The Ice of ‘07
The Midwest is now recovering from the ice storm that hit Sunday and Monday. It is but a brief respite until the 6 to 7 inches of snow that we are expecting over the weekend.
The storm left thousands upon thousand of people without electricity on freezing cold nights for several days. There have been a fairly large number of deaths attributed to the storm, mostly from vehicle accidents. Others have succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning from poorly ventilated generators.
Midwesterners are a quiet, strong people. I hear few complaints from the people I have spoken with who have been without power for days and don’t expect power for days to come. They just manage to do without for the most part. Many have no hot water. Mothers have to find new ways to keep their young children entertained and active. The local store may be closed. Driving is treacherous.
Once the basic act of survival has been accomplished, it is a short trip to the nearest window to see the next task at hand. Nearly every tree of any size in the area has damage. Giant limbs lay in yards and paths. Even worse, giant limbs hang low from high up in the ice covered trees. There will be many thousands of tons of debris to be carted away. One person I spoke with said “In a lot of places it looks just like Greensburg” referring to the city of Greensburg Kansas that was destroyed by tornado.
Along with the devastation of an ice storm, also comes the beauty. There is nothing quite so spectacular as trees and bushes covered in ice on a sunny day. It’s like living in some magical land created in Hollywood.
I’m not a good photographer but Mike Rodriquez has taken some great pictures of the storm. They can be seen on his flickr page.
Don’t forget to give a friendly smile and wave, or stop to thank all those linemen that are working out there. They have braved many an icy or muddy road to get those wires strung back across those creeks. They did it all day and all night in miserable weather. They are true heroes.