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rambos_ride

Myself, Rambo, and the Hudson made it through the "100 year" storm. The new house (so far) has been unscathed.

The truck didn't fare so well, I lost the windshield when a 20 ft section of tree branch w/3" base fell out of the sky straight through the glass!



3 days without power or any hot food! I finally got power about 10:30 last night and wouldn't you know it...they didn't have the courtesey to get the internet connection up and runnning at the same time!

I Finally got a tank full of gas this morning as well so I can get back over to the new place and try and make up for the 4 days I've lost moving!

It utterly amazes me how incompetent the government is around Taxington State/Seattle here to prepare, plan, and prevent severe power outages! We have these things called "trees" and they let these "trees" grow large near the power lines and only do maintence trimming when they fall over!

They say this was an unpredictable 100 year storm...ummm...we had one blow through in 1990 that sunk the I-90 floating bridge...thats only 16 years doing math the way I was taught!

Unknown

Be thankful that you and the pooch are OK. Stuff can be repaired or replaced. Rather than dealing with incompetence, invest in a generator and take care of yourself. Been there, done that! We have those tree things too. Here, they trim (morph) them into grotesque shapes that are top heavy and prone to falling down. Power stays on while roads are blocked and people are trapped in their cars. :eek:

[Deleted User]

At least you weren't in the truck when it happened! Here in AZ, we change windshields like a guy changes socks! Here the small gravel is a bear and there's nothing the gov't can really do about it. And with so much construction and road building around here, you usually will need a new windshield every 2-3 years.

At least you have "trees!" lol

Jay

rambos_ride

Dave53-7C wrote:

Be thankful that you and the pooch are OK. Stuff can be repaired or replaced. Rather than dealing with incompetence, invest in a generator and take care of yourself. Been there, done that! We have those tree things too. Here, they trim (morph) them into grotesque shapes that are top heavy and prone to falling down. Power stays on while roads are blocked and people are trapped in their cars. :eek:

A nice sized generator is going to be a requirement at the new house - that way I can still work on my cars!

But I'll wait until the "hysteria" dies down...you can't even buy a 12v/110V power inverter around here right now, let alone a generator!

Unknown

Well we are making it too...Invested in a good Generator about 3 years ago and it has saved us...I am running most of the house except the furnace and stove from it and got essencial power to the barn..



I have learned from this storm tho that one would do well to have a good supply of gas on hand...Minimum of 25 gallons....Also copious supplys of wood for the fireplace are an essential and it really helps to have a BBQ that has a side burner for meals.



We still are without power (Woodinville/Monroe) and tho they say Monday I would be VERY suprised if we have it restored before Mid Week..



Life could be much worse...Relatives on Mercer Island Lost most of their House and were darn near killed when a tree came down on top of it and crushed the place like a pancake..



Ever storm we learn more and thus become More prepared for the Next 100 year Seattle storm....I;m thinkin probably around 2020 this time..

Unknown

Generators are a great thing to have, plus they seem to last forever. There was a good storm that came my way awhile back, didn't have power for 3 days or so. But the generator (once started) worked great! Remember, don't let your generator not run for a few months...the carb got all gummed up it wouldn't work at first. Once it finally started though, it was fine. It's a 5000W generator from at least 30 years ago, and it still looks and runs pretty good. Ran the sump pump or well along with freezer, refridgerator, heat, TV, lights, and a computer.



Jesse

faustmb

rambos_ride wrote:

It utterly amazes me how incompetent the government is around Taxington State/Seattle here to prepare, plan, and prevent severe power outages! We have these things called "trees" and they let these "trees" grow large near the power lines and only do maintence trimming when they fall over!

The same happened in FL two years ago when all of the hurricanes hit us. Before the storm, you could barely see the power lines due to the tree growth. After all the storms were gone, the crews showed up and trimmed all of the trees back to nicely expose the lines. They haven't been touched since, they are overgrown as bad as they ever were.



You would think that it would be somebodies job to consider these things before it's too late, say before hurricane season starts?



We lost power for 3 days, afterwards I bought a generator. Of couse I haven't lost power since.



Matt

MikeWA

Color me "smug". We had a very localized, very intense windstorm here near Chehalis, WA last December. Our house was surrounded by large fir trees, and we only had a couple of blowdowns, none damaging (except the &%^* horse fence). Me and the missus had been getting tired of them for some time; needles everywhere, dark and dank in the winter, moss on the roof, etc.- so we cut 'em all down and sold 'em. So, no damage from this storm, which would surely have wiped out the house had the trees still been there. We had power restored after only 6 hours. #1 son, wife and Sam staying at our house til their power returns, #2 son, wife and Jack gutting it out, with the help of our generator and firewood. #3 daughter visiting relatives in Germany, doesn't know what all the fuss is about. Have hit upon a good solution to today's self-destructing gasoline- I get gas for small engines in 2 gallon jugs, and treat with Stabil as soon as I get it home- so don't have to try to keep track of whether I treated the generator, pressure washer, chainsaw, lawnmower, etc., etc.

[Deleted User]

The trouble with power companies trimming trees around lines is:
1. The tree owners usually don't want them trimmed because they don't want to see those ugly power lines.
2. The company only wants to trim as much as is absolutley necessary, which makes the tree lopsided. Don't want that ugly tree on my property.
3. It is expensive to train and retain people to do the job properly. Don't want our rates to increase do we?
Yeah, I moan and groan, just like everyone else when the power goes out. However the truth is that a lot of the problems with trees are brought on by the property owners themselves. I applaud the guys that are out there hanging from a pole, in the middle of the night with the wind blowing and rain coming down in sheets, trying to restore power, and knowing they are going to catch @#$% because they were too slow to fix everything.
I do not now, nor have I ever worked for a power company. But I know those that do and I admire them.
Bob

rambos_ride

BJ__TN wrote:

The trouble with power companies trimming trees around lines is:
1. The tree owners usually don't want them trimmed because they don't want to see those ugly power lines.
2. The company only wants to trim as much as is absolutley necessary, which makes the tree lopsided. Don't want that ugly tree on my property.
3. It is expensive to train and retain people to do the job properly. Don't want our rates to increase do we?
Yeah, I moan and groan, just like everyone else when the power goes out. However the truth is that a lot of the problems with trees are brought on by the property owners themselves. I applaud the guys that are out there hanging from a pole, in the middle of the night with the wind blowing and rain coming down in sheets, trying to restore power, and knowing they are going to catch @#$% because they were too slow to fix everything.
I do not now, nor have I ever worked for a power company. But I know those that do and I admire them.
Bob

Bob makes a good point...too many NIMBY's out there!

I do applaud the guys out on the lines in the cold and storms - working in dangerous conditions.

It's the pencil-pushing-bean-counters that bother me! I blame them for their lack of foresight and the fact that the transmission lines are on poles and not buried underground!

Unknown

rambos_ride wrote:

Bob makes a good point...too many NIMBY's out there!



I do applaud the guys out on the lines in the cold and storms - working in dangerous conditions.



It's the pencil-pushing-bean-counters that bother me! I blame them for their lack of foresight and the fact that the transmission lines are on poles and not buried underground!

I work for Southern California Edison and we sent (I think) 9 crews up there to help out so if you see a So Cal Edison crew working say Hi. Good Luck, Ron