Northern Michigan Ice Storm
Posted by FartingAliceRisible@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 22 comments
Anyone riding this out up there? I moved to the South ten years ago. Went through a bad one in the 80’s. No power for days. Back then a wood stove was our primary heat and we canned our own food, had a root cellar etc. As I recall we lit the lanterns, put a pot of beans on the stove and rode it out. Back then everyone was prepped because we regularly got snowed in for a week at a time.
This storm looks considerably worse. Restoring power could take weeks in some places. Any firsthand reports?
Scorch09@reddit
It’s bad for people that have not prepared at all. The entire city of Petoskey, Charlevoix and Harbor springs are still completely without power. Otsego county is obliterated and will take weeks to restore. We have a generator running on natural gas powering the whole house. I stocked up on fresh gasoline 2 days before and the house always has 3 weeks of food or so, then we could break into beans, rice and spam. Cooking on grill and blackstone. We’re day 3 without power and no restoration time prediction has been made yet.
XRlagniappe@reddit
Sounds like the natural gas infrastructure is still working. Hopefully it stays that way.
FartingAliceRisible@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the update. I have a buddy in Michaywe south of Gaylord. His power never went out because it’s all underground there. Everyone else I know from Gaylord to the Straits lost power, and the damage looks so universal they practically have to rebuild the entire grid, or at least a major percentage.
XRlagniappe@reddit
Is the natural gas infrastructure still working?
cl3705607@reddit
Wasn’t horrible. My elderly parents are in Hubbard lake. Unfortunately whole house generator isn’t working (great time for that to fail). It’s very cold because they have no option for heat, but that’s the worst of it.
zeldapeldaa@reddit
Power has been restored to part of the area. If theirs is still not on, they can go to the Hubbard Lake Fire Station to get warm and get something to eat. The problem is that that's only available for a limited time during the day. I live on the west coast, but I was able to call and talk to the fire chief (Mike- 989-657-5791) and he went by to check on my aunt. I talked to her about an hour ago, and she said that it was snowing very hard. Another redditor told me yesterday that the power company had a crew near Wolf Creek and Kleve Rd. The outage map has improved considerably from when this first started. I just don't know how bad this second round is going to be.
FartingAliceRisible@reddit (OP)
Yokes. Hope they’re ok.
hsh1976@reddit
I've been watching videos of trees snapping in half and it reminds of the ice storm I went through in 1994. I hope the people affected by this quickly recover.
That ice storm in 1994 was my push into prepping. Natural disaster with societal breakdown and cold temps. Worst thing I have ever lived through
FartingAliceRisible@reddit (OP)
I’m not a prepper per se but grew up in the affected area. The snowstorms were so bad we’d be snowed in for days or a week at a time, so we were always prepared, and I still have that mindset.
lacunadelaluna@reddit
Sounds like you are a prepper if you have the mindset of preparedness for more likely disruptions. Prepping for Tuesday vs. Doomsday is still a prepper
Danjeerhaus@reddit
Preppers are a community of "me".....self reliant, self sufficient, only me....secretcy as this is the best survival tactic, or is it?
Today, you got to show the other side, the community side. You chose reddit. However, many in reddit live no where near you. Zero help because of the distance and a simple lack of your local knowledge.
I often recommend you take advantage of local knowledge.....local communications Amatuer radio and gmrs radios with today's infrastructure can often cover the area of a county. Yes, you can reach out locally and get information from people in your area.......what roads to avoid, someone needing help on the road, more bad weather is coming, and more.
Radio communications can also help to answer the questions about evacuation:
When to evacuate
What roads to take
Where am I evacuating to
Yes, the radio hobbies can also provide other benefits. Someone to talk to and remove boredom, educational opportunities, and more. Take a look and see if you should add this to your prep supplies and abilities.
korea79@reddit
Living through this right now. Cell towers are up so we are still connected to the world. This is a good test for those of the prepper persuasion. We have a Wood stove and plenty of fire wood for heat, well stocked pantry and freezers, gas stove that works without power, operational generator and fuel, drinking water and flushing water. So far so good, just want to say prepping is GOOD
FartingAliceRisible@reddit (OP)
Excellent. Good job
GrouchyAnnual2810@reddit
Wow I haven't been up on the news. I'm in central Oklahoma. Prayer Warrior sent everyone's way
raven_howler@reddit
I'm in Alanson MI and the biggest issue is finding gas to run generators. With no power in any surrounding cities, there are no pumps running. We've had to siphon gas from vehicles and recreational vehicles while leaving enough in one car in case we need to leave. I'm new to prepping so I was not prepared. I've only recently started gathering things. We had an oil drum of water for flushing, bathtub full, and drinking water. I've stashed for away but we only have enough for a week. It's not great but it's been doable. Everyone is pitching in to help each other for the most part. Expect the assbutt who stole someone's gas can from their garage while they slept.
FartingAliceRisible@reddit (OP)
I’m from Alanson so that’s interesting
raven_howler@reddit
We just moved here two years ago from Missouri. We’ve been thru ice storms but never lost power like this
hadtobethetacos@reddit
my best friend lives in cheboygan, theyve already been without power for days, holes in their roof from frozen branches, cars damaged, no operational gas stations or stores within 30 minutes, and most of the roads are impassable. its not good up there. amd theyre supposedly about to get another ice storm that could be even worse.
FartingAliceRisible@reddit (OP)
Well crap
ForgottenBlizzard@reddit
It's not as bad as the media reports. Lots of small communities here working together and volunteering their time. As it has been said a thousand times over here, build a community.
Scorch09@reddit
This is incorrect. The areas that got hit hard are decimated. We’re talking all of Otsego county. The main transmission lines that carry power from the middle of the state to the West side are destroyed. Entire cities are still down. The news is barely covering and the power companies are staying quiet.
ForgottenBlizzard@reddit
Mate, not a single area is "decimated". It's a little ice and lack of power which is nothing new. Power will come back, people will have more lumber, and food is not scarce. If we were "decimated" then we would not have the ability to whine on reddit. Ostego county is doing just fine and Gaylord has a lot of resources to get through it. Nobody is staying quiet about it, it's just another news story. This is easy, just don't panic.