It was a lot of rain and temperatures right around freezing that caused the ICE. It crept in on Saturday night, attaching itself to all the trees and powerlines. The weakest of these gave way and fell to the ground early. One very large branch from the neighbors tree broke off and landed on our roof. Hopefully no real damage, just a nice Yule log on the roof. We had no idea this was only the tip of the ice cycle! The roads were generally free-wet but not iced over.
Sunday, the next day, it continued to rain and it just kept sticking to the trees, powerlines, clotheslines, flag poles– anything outside with a surface. Throughout the evening you could hear the horrible crack of limbs and trees buckling under the weight of the ice. Emergency crews and blazing vehicles were busy all night. Along with their flashing lights and loud sirens of the the lights inside the house kept flickering, each time signaling at least one more house just lost power. We were lukcy, we never lost power. The young tree in our front yard lost 2 large limbs. The older trees across the street in the park had lost a lot more.
The neighbors tree lost 3 more limbs, one of them taking out a section of wooden fence that runs between his house and mine. I watched the younger tree in my backyard bend farther and farther as the ice just kept making it bigger and bigger. It would break if the rain kept falling, it couldn’t take much more. And when it breaks, it will certainly pull the electrical wires from my house and the other neighbor on the east. He’s got cerebral palsy and confined to a wheelchair. I made sure to let him know what could happen soon. The overgrown tree branch would most likely take out his electricity and mine.
Monday morning, almost everyone stayed home from work. But for those that did go in, we really appreciated them being there. All throughout Monday, it continued to rain, temperatures still around freezing or below with a little wind to cool it off of bit more. The trees and electric wires, light poles and everything outside just kept getting heavier and breaking. My tree broke in the back yard and pulled the electricity of my wheelchair bound neighbor off his house. It went all dark. Even though I’d extended the invitation for him to call if he needed anything, within moments of his house going dark, someone in a mini-van pulled into his driveway to take him off somewhere else. The tree pulled all the electricity off my house too, but my lights didn’t flicker that time. The sound of limbs cracking and trees buckling under the weight of the ice continued all day. I did what I could to keep the tree branches out of the street in front of our house so emergency vehicles would be able to get through if they needed to go that way. That night the temperature began to rise and began melting the ice.
I found out that an old Target store had been comandeered by OG&E and was the acting as a hub for hundreds electrical workers that had come from surrounding states. There were what looked like hundreds of large trucks with buckets and spools of cable. There were also many large tour busses which would indicate they had been bussed in.
Tuesday the work crews were busy clearing the roadways from larger logs and branches and powerlines that crossed the road. This will take several weeks no doubt. Tuesday night, I went to a local auto parts store in Midwest City, to buy some wipers for the truck. There must have been 300 people in this little parts store. All lined up and the tension was tough. Everyone in the room looked like they were about to burst out into a screaming fit anytime soon. They were all supressing emotion and were on the verge of an outburst. I asked a lady standing off to the side: “Do you know why everyone is standing in line?” “Yes” she started to tell me, “They were supposed to receive 100 generators. They took everyone’s name and gave us all a number. They will call our number and we get to buy a generator. But they only got 60 generators in. I happen to be number 64.” My heart just sank as the reality hit me. All these people in line don’t have any electricity and they’re hoping for the chance to buy a generator. My broken windshield wiper became very insignificant. I left without buying anything. Later that night, when I got home after my meeting, I heard the sound of electrical generators rumbling in the distance. I would have sworn there were hundreds of them and I could confirm at least 64.
Now we’re trying to find an electrician that can repair the damage done to my house when the tree fell. This process is going to involve OG&E, the electrician, the city inspector and OG&E again. This means we’ll be without electricity for at least two weeks. The cost of staying somewhere else, eating out and repairing the damage and is nothing when compared to the joy of being able to participate with my wife for our daughter’s first Christmas. Jorryn will be a year old January 16. Its doubtful she’ll remember this first Christmas, but her mother and I won’t forget it for sure. It will be a Merry Christmas indeed !
I heard president Bush declared Oklahoma a disaster zone and that it was the 8th time this year for our great state. I don’t know what that means really, but it sounds pretty serious.
