Thats what they are saying we were hit with last night.
I was out to dinner and around the tail end of things some clouds rolled in and the wind picked up like nobody’s business. The lights in the restaurant flickered a few times, and then *pop* a transformer exploded outside. Lightning hit a nearby tree setting it ablaze. I flagged down the waitress and said I was leaving, gimme a check. All payment options were dead and even with cash she didnt have the ability to print a bill. I had her handwrite a bill, give it to me, and told her I’d be back at lunchtime the next day to square up. The Zero is not getting caught away from his heavily fortified home in a time of crisis.
The wind was outrageous. The interstate was covered in tumbleweeds of various sizes. Taking the off ramp, the traffic lights were all out…of course. There were fallen trees blocking various lanes of traffic as I made it back to my house. Parts of town were in the dark, some parts were not. In one case I got halfway down the block only to encounter a tree complete cutting off the the street. Had to back up and find an alternate route.
Amazingly, the power was on at my house. I staged the generator just in case. Grabbed some iced tea, my police scanner, a flashlight, and an MP5 and sat on my porch watching the lightning and listening to local PD and FD lose their crap. Even if the power didn’t go out in my neighbor hood, that didnt mean it wouldn’t….line crews would, I’d imagine, have to de-energize lines to remove limbs tangles in the wires.
After a while I started working the phones, checking in with the people I care about to see if they had power and if there was anything I could do for them if they didnt. Everyone was fine except for my boss, who did not reply. Just heard from her this morning – power is out at her place and she can’t get her car out of the garage to go to work because of the electric garage door. I told her about that little t-handle hanging off the track and she seemed disappointed…she was looking forward to not coming in. She still might not…no power equals no well pump equals no shower.
Me? Im at work at my desk like a good soldier. I am, however, thinking I may be he only one here today.
You have a knack for telling an exciting narrative. Glad everyone is ok.
Glad you are safe!
Did you ever do a piece on the scanner(s) you have for monitoring local emergency services? Would be interested…..
I carry this in my Bag O’ Tricks ™: https://www.commanderzero.com/?p=5783
Does the ICOM handle the new digital/ trunking type frequencies which seem to be common in so many areas?
A portable scanner that can live in my bag o tricks is probably the next big ticket preparedness item I will purchase. It looks like Uniden makes some models that would work.
I don’t believe so, that would be asking a bit much from a scanner the size of a pack of cigarettes. Fortunately, most agencies around here still use open comms although they have the ability to go encrypted.
I need to dig more into this. The one time I went deep it was apparent that a basic ole scanner wouldn’t work in my area. I’ll keep working the deep dive and hopefully get one this fall.
We live in the trees south of Missoula . I’m thinking old commander is exaggerating!!! So we drive out to the highway .
Friend has a brand new extremely large metal
Shop , half the roof is laid over the top with the framing still attached .
Think the commander is NOT exaggerating’nn
Blame it on Biden. Heard he has a case if the ads because your tubby Senator probably won’t be reelected.
So old Joey found the manual to the HARP and created a huge storm to hit your state.
Hey. That’s what these Marxist morons said about George W Bush.
Claim he used HARP to steer Hurrican Katrina into New Orleans. According to the Constipated News Network it killed ten million people in New Orleans alone.
We drove in for an appointment and the standard supply run. Power/street lights were hit or miss if they worked. 30″ tree uprooted by the hospital. Hundreds of others everywhere you went. Lots of firewood. One guy in a truck with a new generator in back. I thought that was the mindset of most people – wait until there is no power before taking action. I figure he’ll run it until the power is on and then stick it in the garage with a 1/4 tank of gas until next outage. Costco had a sign up that they were sold out. Ace hardware had a small mob of people trying to buy chainsaws, there was one pro model left.
If he’s like the thieving scumbags masquerading as ordinary people here in Hurricane Alley, he’ll just return it when he feels like the threat is over.
It’s called “returns fraud” and people seem to think it’s not theft, or if it is, it doesn’t matter because the stores are “big”.
It does mean there are lots of generators hitting the “online retailer returns auctions” if you still need one or would like a backup. hibid.com is a good place to start looking. There is usually a month or two delay between the sale and when items start showing up in the returns auctions.
It happens with Costco items too, I note if there is anything in the month’s flyer that I want, then wait for the returns to hit the reseller market. Save a bunch of money that way. Everyone could use some extra money and extra preps.
nick
I really didn’t notice anything here on Flathead Lake. Checking the historical records, there weren’t any particularly high winds here.
Funny how a little distance and a mountain or two change things
Hunnert ‘n nine is pretty respectable gust, I hope no one had permanent damage. Canines in that type of weather are a mixed lot. The light show and sounds drive some dogs nuckin’ futs. My old dog (now deceased hid under the car when it thundered loudly. My present dog seems concerned but not skeered.to point of panic. She does appreciate when we hang out with her, covering her ears – Free doggie kisses for all !! :^)
Sounds like the perfect quiet day at the office to get some things cleaned off your desk and maybe do a little bit of blogging in the downtime.
So just the same as every other day.
SAM
SSDD –
Same Sugarlumps Different Day!
Ceejay
I always made a very strong effort to make it in to work on time despite any storm. I would sit smugly at my desk as people straggled in throughout the morning and usually piped up with “thanks for coming in, it’s not like we’re cops who the public relies on or anything,” (We were lol)
BZ.
For the truly prepared, and emergency is a less-exciting practice drill.
What do you think of two 2500 watt suitcase gensets vs 1 big one?
Have that . I like the suitcase Hondas because they are light and run all day . But I like the 3000 watt model because it comes with a 220 plug and starts the well pump or the air compressor better .
There’s advantages to both if you’re stationary buy the bigger single unit is my opinion .
I misspoke . The bid Honda is a 6500 watt . It’s the one tougher to lift into the truck but will run the well pump and other 220v items .
An occasional storm like this really helps a prepper.
It gives you a chance to see how effective your plans are, without having to wait for the “Big One”.
It also has the added benefit of letting your friends and neighbours see that you are NOT a crank, and that having a few things put away is a good idea.
Plus, you wrote it very well. Have you ever considered writing a book?
You certainly have the knowledge required…
Maybe you will no longer be the only one in the office with a “few” weapons in the corner.
Had a big storm roll through last week multiple tornados, hundreds of thousands with no power,including me. Idiot neighbor I told about the rotten tree refused to call tree guy(with a discount) and took out entire neighborhood for four days only loss was some refrigerator stuff another half day and freezer would have gone and chest freezer would have required dry ice or genny. Will keep eye open for used return as a winter situation would be very different.
It’s a good thing you were sitting alert.
In times like this it isn’t uncommon for criminals to take advantage of cops preoccupation to hit where the cops aren’t.
It’s better to happen this time of year than in winter!
That actually appears to have happened. A pot shop in the blacked-out area had its doors kicked in and was robbed.