[GypsySoul22]

Well, up here in the Upper Valley schools are closed (looks like all over from the tv) and all over VT.

We lost power for an hour this am...just enough time for the school to auto dial us about the school closing and wham, power out.

It was about an hour till it came on. The guys were plowing our parking lot at the time (we live in complex). My son woke up scared (thought the beep beeping was a fire alarm).

I was (and still am because ice storms are not good for power lines) worried what happens if the power is out for a long time. We rent, so this is not our home. Does anyone who rents knows what to do when the power is lost for a long time? We get our heat from propane (and that runs with a burner). It's not our fault if the power goes out, and what if we don't have heat for a long time?

Do these places have back ups? Should we have a back up system? We can't run a generator here (not allowed).

Just curious. I guess we need a plan because I have no idea what we'd do for an extended time w/out heat. (we also have a dog). We don't have any friends here in VT. (sounds pathetic, I know.)

Do they put people up in the high school gyms/whatever in VT? (they have those sort of centers in NY). Anyone with a perspective on this, please reply.

Okay, be safe everyone!

[mustmove]

Need be call the fire department or a local church. If you are on a main rd or in the center of town power outages are usually short- we are out from civilization a ways but on a state route and we haven't had any long power outages in the 3 years here. I know folks on backroads that have lost power for days.

[Sherylcatmom]

I'm sorry -- I'd be concerned, too, and I hope the power lines stay functional. We've been through several ice storms without losing power for more than a couple of hours, but you're right, ice on trees and lines can cause big problems.

There are supposed to be shelters to house people if the power goes out or other needs arise. Vermont also has an Animal Disaster Emergency Plan (that link opens a WP file) and is supposedly one of the better states in providing for the needs of companion animals in tough times, but I don't think that's been tested.

It's hard not having people you're close enough to to ask, hey, can we bring the dog and stay with you a couple of nights? I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that.

[GypsySoul22]

Thanks for the replies so far.

We actually live right off Route 5 which is the main road. We're less isolated here than when we lived in our last place. There are buses and we are near enough to Lebanon, NH where my husband works.

This keeps bringing me back to the need to get into some sort of volunteer work while I am looking for a job. It's hard to get a social network together. I'm a really friendly person but we only have one car and my husband works nights so I have to find something in the day so I can 'be more out there' and meet some adults.

Apparently if you have a child it's a good way of meeting people but my son is not very social (he's got mild asperger's) nor is he into sports.
Going to a lot of school things at night are out (again due to the one car).

Sometimes life makes you feel like all you do is chase your tail.

Thanks again for the replies.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

Apparently if you have a child it's a good way of meeting people but my son is not very social (he's got mild asperger's) nor is he into sports.

In the Rutland area, parents of children with autism spectrum disorders seem to have a strong mutual support community. Anything like that in your area?

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

Sometimes life makes you feel like all you do is chase your tail.

True doggie wisdom! :-/

[GrnMtnFire]

Just to add. Be sure to teach your children the difference in beeps between smoke/fire detectors, carbon monoxide and just regular "beeps".

A smoke/fire will beep 3 times fast...
A carbon monoxide will beep 4 times fast..
other will just beep...(think like your microwave..)

[arctichomesteader]

Matters little to me if I lose power, I've got kerosene heaters and plenty of fuel, more lamps than I can count for lighting, my camping stoves...I don't rely much on the fridge either, I wouldn't lose much if power was actually out for days (unlikely but it did happen last year for some people...). Have a water purifier and can get water (by melting snow or from a nearby creek) and purify it (must purify it, and a brita is not what you want for that!) if need be (in extended power outages if you had running water it may or may not be clean). But then I've camped in the winter for months at a time so I could survive even without heaters if needed. One nasty thing some people discovered could happen this past summer when we had that flooding in Rutland and of course power outages in spots, is that if your home is in a low lying area, if sewage pumps fail you'll have sewage backing up and possibly flooding your home. Did I mention I picked a relatively high area to live here?

If you're in an apartment complex where you can't have any of that stuff (and you can't get away with hiding it), basically, you're at the mercy of whatever happens. Likely you'd be able to find shelter locally if you had to somewhere. You'll find that generally speaking people are pretty helpful in bad times here.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

One nasty thing some people discovered could happen this past summer when we had that flooding in Rutland and of course power outages in spots, is that if your home is in a low lying area, if sewage pumps fail you'll have sewage backing up and possibly flooding your home. Did I mention I picked a relatively high area to live here?

Very true! We bought on the "high side" of Rutland (elevation, not price) for exactly that reason.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by Sherylcatmom

Very true! We bought on the "high side" of Rutland (elevation, not price) for exactly that reason.

One thing people could do if they own their property in the low areas is put a good shut off valve on the sewer line leaving the home for those sorts of events so it can't get in to any of the drains/etc. and cause that mess. Not possible when renting obviously...

[GypsySoul22]

FYI just got a call that anyone without power in my area (Upper Valley) can go to the Hartford High school.