The Frozen Gadfly: Seven Days, Ten Hours...
Power was restored to Casa McCarville today, seven days and ten hours after it went out under a cascade of ice and falling tree limbs. That was after the first limb to fall hit the regulator on top of the gas meter and caused an explosion that sent Midwest City firefighters into our backyard at 4 a.m. and an ONG worker into it five hours later to restore our gas service.
Our beautiful yard, which I have compared to a well-groomed city park, is a disaster area. Half a tree rests on the roof. Huge branches litter the back yard. Our front courtyard was completely blocked by a crushed tree until our tree service moved the limbs out of the way earlier in the week. The giant Sycamore in the front yard is a single stalk, stripped of every huge branch it held. The branches litter the yard. The City of Midwest City, trying to clear the street in front of our house, used a backhoe to move the branches into the yard and in the process, left two ruts about a foot deep and a foot or more wide in the front yard.
Thankfully, we were in the process of redecorating an empty rental property less than two blocks from our home, and we had power there. So, that's where we've camped for a week, sans bed, furniture or frig. It was warm, however, and cost us nothing, so we give thanks despite our angst and discomfort.
I suspect it will be weeks, or longer, before the debris is removed. It will take years for the trees and shrubs to regain their pre-storm form, if they ever do.
The storm has created an economic boost for some; our frig is completely empty and needs to be restocked. The tree crew will return tomorrow and the bill will be, I fear, astronomical. I've already spent several hundred dollars on limb removal at our rental properties, one of which has 110 service, but not 220; it went out early Tuesday morning. I overheard a diner the other night say that isn't possible; I'm here to tell him it is. A real sour note: Our next-door neighbor purchased a generator and had it running in his open garage the first night without power. Some cretin or cretins stole it. May the thief or thieves rot in hell. I've heard considerable bitching the past week about OG&E and how long it has taken to restore power in some areas; the criticism comes from those ignorant of the immense logistical and safety issues that wide area outages create. Before power can be restored in most cases requires workers to survey every house to make certain meters aren't pulled away from houses or lines aren't down and in danger of setting fires when power is restored. Couple that logistical time-eater with the weather we've had up until today and the scope of the chore OG&E workers, and the crews from out of state, face, becomes clear. And the complaints about alleged "preferential treatment" given some areas (i. e., Nichols Hills) are BS; some of the first areas with restored power were blue collar neighborhoods all over town, including some in Del City and Midwest City and Moore and Choctaw, Bethany and Warr Acres. Image courtesy The Oklahoman
Our beautiful yard, which I have compared to a well-groomed city park, is a disaster area. Half a tree rests on the roof. Huge branches litter the back yard. Our front courtyard was completely blocked by a crushed tree until our tree service moved the limbs out of the way earlier in the week. The giant Sycamore in the front yard is a single stalk, stripped of every huge branch it held. The branches litter the yard. The City of Midwest City, trying to clear the street in front of our house, used a backhoe to move the branches into the yard and in the process, left two ruts about a foot deep and a foot or more wide in the front yard.
Thankfully, we were in the process of redecorating an empty rental property less than two blocks from our home, and we had power there. So, that's where we've camped for a week, sans bed, furniture or frig. It was warm, however, and cost us nothing, so we give thanks despite our angst and discomfort.
I suspect it will be weeks, or longer, before the debris is removed. It will take years for the trees and shrubs to regain their pre-storm form, if they ever do.
The storm has created an economic boost for some; our frig is completely empty and needs to be restocked. The tree crew will return tomorrow and the bill will be, I fear, astronomical. I've already spent several hundred dollars on limb removal at our rental properties, one of which has 110 service, but not 220; it went out early Tuesday morning. I overheard a diner the other night say that isn't possible; I'm here to tell him it is. A real sour note: Our next-door neighbor purchased a generator and had it running in his open garage the first night without power. Some cretin or cretins stole it. May the thief or thieves rot in hell. I've heard considerable bitching the past week about OG&E and how long it has taken to restore power in some areas; the criticism comes from those ignorant of the immense logistical and safety issues that wide area outages create. Before power can be restored in most cases requires workers to survey every house to make certain meters aren't pulled away from houses or lines aren't down and in danger of setting fires when power is restored. Couple that logistical time-eater with the weather we've had up until today and the scope of the chore OG&E workers, and the crews from out of state, face, becomes clear. And the complaints about alleged "preferential treatment" given some areas (i. e., Nichols Hills) are BS; some of the first areas with restored power were blue collar neighborhoods all over town, including some in Del City and Midwest City and Moore and Choctaw, Bethany and Warr Acres. Image courtesy The Oklahoman
Labels: Gadfly's Columns
posted by Mike McCarville @ 2:25 PM
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