Where to go in W. Seattle if power fails?

[Kayzel]

I’m new in West Seattle and wondering: Are there community gathering sites where one can go to stay warm in case of power failure? Thanks for your help.

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[inactive]

What a good question?

I have no idea what the answer is…anybody?

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[celeste17]

Maybe this is something the WSB should have on the main page. I would think that there is Delridge and Southwest and Hiawatha Community Centers. There is the YMCA and the senior centers. Of course the problem is getting there.

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[Jeannie]

That is definitely a good question. When the power went out (I think it was last year), we were lucky enough to get a room at a hotel on Capitol Hill. We humans could have withstood the lack of heat in our house, but we were worried about our little parrot. It was a pretty expensive solution, though! And, this year, I think it would be tricky to drive anywhere.

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[ellenater]

This might be a dumb question, but do they have generators? Can you sleep there? What did people do last year during the raging power outage?

I’m hoping to get a portable generator and some booze tomorrow before snowpocalypse comes.

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[celeste17]

Lets post this question to TR and Patrick. They should know the answer or find out the answer.

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[pigeonmom]

I dread a power outage. This old house is miserable when the power goes out. A shelter that will also allow pets would be good. Did any of the WS shelters allow pets in the ’06 storm? (I went to sister’s then, not possible this year)

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[Kayzel]

I see that Delridge and High Point Community Centers closed today at 4 PM but have been unable to determine if there is an citywide emergency plan to open them (and other centers)in certain conditions. Usually this kind of info pops right up on City websites, but I can’t find it. I’ll keep looking.

I would do some walking if I knew there was a warm place at the end of the line.

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[celeste17]

I emailed TR and Patrick to see if they have some kind of list of if they can pull one up from the city.

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[MargL]

During the last big power outage we spent time at Hiawatha Community center. There weren’t any activities or food but it was a warm place to be. And it was open ‘special’ because of the power outage. I think there are other community centers that were open for people to stay warm but I don’t remember which ones. It really depends on what areas get hit. We didn’t have power for 3 days in Arbor Heights but my cousin up closer to Admiral had power the whole time.

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[Garden_nymph]

I have been told that the fire stations welcome people in such circumstances. Sounds good to me- to cozy up to a firefighter!

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[celeste17]

Move over Garden that fire fighter is mine. LOL!

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[flowerpetal]

I’m going to JoB’s cuz for sure she will have just pulled something out of the oven before the power goes out. From there I will walk to Ellenater’s cuz she will have booze. Next stop, Celeste for a nip of Kahlua; and then someone please help me sniff out Christopher’s so I can get some bacon.

Then we can all come back to my place. I’ve got a huge load of firewood and we will all move in close to the fire. Just don’t fall into my Christmas tree.

Jan, what have you got at your digs?

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[celeste17]

I know where Chris lives and its not far from my house where you will have the Kahlua (that is if I can get a bottle and if I can get to the liquor store to get the vodka to make it).

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[flowerpetal]

I’ll bring some from Ellenater’s; or I will bring my own. I have some raspberry liquer in the cabinet.

I’ve been wanting to make caraway liquer but haven’t gotten around to that.

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[Sue]

I am praying that there are no outages this time. Last time I was out for 5 days. I wouldn’t leave my cat, so I stayed in our townhouse at 42 degrees. It was brutal. Fortunately I’m in a different place now that seems a little better off power-wise than the old place. But I’m still not interested in seeing how cold it can get without heat. :(

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[WSB]

Hi – I will let you know. I am working on all that info at the moment but took a quick break – back at the computer right now.

It wouldn’t apply in a power outage but there has been a neighborhood effort all year that we’ve been reporting on involving gathering places for neighborhoods to get emergency info. But that’s still in formative stages.

Stand by …

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[Garden_nymph]

Ah come on Celeste17, can’t we SHARE!?! I love how any forum I have read leads to baked goods, bacon or booze!

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[Jeannie]

Or brawny, beefy firefighters.

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[miws]

Note to Ellenator (and others) re: generators.

Obviously, DO NOT run them indoors, even in an attached garage. Which means, of course, leaving them outside, away from anyplace exhaust fumes and poisionous carbon monoxide can get into the living quarters.

Also, during the storm/outage a couple of years or so, there was somewhat of a spate of generators being stolen. If I recall, some were even stolen while in use!

So, the thing to do is try to figure out some way to secure them, by bolting them,or locking them down in some manner.

Of course, no method will be 100% secure, but some way to make it difficult, and unappealing to quickly steal, is better than nothing.

Oh, and lock up the booze too. I think Flowerpetal is lurking around people’s homes! ;-)

Mike

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[celeste17]

Of course we can share. Lets do this lets designate whos house we are all going to meet at and we all bring what ever food you can along with drinks, firewood, propane for the grill and of course games since we won’t be able to use computers. Of course we will bring the laptops for those of us who have them just in case someone has a generator. After all we can’t be without the blog for long. :)

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[Garden_nymph]

Brawny, beefy firefighters with the benefit of brains, bringing the bacon, baked goods and booze! ;) One can dream!

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[hopey]

During the December 2006 storm, we were without power for 6 days. We had a fireplace… with a gas insert which required electricity to be used. I think our living room was 45-50 degrees.

We ended up pitching a tent in our living room. Literally. We put up my camping tent and slept in it. It kept the warmth in, and we were able to sleep comfortably. I think I even remember my husband kicking off the blankets because he was *too* warm.

Just a thought… I know many people have camping gear, but folks might not think about using it indoors. :)

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[WSB]

That’s exactly the sort of thing I’m going to mention in the post that I somehow have not managed to finish yet. Still looking for precise shelter info but I believe to some degree they don’t pre-set all that because some places will not be safe for other reasons (downed wires, or …) I also have a note out to the best neighborhood emergency expert I know. There’s TONS of general what-to-do info on the city site, though.

The one thing that happened to us in 2006 that we were NOT prepared for … our fish died. The last survivor of Junior Member of the Team’s endlessly revolving cast of fish. It was too cold for him without a heater, even though he wasn’t strictly tropical. That was really really sad. And I never would have thought about it ahead of time. So if you have fish or some other pets that depend on heat … think of a battery-powered backup for them, just in case.

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[WSB]

Here’s a good page to check for starters. In case there’s anything here you hadn’t thought of already:

http://www.seattle.gov/light/neighborhoods/nh4_pout.htm

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