Community Chat

[Noel7]

 

PGE has issued a warning that we're in for blackouts and brownouts this El Nino season.

I'm trying to prepare, getting a lot of LED lanterns, including two hand crank lanterns that will also charge phones.  I already have a hand crank radio.

I also have a lot of flameless candles on hand to strew around the house.

Checked DH's stash of batteries, he is more than ready.

Old land line phones will still work, I bought one about 10 years ago, with a cord, and keep in in a drawer.

What are other people doing? 

[gardensla]

Between that and Sig Alerts, gonna be one long winter!

[MaggieMack]

When I lived on the acreage, my house was hooked up to a gasoline generator. Lost power a few times due to blizzards and ice storms, but never for a long enough time to require me to fire up the generator. I had lots of flashlights and battery lanterns and windups, too. I discovered that even if the electricity goes out, the gas fireplace still works, there's just no blower to force the air. So I never worried about getting cold. Just be sure to have food available that you can eat out of a can, if necessary.

[Noel7]

---

@gardensla wrote:

Between that and Sig Alerts, gonna be one long winter!

---

*********************

gardensla, are you in SoCal?  We haven't had many recent sig alerts up here that I'm aware of.

[MaggieMack]

What is a sig alert? Haven't heard of them in the Midwest.

[sidsmom]

Quick Google search.....

Q.

What are Sig-Alerts?
A.
"Sig-Alerts" are unique to Southern California. They came about in the 1940s when the L.A.P.D. got in the habit of alerting a local radio reporter, Loyd Sigmon, of bad car wrecks on city streets. These notifications became known as "Sig-Alerts." Later Mr. Sigmon developed an electronic device that authorities could use to alert the media of disasters. Caltrans latched on to the term "Sig-Alert" and it has come to be known as any traffic incident that will tie up two or more lanes of a freeway for two or more hours.

[Noel7]

---

@MaggieMack wrote:

When I lived on the acreage, my house was hooked up to a gasoline generator. Lost power a few times due to blizzards and ice storms, but never for a long enough time to require me to fire up the generator. I had lots of flashlights and battery lanterns and windups, too. I discovered that even if the electricity goes out, the gas fireplace still works, there's just no blower to force the air. So I never worried about getting cold. Just be sure to have food available that you can eat out of a can, if necessary.

---

*****************************

Hi Maggie!

Thanks for the reminder, I didn't think about food.  You're right, and it's good to have a cooler on hand so we don't have to open the frig.  Keep a few things in there with ice.

Earthquake 1989, we had no power for a little more than three days.  The first night we ate beans out of a can.  Some restaurants and grocery stores had backup power, so the next day we drove around to find those nearby and had other choices.

[Noel7]

---

@sidsmom wrote:

Quick Google search.....

Q.

What are Sig-Alerts?
A.
"Sig-Alerts" are unique to Southern California. They came about in the 1940s when the L.A.P.D. got in the habit of alerting a local radio reporter, Loyd Sigmon, of bad car wrecks on city streets. These notifications became known as "Sig-Alerts." Later Mr. Sigmon developed an electronic device that authorities could use to alert the media of disasters. Caltrans latched on to the term "Sig-Alert" and it has come to be known as any traffic incident that will tie up two or more lanes of a freeway for two or more hours.

---

*************************

The term is also used around here but not often. 

[icezeus]

Sig alerts refer to severe traffic accidents/incidents in Southern California. I hear about them daily on my commute in to work and home.

We always have one or more freeways that are affected.

[ChynnaBlue]

Those are the basics. I go to a lot of all-day events and have several external phone batteries that don't need cranking and hold a charge for months. My 10,000mAh battery will keep my iPhone 6 charged for a full weekend of heavy use.

Did they mention if they suspect the power will be hour for long periods or for a wide area? If so, you may want to keep a stash of granola bars, foods that don't need cooking, or a portable gas stove of some kind on hand to warm canned foods. If my power goes out at dinner time in good weather, I can usually drive a few miles and find a place where the lights are on and restaurants are open, but if the power goes out over a huge area, that's not  so easy.