Musings on the Great Ice Storm of 2009

It has been an intense week. I’m in NW Arkansas, which was one of the many places hit by the epic ice storm Monday. Arkansas has been declared a disaster area – thousands of people are without power and our local schools have been out all week.

Ice storm damage

My street lost power briefly Tuesday, from about 8 a.m. till 1 p.m. Without electricity, I had no heat or ability to cook food, so I stayed with a close friend in a nearby trailer park. While we were in his trailer, we started hearing limbs breaking off all around us. Under the weight of some 1 inch of ice, branches as thick as a man’s leg snapped off. It sounded like gunshots followed by crashing. Several limbs fell on his roof, but luckily, nothing was damaged. His neighbors weren’t so lucky – several people had their cars, roofs and sheds crushed under the heavy limbs. My friend’s elderly neighbor died trying to flee his trailer for fear of being crushed.

Right about the time my power came on, his went out. Since I’m the only one of my friends who has power, my tiny little two-bedroom duplex has become a sort of temporary storm shelter. I have three people staying with me & my son who have been here since Tuesday. I don’t mind taking care of them; I know they’d do the same for me.