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One of the longtime, faithful readers of Backdoor Survival was without power for five days during the recent ice storm in Aiken County, South Carolina. Sandra and her husband are preppers and have been for quite some time. That said, she ran into some bumps during her experience, one she calls “when the Ice Hits the Fan”.Sandra has graciously shared her experience and the experience of her family – what worked, what did not work and what needs improvement – so that we all can learn for it. There are surprises here so sit down, grab some coffee and take notes. This is good stuff.The Ice Hits the Fan – February 2014Although we’ve been prepping for many events for quite a while, you learn quickly you’re never completely prepared. The major ice storm and the grid down we dealt with a few weeks ago taught us many things, including what worked, what we weren’t 100% satisfied with, along with a few things that would have made this a little more comfortable.The power company was able to repair the lines so that most grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations were operational very soon. Our power was out for 5 days.CASHYou definitely need cash. Many gas stations and some other businesses were open but their systems which handle credit/debit cards were down. Cash was a necessity.FOOD and WATERWe had plenty of food and water storage. We are on city water which did continue working, although we had enough water stored to get by for the week, if it had come down to that. Beyond a week, we would have had to obtain more water.Both of our children are on well water with pumps which require electricity. One had a generator and was able to get water from the well. The other did not have a generator but did fill both bathtubs with water before the power went out at their house. The bathtub water was strictly for flushing the toilets.Both had enough cases of bottled water for drinking and cooking.ALTERNATE COOKING SOURCESWe have a propane grill, charcoal grill, and a Coleman 2 burner camp stove. With all the ice, it was easiest to use the camp stove on the back porch. I am purchasing one of these for future events. It is a small oven with a thermostat to use on a camp stove (folds flat for storage).We did learn that we desperately need a covered area for cooking in inclimate weather. If it had continued sleeting/raining or more ice falling, we wouldn’t have had any way to cook or even boil water. This would be a problem in a Summer grid down situation if it were raining.ALTERNATE HEATING SOURCEOur only alternate heating source is a kerosene heater. We had about 10 gallons of kerosene on hand but we did have to buy more. You cannot burn a kerosene heater without the danger of carbon monoxide. We ran the heater full blast for 30 minute intervals (used the alarm on the cell phone) then turned it off. During the night, we did the same thing – 30 minutes of kerosene heater running when we got cold – ALWAYS SETTING THE CELL PHONE ALARM to remind us to turn it off to prevent carbon monoxide from building up in the house.We have an 840 sq. ft. house but we closed off 2 bedrooms. The average temp in the house was in the mid 60s.The wick burned out on the kerosene heater and thankfully we had an extra. We had never changed the wick nor had our handyman son. He came over and changed the wick – a learning experience for him and his Dad.The decision has been made to take up the carpet in the living room and replace it with laminate flooring and having a small wood burning stove installed. A wood burning stove would be less dangerous than the kerosene heater and would also provide a stove top for some cooking or boiling water.ALTERNATE LIGHTING SOURCESOil lamps, candles, flashlights, outdoor solar light, and headlamps were all used.I had quite a few of these 3 LED key chain flashlights scattered through the house plus I carried one with me all the time.We had a good assortment of flashlights: battery operated, hand crank, and shake it to recharge.I am going to experiment with ‘flashing’ behind the oil lamps to reflect more light into the room. The edges will have to be bent over & duct tape applied to prevent slicing fingers and hands.RADIO & COMMUNICATIONThe battery operated radios we have were nothing but pure aggravation to me – too many bells and whistles, short wave, etc.A couple of simple basic AM/FM radios are on the TO BUY list.The hand crank radios were not used enough to give accurate reviews.List of radio stations: Which ones have the best news & weather info.Cell phone: You will either have to charge your cell phone in the car or you can order a hand crank charger from www.beprepared.com. They have a hand crank flashlight/cell phone charger combo or a hand crank flashlight/radio combo.Yes, it takes a while to charge a phone by cranking but do you really want to burn the gas you have in the car when more could be difficult to come by.ENTERTAINMENTCrochet: If you crochet, you might want to invest in glow in the dark crochet hooks.These crochet hooks5 Days with No Power When the Ice Hits the Fan Backdoor Survival have a built in light – downfall is they require 3 ‘button’ batteries. I tried to use one and it hurt my eyes in the oil lamp lit room. Joann’s, Hobby Lobby and other stores also carry these. I go by the mm size of the hook instead of the ‘letter’ on the hook.Games: We have cards and board games but hubby won’t play either. I’m adding jigsaw puzzles to my list for entertainment.Books: There were plenty of books to read