Are you prepared?
Springtime in the Rockies is terrific. We can get four seasons in one day, ski in the morning and golf in the afternoon. And we’ll always get some snow dumper of ultra-wet flakes that will bring down a branch from just about every other tree around.
A few weeks ago we had a doozy in Salt Lake City, where in just one Friday almost 2” of moisture fell from the sky. This is more water than we ever get in March of any given year and I predict with the trees sucking up sap to bring out leaves and global warming keeping us wet that we’ll have another one or two dumpers before the valleys can say goodbye to our famous white stuff. As I drove to my office that morning I saw several cars smashed to smithereens under huge downed limbs and trees and knew way too many folk who lost power due to electric lines that came down during the early morning hours. Rocky Mountain Power reported that more than 19,000 residents in the Capitol City were without power as a result of the storm, and almost 4,000 didn’t get their power back until two days later.
Local saints are told to prepare for disasters and to assemble an emergency food supply in case of the end of days. Let’s just say most of us DON’T have more than a small cupboard of odd canned foods and cereal boxes and many frozen microwavable meals. Without power though, milk goes bad and you can’t nuke your dinner. Maybe consider the fact that even in summer power can go out, emergencies can occur and we all might do well in being a bit prepared. Sure, you can invest in a small generator for a few hundred to a few thousand bucks, but there are simpler things to do to prepare for disaster, such as:
1) call the power company to check on outages
2) try not to open and close your fridge/freezer often. Food should last 24-36 hours if you keep the doors mostly closed
3) keep fuel for your BBQ handy even in winter, but NEVER light your grill inside
4) keep emergency candles and a few flashlights with good batteries in an area where you all know they are stashed
5) check out on line or at local stores ’72 hour kits’ for your home that include food, personal items and survival items.
Go to www.redcross.org for suggestions on filling a preparedness kit for your home. Also, always have a dash kit in case you have to run from your home that will have an emergency stash of cash, copies of ID’s and or passports, batteries, cords, extra keys, blankets, shoes and clothes. If you’ve got to grab and go due to a fire, flood or earthquake make sure you have pet carriers close by, extra diapers, feminine hygiene products, toilet paper and food and water for three days for all. Don’t forget your meds either, and back up any important documents onto a USB stick.