Some residents left for days with no power

Published 7:00 am Saturday, December 2, 2006

The powerful snowstorm that swept through South Whidbey this week left thousands of homes without power, some as long as three days. And as temperatures dipped to 20 degrees, people struggled in different ways to deal with the challenge of living and coping without power.

For the most part, South Enders are a hearty bunch, experienced in power outages. The storm that hit this week caused not only fallen trees and power lines, however, but nearly impassable roads due to snow and ice and record-breaking cold temperatures.

As in previous storms, tree-lined Saratoga Road was one of the hardest hit. There many people were without power for 52 hours or more.

Roberta Gentry and her husband Jon Gulledge are old hands at power outages. Their motto is to be prepared. Gentry has a plastic box packed with all the necessities; candles, batteries, lantern, propane burner and headlamps.

Fallen trees littered the driveway to their home on Saratoga Road Monday.

“We’re fortunate because we have a propane stove for heat,” Gentry said.

“The battery-operated head

lamps are a must for reading,” she said.

Gentry compared the experience to camping.

“I am a good campfire cook. I can cook anywhere,” she said.

Indeed the couple dined well during the storm, feasting on steaks and Cornish game hens cooked on a propane barbecue.

“I laid potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil on our propane stove. They baked in an hour,” she said.

Listening to music on a battery operated CD player and reading by the light of their headlamps kept the couple entertained in the evening.

Gulledge recalled a power outage many years ago that lasted for five days.

“Back then I had a wood stove for heat and that’s all. What we have now is extra deluxe compared to what we’ve gone through in the past,” Gulledge said.

After the power had been out for about a day, the couple moved the contents of their refrigerator outside on the deck.

“It’s cold enough, everything should keep,” Gulledge said.

“Our chest freezer holds food for about four days,” he said.

Although it was fun and challenging, Gentry admitted she did miss hot showers.

“A sponge bath in cool water is not the same as soaking in a hot tub,” she said.

Gentry has a hair salon on their property near Lone Lake and Saratoga Road. Like other businesses on South Whidbey, her work was interrupted by the storm.

“Unfortunately, I work from home. So my business has really been impacted this week,” she said.

A giant fir tree in the couple’s yard was another victim of the storm.

“The heavy snow just snapped to top of the tree off. I have watched eagles nest in it for 30 years. Will they come back?” Gulledge wondered.

Getting the power back on wasn’t a blessing for everyone. For Freeland residents Veronica Schmidt and Kurt Portillo, the storm was almost a tragedy.

A power line fell against Portillo’s truck as it was parked in the driveway of their Lancaster Road home Monday night. With the downed line went the electricity to their home.

But when Puget Sound Energy crews repaired a line leading to their secondary line, high voltage traveled through their house and ignited a surge protector.

“It burst into flames, catching the carpet and nearly the couch on fire before Kurt smothered the flames with a blanket,” Schmidt said.

“If we hadn’t been off work, we would have had a major house fire,” she said.

Schmidt, who is transportation supervisor for the South Whidbey School District, was home because school had been cancelled. The couple had a mess to clean up after the fire.

“There is a layer of black soot over everything and an odor of burned plastic,” Schmidt said.

Since the incident Schmidt has been taking her dog, Tyce, with her everywhere.

“We could have lost him,” she said.

Schmidt said they will now have have the wiring in their home inspected.

For former Langley mayor Lloyd Furman, power outages got a little easier after he bought a generator.

Furman, who was born and raised on South Whidbey, said he bought his first generator in 1993. Since then he has added gas appliances in his Langley home.

“We can take these power failures in stride now. Life is better,” Furman said as he was refilling his gas cans at a local station Tuesday.

“I’m just getting ready for the next outage,” he said.

Gayle Saran can be reached at 221-5300 or gsaran@southwhidbeyrecord.com.