Tatanka
Sunday, Day One: Thunder Ice. A warm thunderstorm was forced up over an wedge of freezing air, and it kept coming down freezing as it hit anything. Lightning and bright blue explosions of power pole transformers, interspersed with the gunshot sound of limb after limb giving way under the ice load and gravity, went on for almost 48 hours. No electricity, no news, no lights, telephone, cable and Internet dead.
The trees succumbed.
Ice formed on everything. Some leaves and pecans and etc. were still on the trees. That added more weight, and thus more damage. Out came the oil lamps, candles, flashlights, and batteries.
Not the first time this has happened here you see. Twenty years ago when this happened I scrubbed any thought of central heating and kept my simple floor furnace and gas stoves. I've never regretted it. The city became dark. I mean DARK and COLD.
Last rose of the season.
Wierd.
Two days inside. The North and West doors were frozen shut anyway. On the third day in typical Oklahoma style the roads were clear, but 600,000 people were without power.
Cold blooded, you bet.
Even the fake cats were cold.
So we started finding cafes and place to eat that had electricity to watch for school closings and find out what was happening in our on town. Found an old non-fancy phone and plugged it in to the phone system. Miracle of miracles it worked.
Squirrels started four days of living like sloths. Only the underside provided traction.
Day four, no electricity, but the guys across the street get theirs on. Food is now spoiling in the refrigerator. Most stores are open, some are not. School is still closed.
The reason dinosaurs don't live in Oklahoma.
Ice Fang Dragon.
Day five, this is getting old.
Pecans
Day six (Friday), they start to cut back the downed trees along our power line corridor. They get half way done and go home! Meanwhile on the battery powered radio the Oklahoma Gas and Electric add say "We won't rest until your power is restored."
Half way into day seven (Saturday), our power comes back on.
But to do it they damn near killed my 90 year old cedar tree that had survived this and other ice storms but couldn't stand the tender mercies of the Asplund Tree trimmers hired by OG&E.
The tree will not survive that ravage. Interesting that we seem to be using a crisis now to justify outrageous behavior of all sorts. I would also note that the last time OG&E trimmed the trees along my line was 7 years ago after the last ice storm. It is now day ten and CNN tells me that 80,000 Okies still do not have electricity. As Andy G. says , "You can pay me now or you can pay me latter." Well in Oklahoma the power companies are regulated by the populist created constitutional Corporation Commission of elected commissioners. You can be damn sure next election this will be remembered.
Act of God you say? Act of greed in the form of deferred maintenance I say.
1 comment:
I had heard it was bad. I lived through one of these, in 1998, when we lived in southern VA, so the pictures, and lack of power, are both familiar. I'm glad you have a good eye to capture it. Especially the fake cats.
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