Horrible Winds - Power Outage

Sunday afternoon most of Ohio received a horrible wind storm causing widespread power outages. Luckily my parents didn't lose power at their house just north of Dayton and we were able to drive up there for the night.

With all the medical equipment Ben relies on, power outages are very scary for us. After five hours without power, we became concerned with the battery life left on his stuff. We called Duke Energy for an update and we heard the message informing us that it will take 3-5 days before power can be restored. That was all we needed to hear to pack up and hit the road. Without working traffic lights and so many people leaving town, travel time was much longer than normal.

This morning I called our home to see if our answering machine would pick up signifying power was back on. And it was! Wahoo. We came back to town around 5:00 p.m. I flipped on the TV and noticed a show tapped last night at 8:00 p.m. so our power must have come on an hour or so after we left. What are the odds! So many people are still without power and I'm shocked we got ours so soon (my brother's family still doesn't have power and they only live a few miles from us). I'm not sure if we got power so fast because we are filed as having life-saving medical equipment in the home, if it is because we live 1/2 mile from a nursing home or if it was just pure luck. Either way, I'm grateful. Ben's school was canceled yesterday due to the outages and is again tomorrow. I think Ben is getting bored at home.


Power loss could last a week
By Dan Horn, Jennifer Baker and Peggy O'Farrell •

For now, those crews are assessing damage and targeting the repairs that will restore electrical service to as many homes as possible. Power went out Sunday as deadly and damaging winds from Hurricane Ike gusted to over 70 miles per hour ripped through the region.
Chip Wood, a Duke vice president, said large swaths of the region will get power back in the next 24 to 48 hours, but some homes could be without service all week.
The longest wait will be for residents who lost lines connecting their home to a main line, Wood said. “We expect power to be out for some through the weekend,” he said.Duke officials say 200 company employees who are working now soon will be joined by at least 200 more within the next 24 hours. The reinforcements include recalled contract crews sent to help the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Ike hit Saturday, and other crews from the Carolinas.“We will continue to see major progress. Crews are out there working now,” Wood said.He said the scope of the damage makes the job difficult. “It’s unprecedented for us in the Midwest,” Wood said.Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said that about 2 million people across Ohio are without power, and 450 school districts are closed. He declared a state of emergency, which will allow the Ohio Department of Transportation to help local communities remove debris from roads. Hurricane-force winds of up to 78 mph caused damage in 84 of the state's 88 counties. In Kentucky, Gov. Steve Beshear declared a state of emergency.As of 3:50 p.m., about 620,000 Duke Energy customers were without power. Since Sunday morning, there were nearly 1.1 million service interruptions lasting longer than 5 minutes. That includes some customers who had multiple outages.Businesses large and small worked to open today. Some faced the prospect of being without power for days. Food service businesses were especially concerned about refrigeration. Health departments planned to make inspections to be sure food was safe.Cincinnati Health Department inspectors are contacting some of the larger food service operators, including supermarkets and restaurants, to get the safety message out, said spokesman Rocky Merz.The city of Cincinnati inspects some 3,000 restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets and other businesses that sell food, Merz said.Most larger food vendors have procedures in place to deal with large-scale power outages, he said, and health officials are relying on businesses to follow those procedures.The rule: If the power is out, the business should be closed. When the lights come back on, check temperatures in refrigerators and freezers. If cold food is warmer than 41 degrees, throw it out to avoid the risk of food poisoning.Hamilton County Public Health is sending eight inspectors into the community and has two more working the phones to call convenience stores, restaurants and other businesses that serve food, said spokeswoman Megan Hummel.In Northern Kentucky, where the health district’s main office is also closed because the power is out, inspectors are also relying on most businesses to follow standard guidelines.“We have 15 inspectors and 2,000 businesses,” said spokeswoman Emily Gresham Wherle.Kroger was working to get all its stores open, as was bigg's. Some Kroger stores were open but not their gas pumps. Most of the 135 Fifth Third Bank branches were without power this morning and closed, said Fifth Third spokeswoman Stephanie Honan. "As those come on line, they will be opening," she said. Fifth Third's main offices downtown and operations center in Madisonville are open. Most US Banks are open.Greater Cincinnati Water Works has asked customers to conserve water. Widespread power outages have hampered the ability of the water works to pump water in certain areas. Butler County officials are also asking residents to conserve water. The city of Fairfield has declared a water emergency. Many customers may experience low or no water pressure. As a precaution, Fairfield says, residents should boil water used in cooking or consumption for at least three minutes.The city of Wyoming is going to keep a water advisory in effect until power is restored to all facilities, said Mike Lippert, Wyoming assistant public works director. During the storm on Sunday, Wyoming asked residents to conserve water.Power to the main plant was restored at about 10 p.m. Sunday night, but the city’s water tower generator and one pump station still have no power. Much of Wyoming was still without power at mid-day on Monday.