but the lighting was too poor for reading.HYGIENEHubby boiled a little water and was able to take a small mirror to the back porch and shave. He was braver than I was when it came to taking a ‘make do’ shower. He boiled a large pot of water & placed the pot in one end of the tub. He then took a plastic cup and wet himself, soaped up then rinsed with the remaining water. I took the chicken way and used baby wipes which weren’t very effective for feeling clean.EMOTIONAL SIDE OF A GRID DOWNBoredom was my biggest problem. If we had had better lighting, I would have been able to pass time crocheting or reading.Tempers begin to get short or ‘snappy’ after a while. I noticed this even in people who rarely show their emotions or get ‘snappy’.I would advise everyone to invest in more blankets (preferably wool), socks and flannel PJs or gowns. Our son was the only one to have proper rainwear and outdoor working clothes for the weather.WISH LIST or better yet WE HAVE TO DO LISTCovered area for cooking Summer or Winter, if we had any sort of precipitation falling, we could not have cooked or heated water outdoors at all.Flashing for diffusing oil lamp & candle light I mentioned this above & will be experimenting with this.Thermos A couple of good large thermoses to store coffee & hot water (for other hot drinks or making instant oatmeal, etc.) without having to fire up a heat source outdoors again – especially when you want just one more cup of coffee.Large Coolers We definitely need a few large coolers. Many people broke off icicles and/or shoveled ice from the ground and other spots to fill their coolers in order to salvage food from the refrigerator. Fortunately, I had a few 2 liter soda bottles of water in the refrigerator freezer along with a 14 lb. ham so we used that as a refrigerator until it finally rose to an unsafe temp. (Side note: Our daughter’s electricity came on several days before ours, so the ham was taken to her house to be baked.)NOTE: We have a nice indoor/outdoor thermometer. Hubby put the outdoor thermometer in the refrigerator freezer – made it easy to see the temp in the refrigerator freezer without opening the door.Stainless Steel or Aluminum Cookware We have tons of cast iron skillets, griddles, grills, and Dutch ovens but my nice set of Teflon cookware left something to be desired for heating cans of soup or boiling water for instant coffee or apple cider and hot chocolate mix – it just did not taste right. A few stainless steel or aluminum pots will be added to our supplies. If you’re like us and really enjoy your coffee, you want it to taste good. That was a pleasure I really did miss. You may want to try boiling water for hot drinks on a grill or camp stove to see how it tastes to you.Fondue Pot (for heating soup or water indoors) Since a fondue pot uses a candle, it would be one source for cooking without dangerous fumes in the house. I will be experimenting with this.Another definite must have: Plenty of paper plates, Styrofoam bowls and plastic forks & spoons. The last thing you want to deal with in a grid down is a sink full of dirty dishes & silverware.OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING1. Our son had to put his generator in front of his house – where anyone could see and hear it. He piled wood pallets around it to help prevent easy sight of the generator and easy access to any would-be thief. He will be coming up with an out of view spot to hook up the generator & adding a muffler to help quiet the unit.
2. Scammers and con artists came to town with truckloads of $400 generators they were selling for $1,400 to $1,600. They were quickly run out of the county by local law enforcement – citing the creeps didn’t have a business license.3. Although the ice storm had been forecast 3 to 4 days prior, many people were complacent and did nothing.4. During the week of our “Ice Hit The Fan” event, we did not need to go to the store for anything. We had everything we needed to get through it, including RXs.TAKE NOTES: I kept a steno pad & pen near me at all times. I made notes of supplies we used that need to be replaced, how things worked (or didn’t) along with what we will buy or build to make another event more comfortable.~~~~~~~~~~~~~After all was said and done, we got through this weather event and grid down fairly comfortably. I would say boredom was the biggest complaint I heard from everyone in all age groups.The Final WordI am still digesting everything that Sandra has shared and most especially, am taking the “snippy tempers” message seriously. Although practicing coping skills for dealing with a disaster is something that can be done in advance, living and dealing with those coping mechanisms in a real life event is an entirely different matter.There are a couple of things on the “wish or better yet have to do list” that I took note of. Pulling my old thermos bottles and my ancient fondue pots from storage are high in the list. (The fondue pots are so old that they are harvest gold and avocado green in color.) Fortunately, I already have a covered area for outdoor cooking. The other thing is coffee. I have a coffee press and lots of beans but don’t have a hand grinder. Oops. Everyone that knows me well knows that I am very cranky without coffee.My heartfelt thanks to Sandra for taking the time for sharing here “ice hits the fan” experience. You can bet that I will have more to say about this down the road as I read it again and again to make sure my preps are in order.Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!Gaye
