By Donna Westfall – August 23, 2023

It’s Wednesday, 10ish in the morning and we’ve got power! Now the question is, how long will it last because I was just told that the generator brought in by the City blew a part and they had to order it. Imagine our surprise when the lights went on!

First thing, wash that first load of clothes in cold water in the washing machine.

Second thing, dry clothes.

Third, it takes about 40-50 minutes for a 50 gallon water heater to heat up water. At that point, take showers.

There are businesses and restaurants open around town. Eating out is expensive these days, but at least they are open. Hopefully, shelves will be restocked at the markets because yesterday they were out of bread and frozen food at WalMart.

Batteries are always a good things to have on hand for flashlights.

If you haven’t been growing any food stuff in your garden, give it some serious thought. Potatoes produce within three months. We’ve been eating berries: raspberries, blueberries and Alpine strawberries. Now that they’re all gone, we’ve got some peaches and apples on the trees ready to be picked.

Bottom line is that this is a wake-up call to get prepared. We can’t count on the Office of Emergency Services because they and other government agencies did not respond quickly enough to stop this fire. As it is, 45,000 acres now destroyed. Containment? Who knows when that will happen?

So, if you’ve got power, take care of the basics because you never know how long it will last.