December 10, 2007: A day I'll always remember

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management reported the following:

On Saturday December 8, an Arctic airmass moved into Oklahoma from Kansas. As the cold air settled in across Oklahoma, temperatures dropped below freezing. A storm system moved across Kansas/Nebraska early Sunday morning and produced widespread freezing rain in Oklahoma, especially along the I-44 Corridor. This area received at least 1.5 inches of ice accumulations with some areas up to 3 inches from Oklahoma City to Tulsa. Many adjacent areas received a 1/2 inch of ice with a 1/4 inch farther south and north from the highest impact areas. At one point over 600,000 customers were without power.


December 10, 2007: A day I'll always remember

There was a sound like an explosion that knocked me clear across the room in one leap...amazingly, nothing was hurt. As I looked toward the window, all I could see was lights flashing, and by the time I reached the window to see what was happening, the whole city seemed to be lit up with beautiful blue haze, and then...nothing. We had an ice storm the night before, and ice was hanging from trees, making pictures perfect. It was gorgeous. By dusk, it was all the lines could take and there was one huge city-wide power outage. There were spots that were still receiving power, but not many.

Still and quiet, everything seemed to stop, except sirens. Those were just beginning. There were fires, and lines down in streets, and iced branches...not just branches, but whole trees, down on the ground. You could hear them falling for a couple days. It was an eerie sound to hear creaking branches full of ice move back and forth, and then fall. Some trees blocked roads, some fell on cars, one fell on a car on the street I was traveling on the next day, and killed the driver. Not much in the city was moving except the army of trucks from electric companies who came from far, far away.

Neighbors were helping one another when they could, clearing paths to houses and drives. I sat here in my home with my two cats, thankful that we were safe and that the tree leaning against the gutter hadn't fallen any further into the roof. Then I was thankful I had my emergency kit here. I got out my radio and cranked it to play. I used it to charge my cell phone battery, as well. Some of the radio stations were on the air and one was helping connect people who needed things. I was fortunate I had what I needed here. My stove is gas which made it easy to cook or warm things up. I had water in my kit and extra water I had stored. I was able to sleep in layers of clothes under layers of blankets, and sleep comfortably.



During the day I was out helping who I could. I had enough food stored to be able to eat good healthy meals without worrying about going to the store, where shelves were fast depleted of necessities. By being prepared, I didn't have to go to a shelter and could stay with my pets here at home. I talk about preparedness to my friends and neighbors, and help plan what we would do if something like this happens again. It's nice to know where to turn for help and ideas, and Emergency Essentials is a great place to Replace everything you need.

-Roseanne, Oklahoma