just sitting around and driving up and down the highway. Using up the fuel and all the hotel rooms in the area as well as keeping the local restaurants full.
No power at home yet so we are camping big time. We have wood heat and I now have my gen set back so we can power up and run the well. I had to loan my gen set out to some folks who would not have any heat with out power to run their gas furnace.

pigman · February 04, 2009, 03:20:59 PM

I am on the computer and I don't hear the hum of the generator. 8) 8) I guess that means either I have lost all hearing or we have our power back on. ;) Just when I was getting used to not having electricity, they turn it back on and spoil me again. :

Jim_Rogers · February 04, 2009, 05:10:18 PM

Pigman:
How many days were you out?

Jim

Larry · February 04, 2009, 06:30:29 PM

Our power company got an additional 342 lineman today to help out. They were saying most folks would have power by this weekend but with the additional help they said most folks will have power by February 15th.

On the bright side Kathy made a bunch of new friends today. She took our laundry into the laundromat and met all kind of powerless people. Together they figured out how to operate those quarter hungry machines. Almost $30 for a weeks worth of laundry. >:(

My job for tomorrow is to figure out how to wire the electric hot water heater into the generator...DanG...I've sorta been enjoying giving Kathy a sponge bath.

;D

semologger · February 04, 2009, 07:24:46 PM

WOW larry got any pitchures you know how we love them. :D ;D ;). On to another subject now.

I went down and looked at the patch of lobollly i am cutting well i have a bunch of steams left over. I think i am going to be clear cutting the whole tract. I have never imagined that much devistation in my life. I will be getting some pitchures of this soon as i make it back. I think in the areas i have already thinned back to 250 trees per acrea there are around 100 and less. I called the landowner and left a message. Cant waite to find out whats going to happen on this job next. I already said this is the most jinxed job i have been on. Must be cause its in Arkansas. ;).

Just playing.

LeeB · February 04, 2009, 07:31:11 PM

No telling when we will get electricity. Lindy went to the daughters apt. this morning and took a shower. On the way back, there was an Entergy truck blocking the dirt road to the house. Nobody doing anything, just sitting and flapping thier gums. Wouldn't even move thier lazy a$$&$ to let her get by. She put the ole Dodge in 4wheel, blasted around them, and then backed up and proceeded to chew hiney. May be a while yet before we get lights back.

pigman · February 04, 2009, 07:50:10 PM

Jim, we were out of power company power for 7 days 10 hours and 10 minutes, but who is counting. :D It is nice not to have to carry buckets of water in this 15° F temperature.

pineywoods · February 04, 2009, 07:55:03 PM

semologger don't be too hasty on that loblolly thicket. If the trees aren't broke, just bent over, sometimes they will straighten back up. Lots of mine did, the ones that didn't, I cut.

that was from the ice storm we had here couple of years back...