Tom and Harold:Look out for Charlie

[Tom]

My  wife is in Daytona tonight taking food to her visiting sister and family who are in time-share and refuse to leave so that the kids can have a vacation on the Beach.  She called me on the phone from her car and said that she was amazed at the destruction.  Trees in the right-of-way of I-95 are clipped off  and buildings are down and roofing littering everything.  Power is up but no stores are open.  Daytona is on the East Coast of Fl.and was torn up as the  hurricane exited the state.  You would think that the land mass would have taken more energy out of the storm.  It was a bad one.

[Bigdogpc]

ARES is still asking for volunteers for communication services in the storm struck areas.  Unfortunately my rigs were taken out by lightening prior to this.  The obvious folks helping the storm victims deserve to be commended but there are a LOT of folks behind the scenes doing a great job.  Amateur radio operators are seldom noticed but they pitch in and help whenever they can.  As can be seen from this forum there are many sawmillers who jump in to help also.  ALL of the folks helping out deserve a serious round of thanks.  Ya'll have a good day!

[VA-Sawyer]

We were without power for 10 days after Isabel. I'll tell you all what I learned from that experience.

1.  If you have a roof over your head, then the next priority is ice. You can get enough water in jugs for cooking and minor washups. We Americans are too dependant on refrigeration to preserve our food. We lost a lot of food to spoilage. If you are lucky enough to have a generator, then you will be hurting for fuel.

2. Yes, you can live without a TV or Computer, but you need some source of info. A battery powered radio is about the best choice.

3.  In the midwest if you get hit by a tornado your neighbors will come over to help you. Down here if you are hit by a hurricane then your neighbors for miles around are also hurting. Public Services are easily overwhelmed under such conditions.

4.  The elderly tend to be forgotten. They tend to be the ones most in need of help.

5. It is too easy to take electric things for granted. Beware of the following: Garage door openers will have to be opened manually. Make sure you can get to the release.  Electric can openers are useless without power. So is the Microwave. A small propane grill can be very handy.  

6.  Small battery powered camping lights are best. Kids and candles don't make a safe mix. A number of homes burnt down after Isabel due to candles. Most were total losses because it took longer to notify the Fire Department and their response was slower due to blocked streets.

7.  Watch out for the rip-off artists.

8. Beware of people running chainsaws.  Many of them are clueless and very dangerous !

 If you are planning on heading into the area of destruction, use this info to plan what to take with you.
VA-Sawyer

[Fla._Deadheader]

  That's excellent advice. That's precisely how we handled things when we went in to the war zone. That is what it looked like.

  Batteries are non-existant down here. We took 15 gallons of gas. NO candles. Better to be in the dark than use candles. Chainsaws will definitely cause lots of injuries. Falling limbs broken up in the trees that are being trimmed will be a problem.

[crosscut]

hehe heres crosscut posting from ground zero   alive and all my family doin well. we are tuff ;) things awfull bad here though  :(lots of unbelievable destruction dang lucky to be alive.  already major damage and thats just to the end of my driveway gets worse from there two huge trees on my house phones overloaded and getting worse fences not just down but gone we even found a porta potty off a jobsite at least a mile away back in the pasture talk a strange. doubt  we will be on much though for awhile we were booked for tree work a month in advance well before this storm hit and just the little ive seen so far is incredible ticked off to the utmost at the scam artist that seemed to blow in right with the storm we havent even thought about beginning any cleanup here or billing people still getting trees off rooofs and drying in houses of our friends and customers never believed or seen anything like this before stay well and dry my friends

[Fla._Deadheader]

Sure glad to see that Steve and family are OK. I called his house and got no answer. If I knew where he moved to, I would have tried to drive to see him. We are only about 50 miles away.

[crosscut]

 :)hey harold living here in stcloud florida think you have my mobile its back up and ringing nonstop here thought id finally get a day off tommorrow hmmmmm not gonna happen  just looked thats today already dangit. im just to wound up still to get to sleep  :D but still have a couple of trees to at least get off the roofs. this dang storm the worst thing ive ever seen and sure makes for some  real tricky cutting. so much tension wood  just about have to be a rocket scientist just to unhang a big limb out of a tree. few twisters mixed up in the storm still a lot of homes without power here will try to post some pictures later in the week if we have time schools still closed. went visited a trailer ive been remodiling for the last year almost done with it ready to lay the floor and paint move in my foreman . well that aint gonna happen no time soon roof gone two walls gone complety totaled im sure im gonna have to peel it apart just to get my tools out of it