We’re home! We have power! Still no word on when my surgery will be rescheduled for, but after seeing the damage this storm has caused I feel so grateful that the only thing that happened to me was this minor inconvenience. Yesterday, our governor declared a state-wide state of emergency. At least four six people have died as a result of the storm, and many more are injured, sick, or homeless. One man had ten trees fall and demolish his home. Ten. The Red Cross has shelters set up for people who still have no power- last night the temperatures dropped way below freezing, and are expected to reach only into the upper 30’s today. People like us, who have no fireplace or stove, have no means of heating their homes without power, and some of them are going on day three in the dark.

We were completely unprepared for the severity of the storm. We had heard the forecasts, but with Ammon busy at work preparing to take time off and me busy at home getting ready to be off my feet for three weeks, we had more pressing issues on our minds. I was driving home late Thursday night when the winds started. My gas gauge was dipped below E, but we had a babysitter at home that needed to leave so I decided to wait until morning to fill up. Bad decision number one.

Lying in bed that night, we couldn’t sleep because the winds were pounding against the side of the house, slamming bits of debris against the windows. Our power went out around three in the morning. We got up at 5:30, showered in the dark, and got ready to head over to the hospital. When the hospital called to tell us they had no electricity, we got our first glimpse of how severe the storm had actually been. Turning on the radio confirmed that most of the area was without power as a result of downed trees and electrical lines. When the sun came up, we could see that our fence had blown down. There were branches littering the road, and when I looked out the window and saw the rain was mixed with snow, I knew we had to get somewhere where we could stay warm until the power came back on. We had only been without electricity for a few hours, but the temperature in the house had already dropped a dozen degrees. Packing our overnight bags, we debated which car to take. Ammon had a full tank of gas in his, but we have better car seats in my car and we had heard on the radio that there was a gas station a couple of miles away that was still working. So we took my car. Bad decision number two.

There were trees down everywhere, some being held up over the road by power lines. All the stop lights were out. We made it to the gas station to find it out of service. We had enough gas to make it back home and switch cars, but we were sure we could find a gas station soon, so we decided to keep going. Bad decision number three. With all the lights out, the backups going through town were miles long, the cars barely inching along. Each gas station we passed was dark and empty, with folks as desperate as we were peering in the windows and trying each pump without luck. By the time the car started sputtering, we had made it through two cities and passed by more than ten gas stations. We were able to make it into the parking lot of a car dealership before the car ran out of gas completely. I set off to ask around at the few mechanic shops in the area to see if anyone had a gallon to spare, but I came back to the car empty handed. We called AAA, but were told there was no gas anywhere and they couldn’t come and tow us unless it was an emergency. Since we were on our way to my parents’ house, I called my dad to see if he had any idea what to do. He knew of a small pocket of stores near his house that had somehow been spared by the widespread power outage, so he told us to stay where we were and he would bring us some gas. What should have been a twenty minute drive took him over an hour, but he finally made it to us. While we were waiting for him, we had heard on the radio that the two gas stations on the Eastside that were in service had lines of hundreds of cars, and the police had to come control the frantic crowds. The gallon my dad brought us got us almost all the way to his house, but we broke down again on a side street we had driven on to try to avoid the backups on the main roads. We piled into my dad’s truck, and finally made it to his house. By the time we got there, it was early evening and beginning to get dark. It had taken us almost seven hours to make it 20 miles.

We huddled around the fireplace in my parents’ living room until mercifully, the power came on at around 8:00 that night. My dad and Ammon went out to retrieve our car, and fill it up at one of the busy gas stations. Late yesterday morning, we heard that our neighborhood’s electricity had been restored, so we came home. Our house was freezing, even with the heat blasting. I went out with my camera to take some pictures of the damage. Our neighborhood looked like a war zone. Almost everyone who had trees on the south side of their home had some kind of damage:

Sidewalks were completely impassable:

Guard rails were demolished:

This family had damage to their home and their car:

We lost our fence, but again, we’re so incredibly thankful the damage wasn’t worse. Our hearts go out to the families who are still trying to stay warm in their darkened homes, or whose property has been damaged as a result of the storm. If you have loved ones in the Pacific Northwest, try to get in contact with them to make sure they’re ok and see if they need any help. 911 operators and emergency response personnel have been inundated with calls and requests. This storm was bigger than anyone expected, and although most folks were more prepared than we were, no one could have predicted this widespread damage. We are still in shock.