So yesterday we got 11" of heavy, wet snow. A LOT more trees came down, and the power was off for 15 hours.
This has long since gotten old. We need a good wind storm (or a hard freeze) to blow the leaves off of the trees. That would prevent most of the trees from being overburdened by the white stuff, and they'd leave the power lines intact.
It wouldn't, however, keep the roads from being closed by the trees which fell across said roadways. Because that happened, too.
So we begin the research for a generator today, in hopes of preserving lights, refrigerator, and heat the next time this happens.
It will happen again. Such is life in the Alaskan mountains.
But it's Saturday, the sun has just come up over the mountains, and the slushy snow looks to be melting a bit. That'll make the walls o' snow thrown up by the snowplows easier to clear, to get the driveway open.
16 comments:
Oh, wow. Glad you are all safe. Praise God.
I would recommend a whole hour generator; but they are woefully backordered in the lower 48 so I don't know about there.
Don't know if it's too late in the year to look into solar...
Be safe and God bless.
"You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred."
Ew. I have to say that for the first time I can remember I'm glad summer is over. Way too much heat and humidity this year. But I'll pass on early snow, thanks.
Solar isn’t really an option where there’s only 5 hours of daylight.
I know it’s Alaska, but it doesn’t usually snow this early. The whole problem is that the leaves haven’t fallen yet.
I understand, PH.
Heavy, wet snow is no joy! We don't get wet snow until late in the season, but then we have trees come down, too. Like the ash tree that gave us a year's worth of firewood this past Spring!
And don't tell Beans that we're picking up an Ariens Deluxe 24 on Monday. He'll just get too excited.......:-)
Early heavy wet snow is a fact of life. We see it in Colorado about every five years on average. I'm hoping we have a normal fall as I'm about 45 days out on my financial comfort zone for new tires on the car. My old truck is ok in the tire department.
Reverend, I will be interested to hear how your generator search goes. As Linda, noted, word on the street is that they are hard to get a hold of here.
drjim, I'm certain you'll be happy with the Deluxe 24. Our Deluxe 30 has been able to handle everything Alaska can throw at it. This is the third year; so far, so good!
WSF, we don't often get wet snow, which is okay with us. Our snow tires are good for one more winter.
TB, since we're looking for a medium-size model, the pickings may be better. Of course, I've been wrong before. :)
Yyyyou live in Alaska and don't have a genny?...
I'm with LindaG; whole house generator. No muss, no fuss. Power goes off, genny comes on. Power comes back on, genny goes off. I went with this option when Southern California Edison announced their 3rd World intentions to shut off power if it thought its poorly maintained lines might clap together and start a fire. When power fails, it's only off for about half a minute while the genny spools up and stabilizes. Then it's business as usual. If you're contemplating this route, be sure to factor in the electrical mods needed to tie in the generator. Aside from the automatic transfer switch (ATS), my install necessitated replacing the house's obsolete power panel. Indeed, that work cost twice that of the genny and the ATS; about $7K, altogether...
I don't know how many resistance heaters you have in your house but this will.run a while house except for an a/c. https://www.costco.com/firman-7500w-running--9400w-peak-tri-fuel-generator.product.100648883.html
Oh, THAT sucks.
eek!
Oh dear! I at least hope your winter isn't too bad, even if it is early. :/
JayNola, we have a boiler-fired baseboard heating system; no electric heaters. The model you mentioned will do nicely. Thank you.
Old NFO, it was a pain for several days, and we still have several smaller trees on the ground. Still, things could have been worse.
Jenny, wonderful to hear from you. The fireweed blossomed and topped out several weeks ago. The Native ladies at work are telling us , “That’s not good. Cold and snow.”
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