Ice Storm 2007!!!

[n5usr]

Well, poo... Lost power in Bethany around (guessing) 2-3AM. When I woke up at 4:30, it was 65 in my house. OG&E now lists over 10k out in Bethany/Warr Acres alone. The OKC metro is lit up like a Christmas tree! Looks like a losing battle for them right now...

Let's hear it for laptops with big batteries, and cellular broadband cards!

Let's also hear it for "low tech". I'll just say I'm SOOO happy I hadn't gotten around to putting in a fancy tankless water heater. At least I have plenty of hot water right now, with my old-school pilot-light heater!

What an experience. Showering, feeding the cats, getting ready for work by lantern light... Now I have to find out if I really need to go to work.

The scanner has been quite busy this morning - and all I'm listening to is Bethany & Warr Acres. (The trunking scanner has no power at the moment - I'll have to rectify that shortly.) Plenty of people calling in saying their house is on fire, but so far they've all been power lines and trees. Plus a couple of opportunists who decided to try to burglarize a house...

 

[kjwilson]

Same here, lost power about 3 am in East Tulsa. Woke to work calling and telling me not to bother coming in the power is out, of course...

Went outside and watched my neighbors trees collapse. Now I'm hoping mine don't (fingers crossed, but no knocking on wood don't want it to fall on the house).

Tulsa UDE is busy to, powerlines and trees down all over and we don't have enough stop signs to cover all of the traffic lights that are off.

Big thanks to IBM laptops and T-Moble cellular for keeping connected.

 

[car2back]

We've got lines down all over in Skiatook with more going down by the minute; estimates are power will not be fully restored for 3-7 days. Hopefully they'll be able to figure something out at the water treatment plant, otherwise we'll be in the same boat as Sandsprings.

Here's a pic of my driveway at 10AM, I'm glad I parked in the barn last night

 

[n5usr]

Well, still no power here. Looks like the outage area has even spread, OG&E wasn't able to get any real headway today.

When I left this morning, my trees were heavy with ice but otherwise intact. When I got home - utter devastation. Lost almost half of a sweetgum in the front yard, and the top halves of two 35-40 foot maples are completely gone.

So far the antenna farm is intact... Although a couple of guys are getting tension from fallen branches. I can't get them cleared off right now, though...

It was 57 degrees in my house when I got home, not too bad really. Decided to stay, but now I'm starting to feel much colder... Too bad I didn't think of a generator BEFOREhand - I could have the furnace running... *sigh* Too bad the power inverters can handle the furnace blower!

Still thankful for the laptop with extended-life batteries and cellular broadband card!

 

[edmondcops]

Several of my co-workers are getting new windshields, windows and body work done as a result of ice falling from the tower and guy wires onto the parking lot below. At least two of our news units lost windshields. So far, my car is OK.

By the way, I'm still not hearing OHP on site 8.....anyone have any ideas?

 

[kjwilson]

Every part of town I drove through today had power, but now they're in the same boat I'm in. Boy it sure is dark out there, not a single light as far as I can see.

One of my neighbors has a generator (lucky dog), I made a passing remark to my better half that it would be nice to have a permanent backup generator... Now guess what she wants for Christmas?

My trees gave up around 3pm and started dropping limbs all over the yard, thankfully none of them have hit the house. I've seen several other houses and cars that were not so lucky.

 

[car2back]

Walmart trailered in a Volkswagen sized generator this evening, it's like a shining beacon of corporate capitalism in this darken wasteland of decrepit and neglected electric service

 

[okla-lawman]

pso/aep is saying it may be Dec.@0th before I get my power back on......

 

[n5usr]

My house actually isn't doing too badly temp-wise, it was 57 in here when I got home yesterday afternoon, and was 55 when I got up. I sure did snuggle down under the blankets though! (More like buried myself...)

Still no goo. Just for the heck of it last night I went by Harbor Freight and Home Despot - Harbor Freight didn't have power and was closed, and of course HD was out of generators. No surprise there. I didn't used to think I'd worry about a generator, why bother with maintaining it and all that, as little as it would be used. But mid-winter outages are a whole 'nother story from mid-summer ones!

I think I'll see about a moderate-sized unit that can be "built-in". Portable can be handy, but I'm thinking right now a natural gas fired one that can be built into a closet in the garage sure would be nice. (Vented through the roof, of course.) Just go out in the garage and fire it up. No need ot get wet or whatever it's doing outside. And no worries about someone making off with it in the middle of the night.

Oddly enough (but fortunately, I guess...) the outages in my area aren't widespread. They're very spotty. Naturally, it's mostly residential areas. Most of the commercial areas I've been to are still up, of course, they don't have trees to fall on the lines either. But it'll be a few blocks on, a few blocks off. Heck, my neighbors a block away in either direction still have their power! And I did hear a generator a few doors away - must be a whole-house built-in, I thought they still had power. Even their front porch light was on!

