The DU Lounge
Showing Original Post only (View all)This is bad. [View all]
The daughter and I are caught in the East Texas winter wonderland in the Free State of Van Zandt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Zandt_County,_Texas
Electricity started rolling blackouts at 2:00 AM. At 5:27 AM, power went out completely. Daughter and I are currently living in a trailer in an RV Park. We lost water yesterday (all the lines are frozen), but we have sufficient water to survive. What we lack is heat. We have a propane-fueled heater, but it requires electricity to ignite. We have two space heaters, and they are sufficient to keep our space warm, but they require electricity. We have no electricity, and our local power co-op tells us that the State of Texas has ordered them through the auspices of the ERCOT. This is the Texas Regulatory Authority that is in charge of power allocation in the State. This is the organization that decided to divert power from my local co-op and has, in effect, condemned thousands of people to freeze to death this evening. How they make these decisions is beyond me, but I assume that the wealthy North Dallas suburbs are powered up. Predominantly African-American South Dallas is probably freezing, as are the predominantly White redneck rural areas surrounding the city.
https://www.tvec.net/ercot-calls-for-rolling-outages-to-reduce-demand/
We have propane, but we cant use it to heat the trailer because the furnace requires an electric ignition and is run by an electricity-powered thermostat. Were living in the minivan. As long as its running, we have heat. We just filled up on gas.
We tried to book a hotel room, but none are available within a 100 mile radius. The roads are very bad, so were hesitant to attempt to find shelter at any distance from our current location.
Its currently 7 degrees, and we are heading for a low of 3 degrees tonight. Tomorrows high is not projected to exceed 25 degrees. The seven inches of snow that we have on the ground isnt going anywhere. Then, on Wednesday, we are expecting another five to seven inches of snowcompletely locking us in. Temperatures will not exceed freezing until Friday. There is no official report regarding when electricity may be restored.
I am not given to panic. Only a couple of times in my life have I been this frightenedfor myself and for my child.
Please, wish us well.
-Laelth