Last Weekend Was Hell: The Power Shut-Off for over 10 Hours
Last weekend was the storm of storms for the Tri-State area. The monsoon season has not quite ended, and a micro-burst thunderstorm tore through the area cutting off the only source of power. Apparently, a single transmission line runs into the Mohave and Old Bullhead area supplying power to tens of thousands of residents.
Where was I when this all went down? I was at home enjoying a nice long shower after we had to leave the community pool due to inclement weather. Right in the middle of this relaxing shower … BAM! The power cut off and the thunder replaced the light in the darkness. I let out a meek little scream. Ooooow, things were getting spooky. My partner snapped to and started setting up powerful flashlights as makeshift lamps.
The outside was a dark almost mauve colour. The wind roared and blew over some trees. The scenery was masked in clouds of dust. The sky strobed into action with lighting dancing across the night sky.
We waited for about half an hour to an hour. No power. We decided to go into survivor mode and load a suitcase with some clothes, some cases filled with toiletries and meds, and, of course, our GUNS! Hey, it’s Arizona after all. Once we were satisfied with everything loaded in the truck, we checked our neighborhood. We talked with the neighbors across the street who were also wondering what was happening. We told them we would scope things out and see where the power was.
We drove out of our neighborhood out to the highway. Traffic was heavy. The River Regatta, an event Bullhead City held once every summer, was over. All the fun seekers, adventurers and tourists were leaving. It could also be that some had the same idea as us and were thinking of evacuating the area temporarily. The valley was a sea of darkness surrounded by twinkling lights along its voided shores. The Avi had power. The Indian tribes and their properties were on a separate grid. Lucky them. We purchased some gas and dry ice from a Smith’s they owned. The wealthier areas in new Bullhead had their power reconnected before anyone else. They might have had power all along, and Laughlin had power.
As soon as we realized the electricity was not going to be restored for some time, our first concern was the fridge. I suggested to my partner we buy some dry ice. It would be more effective than regular ice. Plus, there was no mess. It was the first time either of us did anything like this. We had no idea how much to buy. My partner bought five blocks worth. Three in the freezer box and two in the cooler. Little did I know it would freeze our produce while also carbonating them in the process. That was … interesting … to say the least. After the fridge was taken care of, we stowed away some frozen water bottles in a cooler for our adopted grandfather, Bob.
We had to see Bob. He lived alone in a dilapidated trailer near where we used to live along Catalina. He was within his nineties and lived with a couple of companion dogs. The brutal desert weather eventually got to him and made him practically bedridden. It was painful to watch him waste away like that. He was fine, and his dogs kept close to him. The storm caused the temperature to drop enough to not cause us to worry too much, at least for the night. We talked with our former neighbors to see how they were and asked them to keep an eye on Bob. Once that was settled, we drove around for a bit and checked local social media group, The Rant and Rave, for any information.
We decided to stay the night in Laughlin. We were both exhausted from staying up all night driving around and worrying. Our mood was dour. The Casino hotels knew of our plight. Only one, the Aquarius, gave us some modest discount in a “smokeless” room. Our room still had the lingering acrid smell of burnt tobacco, stale air freshener, and stale sheets. I did not complain … much. I left the fire-branding, complaining and whining to my more than capable partner, who was more than happy to do so.
Every chance she got she took to social media to appraise the situation and broach why the city council was silent, why was city hall and the police station dark without a generator system, why was there only one transmission line coming into the area, where were the redundant systems, and on and on. Her inquiries and tirades were met mostly with scorn and ridicule by the residents on the page. They knew the storm was terrible, but they did not seem to realize how their current situation was completely avoidable. My partner lived in areas much more meteorologicaly active than where we were. She braved storms in the Florida keys and somehow the power would remain on, but one little micro-burst was all it took to shut the power off for 16 hours in some places. My partner and I came to the conclusion that the residents chiding her were not used to such dangerous situations. They were not fully aware or able to process what was occurring or how dangerous the situation was getting. The most natural response for them was to silence the doom-sayers and continue on as before. We reached triple digit temperatures a long time ago, and the temperature drop only lasted the night. The city set-up a cooling station at the Suddenlink Center; however, the buses were not running, and there was no power. Folks on a limited income would not be able to make the trip or know there was even such a service available. I suppose those with a land-line could call the city, that is if anyone from the city was available to take calls. City Hall was completely dark, as was the entire town.
We managed to get some rest in our room. I slept all morning and awoke remembering being chased by demons while dreaming. One tried to inject some pale blue liquid into me, while another tried to roast me alive. It was not pleasant. We gazed out the window of our hotel room from the California Tower and saw the city bustling with activity. It was business as usual. The power was restored but not without consequence. After tripping over ourselves checking out, we hurried over to the house to check on things. Lots of trees lost branches and some were blown completely over along the way. There was very little damage. Our house was fine. We were greeted by the lights, fans, and television blasting. My partner had the good sense to turn the AC off before we left. A former neighbor of ours was not so lucky. When the power came back on, the surge blew out most of his major appliances, including the AC. When we were satisfied and unloaded the truck, we rushed over to Bob’s place.
It was somewhere around 1 P.M. when we came over. There was still no electricity in the neighborhood. We decided to take Bob with us to our place to relax while power was being restored. He lied on our couch for a bit. Later on, we watched some Brave Wilderness videos and a couple others on YouTube. We took him back to his place to sleep once we were sure the power came back on. One of Bob’s neighbors let us know when they had power in their home.
The whole experienced left us a bit nerve-wracked, but we pulled through and learned some valuable lessons. I hope something like this does not happen anytime soon; however, power outages are an inevitability here with the way things are. That is unfortunate considering how dangerous it is to live here.
