SNOW DAZE

The state is closed. The whole freakin state! No work, no school, basic services are on auto pilot. We are not digging out from under feet of packed in snow. Nope, we have about a half to one inch of ice. A solid slick sheet that makes it impossible to walk, drive, stop, or move. The trees are coated the high lines are coated.. everything is coated is a solid, unending blanket of ice. A little over a year ago we survived an even bigger ice storm, so we should be OK with this one.

The video below shows a bit of what it looked like. But even now I drive across the state and see the broken trees and shattered buildings and other signs of total devastation. As tree limbs collect ice the weight increases to the point the wood snaps and large branches fall (I had a tree literally torn apart as branches from all sides ripped the trunk right down the middle) then when the branches go, they often fall into power lines and rip the vital source of power from entire neighborhoods.

The worst part is it happens to every house, in every block in every town and all places in between. It is a solid sheet of destruction that shreds by the sheer enormity of the storm. Last year we had families huddled in cold houses for more than a solid week. Bundled under blankets in total darkness to keep in body warmth where there was no other source of heat, power and often food.

When the storm passed the entire state was covered by a solid wall of wooden debris. Neighborhoods in Tulsa were behind piles of branches and limbs, stacked in front yards. The City and County lacked the resources to remove the debris which grew into a greater fire danger. The city eventually granted homeowners limited rights to burn debris in town while turning vacant lots into chipper stations. It took over six months to clean up the mess. During the clean up you were at risk on highways when inexperienced locals would lose truck loads of limbs and materials all along the highways. FEMA denied any help to Oklahoma. That was the last time we had an ice storm... until last night.