9/2/2013 Monday Labor
day
Was at home all day on Labor day, painting, working in the yard, doing some chores around the house.
It came time to walk Maggie my dog in the evening. Usually we walk the road twice
a day, once in the morning where we meet many of our neighbors on the road, and
in the evening when it gets a little cooler around dinner time.
So At 5:10 pm I was going to walk Maggie on the road and I
heard “go to the river”. In my head I
was thinking I was being lazy and no you really should go and walk the road so
Maggie can get some good exercise, but something inside of me (and now I know
it was GOD) said go next door and go to the river. So we did. While we were
at the river we heard a loud CRACK, and a series of explosions and crashing
noises. It sounded like we were being attacked or that the mountain was caving in
The noise startled Maggie so much that she had a big ole Mohawk going up her back! Maggie and I ran up the driveway
and saw our guest who are staying in our cottage BnB standing in the yard near the driveway and when I was looking
at them I could see the electric line to the cottage was down in the yard, and
when I looked up the driveway saw the electric power pole # 16 laying across
the road, and resting on the guardrail that gaurds the creek that runs through our
property.
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| sorry this is so dark but by the time I got my camera it was dark |
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| transformer and pole on the ground |
There was a really strong odor in the air of burnt
electrical, and a buzzing noise. The
live high power wires were down across our driveway blocking my access to exit
the property. The power pole missed our
guest rental car by a foot and a half. Ricky our neighbor came near the other
side of this mess with his motorcycle and I asked him to go and call 911.
Realizing what just happened and the seriousness of it I went into action, coming into the house and cottage
to unplug all the appliances, filling all the water jugs and getting those
things set up for my guest. I had to
get out the emergency lights, stove and fill buckets with water to flush the toilets
with. Once I got my guest set up I took
care of my own water needs, filled the tub, and my water pitchers. Lights and water ready.
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| pics taken the next day |
Then I went back to my guests who were being really cool
about the whole mess. The relief on
their faces that their rental car did not get smashed (a power pole missed their car by a foot and a half) told the story of how we
were all feeling. Could not believe that this was happening, and the severity
of it was unfolding as we hovered up near to the road as we dared go. By this time a few people were arriving on
the outskirts, and then about 45 minutes into the ordeal a police car and one
officer showed up. He walked the road
assessing the situation and did not communicate to us what was happening as we
were trapped on the property (from the downed lines). Finally we
shouted out to him and asked for a status, and he said that a big albizia tree
had snapped up the road across from my immediate neighbor Sharon and it fell across the power lines
taking out 7 power poles with it, as well as our cable and phone lines.
This is the VERY area where I walk Maggie and would of been walking Maggie had I not listened to "go to the river" There are families that walk this road with their
young children daily. My friends and neighbors drive this stretch of road many times
a day. Thank you Lord Jesus for your protection! Thank you Lord Jesus for
keeping me from walking the road during this incident.
Thank you Lord Jesus for keeping my friends, neighbors, and guest safe
from harm. Thank you for your mighty
hand of protection. Many neighbors from up the road, came down as close as they
could get to see if we were all OK.
Seeing we were trapped, they went into action to make sure that a path
was created so that the young families could get around the wires until they
could be assessed for their safety. I am
so blessed to have such good caring people around me. Even though everyone was busy taking care of
their own needs, there was a checking in with each other, and helping out where
we could with what we had. Jenni, Lela,
and Naryon (my neighbor Sharon's daughter and young grandchildren) were down at the beach for the holiday and when they came home were blocked from
getting to their house, so we made a trail through the backsides of 2 neighbors
houses, my creek bed, then through another neighbors yard to their home. A few fences had to be disassembles but that
is a small price to pay for safety. As
time went on our head count of our community became complete, and with thanks
and praise to almighty God everyone was present, safe, and accounted for. NO injuries!!!!!!!!
The trees in question that caused this accident have been a
topic of conversation of late, as there is indication that the trees are being
poisoned.
It is very expensive to have
the trees removed by personnel and there is suspicion that someone is
poisoning the trees, so they fall and the owner does not have to pay someone to remove
them.
After this event it would not
surprise me that there will be some phone calls (when our phones start working
again) to the electric company and the police to have this hazard addressed.
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| Night lights from crews on road 4 am |
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| fluid from the transformer spilled all over |
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The first electric truck showed up within 45 minutes of the incident. The lines were rendered dead,
so we could safely walk over them. We were told we could not drive over the
lines because there was fiber optic cables bundled in them and they could not
be damaged. So My truck would have to
stay on the property until they could clear the lines. By this time KoKo &
Zhenya (my neighbors up the road) rode their bikes down to check on me.
We helped neighbor Tony block up one of the power poles, where we all
got on the end and lifted it up, while his wife Stephanie put a block underneath
the pole. Then he got out his chainsaw
which was in the back of his truck, and cut the pole in pieces, and was able to
clear that section of road. All in all
there was 7 power poles brought down, four were blocking the road, and a big
albizia tree was across the road as well. Within three hours more KIUC (electric company) trucks
were showing up, and by this time it was dark. Next we got our guest up on the
road where they could move their car to make room for the trucks, and parked
safely away from the mess.
Since there was nothing more I could do, I went upstairs and
used my cell phone (which usually does not work in the valley. Another blessing) to try and
contact Lindon my husband. I got through and
explained to him what happened.
Next I filled a pan with water from the tub and went
upstairs in the shower and took a sponge bath, went and got my candles, brushed
my teeth and went to bed. Read my bible
and it opened to Habakkuk, and the verses really spoke to me of the power of
faith in God. He is real, alive and working in our lives.
Maggie was really nervous, and wanted to bark at all the
noise that was happening on the street.
By this time the crews had set up those giant night time lights and with
the curtains open you could see enough to walk through the house. The yard was lit up! Those crewmen worked all through the
night. We did not get any sleep as the
noise was so loud, but am not complaining as I know they were working to get our
electricity back on and clearing the road so we could be safe. They told us initially that it would take two
days to restore this damage.
So it was to my surprise that when I went to the bathroom at
7 am I heard my fan running. WHAT?? The power is back on! WOW that crew did an amazing job last
night.
They had to cut and clear all the
debris. Take out the broken poles and stumps that were left in the ground from
the poles snapping off, and erect new poles and string the wires, and reconnect
the lines to all the houses that got disconnected.
I tried the phones and they worked for a little
bit until the phone company came and started working on their lines.
The phone has been down for several hours as
well as the cable.
I wanted to write about this event as a testimony of the power and
grace of God. NO ONE got hurt, NO
property was damaged. It is still a
little early to check on all of our appliances, but all in all we are blessed
beyond measure. It could have been so
much worse, in that it would have been so easy for someone to have died being
hit by those poles and lines, and that giant tree when they came down so fast and hard. God kept me from walking that road so that I would be safe. Those of you who think there is no God, I
please ask of you to rethink your position and give God your heart and
life. Trust me He WILL save you, and
not just in a spiritual philosophical sense, but in a real life, keep you from being
electrocuted way. Living out here in this rural area, God has kept me safe. God has kept the property safe from
burglary and thievery that goes on because of the drug problems here. When the house next door burnt
down he sent the rains to save our home from catching fire. I could go on and
on. God is real, He is powerful, and He loves you and
wants your heart.
I am grateful that He has my heart, and grateful for his love and protection.