Now it's raining. At least it's above freezing, and perhaps it'll help melt some of the ice off before it dips below freezing again tonight. But it sure is miserable outside right now...

Time to head to work. At least I'm inside a nice, warm, well-lit (with BIG generator, should it be needed) building again today!

 

[mfolta1]

alright i gotta admit this is starting to suck!! i have power but a huge leak in the roof.wheres the guy with the maroon mini van with the vectors when ya need him..heh. any of you all roof leak experts?

 

[edmondcops]

If anyone wants to see the aftermath when a 50-pound chunk of ice falls 1,400 feet and hits the back end of your car, I'll try to post a pic tomorrow.

 

[roxcomrox]

NO Power, Cellphone towers have finally died off.. no inet @ home.. THIS SUCKS!

 

[oSutrooper]

If anyone wants to see the aftermath when a 50-pound chunk of ice falls 1,400 feet and hits the back end of your car, I'll try to post a pic tomorrow.

That I would like to see. I was watching one of the news channels not sure which showing the ice falling from the towers......

-

 

[n5usr]

If anyone wants to see the aftermath when a 50-pound chunk of ice falls 1,400 feet and hits the back end of your car, I'll try to post a pic tomorrow.

Oh, ouch. That'll leave a mark!

Well, I got home today and saw the porch light wasn't on... Crap... Said to myself, "oh man, it still isn't on!" No sooner did I get the last word out, the light came on! *Do the snoopy dance!* Rushed into the house, to hear the furnace just kicking on and cranked the thermostat to 78. I wanted to get the house nice and toasty just in case the power went out again... So far, so good though.

I seriously am not sure what I am happier about - the heat, or the lights! The cold wasn't any fun, to be sure, but I just can't stand being in the dark that long!

I called my parents to tell them the good news - and they had just lost their power! Gain one, lose one...

Now to get all the batteries charged and brace for round two... *sigh* Those snow chances this weekend are lower now - hope they're right!

 

[hoser147]

Man I feel for ya all. A few years back we had the same deal just sat over us and blasted away. 7 Days no power except Generator I traveled 120 mi round trip to buy one . Looked like we should have been in the Lumber business. Damage was horrible. Now that the Feds have stepped in dont forget to apply for anything damaged and If ya bought a generator or anything like that, they will cover it and the fuel. Sure you will probably take a loss but gettn something back still helps. Thinkn of Yall and Best of Luck Hoser

 

[kjwilson]

What's that I see? Lights! Oh boy, can't wait to get home. Oh hell they're still out, so close yet so far. Maybe tomorrow.

Work calls and says they need my help installing a generator, get there and spend a couple hours working on it and an hour after we get it up and running PSO pulls up and turns on our power. At least I'll be warm at work.

n5usr, glad to hear you've got power again. Maybe I'll have mine up tomorrow, part of my neighborhood has power now so...

I did look at residential generators online while I was at work (Hey, I was cold) and Sears has some from about $1,700 and up they go outside your house and look like a HVAC unit. They come with a remote start feature so you don't have to go outside, there's also models that will self start when the power goes out. After this mess I am going to get one, heat/AC, lights and a tv is all I need.

There is one little sliver of humor in this event, I was driving by the AEP/PSO lineman's training building on Charles Page in Sand Springs and what do I see... They're out there cutting their own trees down to clear them away from the power lines.

After listening to them complain about people letting their trees grow into the power lines and causing problems for them, and a couple of years of people yelling about how PSO butchered their trees... Make you wonder sometimes.

Well, for those of us still in the dark ages. Think warm thoughts and hope they get this sorted out sooner rather than later.

 

[iamhere300]

Bear in mind, a 7K generator (Those Sears units) is not much. They will run the very basic items, but only the basics. Often times just the things that we take for granted will max it out.

To equal 200 amp service, you need at least a 45KW unit.

The propane is an excellent choice.

http://www.dom.com/products/generators/order.jsp

is a great sizing guide.

 

[kjwilson]

Very true, 7K will only do the basics. But that's all I need to run, lights, blower fan and the fridge. I have a gas stove, old school gas water heater and gas furnace.

But they are available and I am seriously thinking about getting one (larger than 7K though) being without power for a week or maybe longer really sucks.

Thanks for the link to the sizing guide, I found one yesterday but no matter what I checked off as needing it kept recommending a 8.5K unit.

 

[car2back]

A few more pics from around the house:

VVEC line along Ranchland Rd west of Skiatook

My driveway, after it has been cleared

The little bit if damage to my house

the trees look horrible

 

[roxcomrox]

anyone else in Tulsa without cellphone service? I have Tmobile/AT&T and Sprint for EVDO nd am just west of Downtown. TMO = MIA Monday, AT&T I'm on a tower in downtown (3 are missing around me) and Sprint is fine on a tower thats close. Just wondering if this is a wide issue or an isolated one.