Gunner Quinn
(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)
We had seven trees across our driveway, all of them on power lines. And no way to get out. We were trapped. I let that sink in…. I’m not leaving here unless someone comes along and cuts these trees. These trees that are in contact with power lines. Power lines that scared me to death.
So, gingerly, I walked around the property taking it all in and taking some pictures with my phone. The two trees on the propane tank had strangely missed all valves and gauges but the weight of the crash had pushed the tank down into the clay mud. The trees had scraped the side of the house, missed the roof and only knocked part of the cover to the air unit wires. They had missed the hot water heater mounted on the side of the house and the outside air unit to our bedroom, miraculously. I poked around the tank and smelled for gas, nothing. And on the plus side, the gauge indicated that the tank was 75% filled. Praise the Lord!
All the critters were doing okay. The rabbits were a bit skittish. The chicken coop was just about filled with water and the rest was a muddy mess. The chicks, in their cage up off the ground with cinder blocks, were surrounded by water. In the rush of the water and moving of debris, all the water had funneled to their location. As I checked on them, I was standing in about 4 inches of water. Had they not been in that cage, they would’ve surely drowned. Another praise to the Lord, for sparing our critters.
There were many fallen trees, many leaning trees, and debris everywhere. We also had our prized blueberry bush uprooted and a pine tree across our muscadine grapes. But overall, I thought to myself, we would be alright. And I felt that it would be a while before power could be restored.
We couldn’t reach our neighbors behind us; their phones were going straight to voicemail. Our neighbor down the road had lost a pig to a downed tree but overall, he was alright. You could hear the chainsaws firing up and generators being started. As we got more daylight, our solar battery started coming back to life. As we sat there trying to figure out what to do next – we hadn’t even opened the windows yet, we thought we heard something. Someone yelling? I flew outside and ran to the driveway. I could see our neighbors, just barely through all the downed trees! They made their way through the swampy woods and emerged from behind our chicken coop – safe and sound. They said their phones with Verizon had stopped working in the night. They had gotten our texts but couldn’t respond as the phone was in SOS mode. As we all sat and talked, I warmed up some quiche for breakfast. Soon we heard voices at the road. It was a group of local guys trying to cut people free, so that they had a way out in case of an emergency. We were free but our neighbors were not – it was just too much risk with the power lines. They would go 12 days before our neighbor down the road came with his skid loader and pushed the trees away from the driveway.
I was able to go out more once the wind died down. Each time I went outside, I would notice new things. Behind my husband’s relatively new workshop, every tree that fell had fallen away from the shop – about four trees in all, one of them being across the driveway. Our greenhouse project that we had stopped working on before my husband’s surgery had been blown down from where we had leaned it up against the workshop. It may be a total loss as it was a kit from Costco and we had only finished the sides.
At this point, our county was 98% without grid power. Our county is large in land mass but low in population. Most of the counties around us were in the same situation. All that I could think of was that it would be weeks possibly before we would get power. We have an electric member cooperative and would need help from Georgia Power and anyone willing to travel to help. This was in addition to Florida and anyone in the storm’s path – we all needed help.
Reports from town were that some places either had power or had backup generators. I know our bank had power from a generator but no communications to operate besides not having many employees able to get there. People were desperate for fuel, water, and food. We stayed away. Power started being restored in town that first day in some parts. And more each day thereafter.
We didn’t get to my mom until the next day, Saturday, September 28th. She was sitting in the dark with a dead cell phone. I had to empty her fridge contents, bring her water for toilet flushing, and open some windows. I also had brought her a nice, bright light to use around the house so she wouldn’t fall.
The ride to her house brought tears as we saw the roof of our church heavily damaged by wind but still standing. Again, “Thank you, Lord.” Snapped power poles, tree devastation, trees on fences, barns and houses. Some places only one lane of travel and you made your way around trees and over downed lines. We would have service on Sunday, no power, singing a few songs, sharing news, praying for others and a short sermon. It was lovely and my husband’s first trip out of the house other than the doctor and physical therapy.
Remember what I said about timing? Well, here we go again. Despite the devastation, we were required to come to work Monday morning, September 30th. I went in casually dressed, with no makeup. When I had woken up that morning my stomach didn’t feel well. It was nerves I thought. By the time I reached the bank parking lot, I knew what it was. I knew because I had suffered an attack several months earlier. It was another kidney stone. I turned around and made my way home, pulling over partway to let the pain and nausea subside. There were meds at home and I just had to get there. My husband stayed on the line with me as I sped home. He had a pain pill waiting for me. They had given me meds in case the first one had not passed or that the second one decided to move at some point later. And here we were at later. That booger didn’t pass until Thursday morning. But I managed to work Tuesday, got into the doctor Wednesday where she promptly sent me home again.
Through all of that, I had to care for animals, a husband, work, and run the household. Yes, you will have to deal with things that just aren’t fair, the timing sucks, but you just have to get through it.
What did we learn? Well, that you will adjust. That you will find a new normal.
There were days that I went into town early to find gas. And I was able to find it on my first try with little to no waiting. But I had to leave early while it was still dark outside. Most people won’t put forth that effort. The second time I did that, the place was only taking cash. I was also able to go the grocery store early too before the crowds. Me and only a few other smart people were there – no rush, no waiting and no one pulling a gun because they wanted your water or bread or fuel. During peak hours, aka when the folks finally got out of bed, fights broke out and guns were pulled on one another – in our dinky little rural town in Middle Georgia.
Not only locals but with people from other towns trying to find supplies. Tags from folks over an hour away were spotted and horror stories shared of the big city. Every fast-food place was packed every day with lines in the roads requiring traffic management by the local police. The Walmart and grocery stores receiving emergency shipments to help ease the demand. In the first few days this was extremely tense.
As the days went on everything eased and by Friday, October 4th, a week after the hurricane, everything started to return to a more normal state. At this point, most people had gotten power back with many of the stragglers getting it Friday evening. But not us. Our little dirt road is off the beaten (read: paved) path. No one would come until Sunday, October 6th. At about 3:30 pm a crew came and said they were just going the cut the lines free from the trees in order to restore power. They would not be moving trees. And that they did. The power was restored at 5:20 pm. We had gone 10 days without grid power. But I am speaking of our county, many surrounding counties are looking at weeks more without power – with some reports as far out as November.
Our Takeaways
Never assume the storm won’t be bad – and I mean any storm in life, it doesn’t have to be a hurricane.
Keep your fuel topped off – don’t be lax. We got stuck with gas stations closing early, then long lines, gas shortages, and cash-only option. And to top it off, our stored gas was not reachable due to downed trees and power lines.
Always carry some cash. Card systems can go down and they do! You may also need to pay someone who offers emergency services such as cutting away trees so you can leave your house or pay someone who picks up supplies for you in town.
Cell phones are great but don’t be completely dependent, they can and will go out. Have other ways to communicate if possible but just know you may just have to get to someone in person to relay information.
Be aware of other desperate people -don’t go for supplies unless you have to. If you have to go, plan when it is safest. Usually, early morning is a safer option. Avoid crowds, lines and think of places off the beaten path. I chose a gas station that is not on the main drag in town.
Don’t assume you will have access to all your supplies – we never thought we would be cut off by trees and power lines from our supplies at our barn. That is where our extra gas, water containers, funnels, etc. were kept; as well as extra lumber, rope, and tools.
Absolutely do not rely on someone else to help you, especially the government. Get to know your neighbors and come together to help each other. It is the best way to survive any catastrophe. We could not have made it without good friends, neighbors, and members of our church. Everyone checked on each other and did what they could to help.
And finally, no matter how hard you try or how bad the experience is, most people will not learn. Need a generator? There are many for sale on the Facebook Marketplace. Why? Because once people get ‘back to normal” with power, television, cell phones, fast food, and groceries they quickly forget how awful things were.
In closing, I would just like to say that we really did not ever expect to experience a Category 1 Hurricane in Middle Georgia. I always knew we could get remnants from storms but never anything like this. We learned that even with the worst possible timing with my husband laid up from surgery, illness, family issues with elderly parents, etc., we could make it. We found solutions, workarounds, help from neighbors and friends, and strength within ourselves. It wasn’t fun, it wasn’t easy, but we adjusted and made it through. We learned so much that we will take with us going forward.
Peace to you all and God Bless! – ForwardPreppers
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