The cleanup begins As we enter the 3rd week after the fire, we are making progress and starting to feel like we will be able to handle what we have been dealt. I keep remembering that so many people around here are so much worse off than we are. We have been so lucky to have family and friends to help out. On the second day our friend Maria brought her daughter and niece to help us get our water system running again. The pipes in the upper section that were above ground all melted and had to be replaced. With their help we got the system partially working- enough to get water to the house and some of the irrigation lines. On the third day Bill's brother and sister-in-law Polly showed up with food, tools, and words of encouragement. (Almost every tool we owned except a few hand tools that were in the house burned up.) We cleared a bunch of downed trees and got more of the water system patched up. It turned out that a bunch of the fragments of the melted pipes had worked their way through the underground pipes and were clogging the line that goes to the house. Of course, our lifetime collection of pipe fittings was gone, too, so it required several trips to town to get everything going. Every day has some small progress which is gratifying.
Our héros! The PUD is working 18 hr days trying to get power back in our area. They are being so nice to us, and working so hard! They have to remove a bunch of large trees that are in the way of the new power line route, and cut them up into small rounds so we could use them in our little wood stove. We are very grateful, as we lost all of our firewood (11 cords!) that was stacked in the woodshed.
ready to haul away This past weekend more help arrived. My sister and brother-in-law came to help sort through the wreckage and make piles for disposal. My mom didn't want to be left out, but since there is no place for her to stay, and it's pretty primitive with no power, she contributed by sending about 2 weeks of prepared meals for us to eat so we don't have to worry about cooking for a while. Jamie and Polly joined us again (and also brought more food!) and we had a very dirty but satisfying day. Straightened and stacked the metal roofing pieces from all three buildings, and piled the remaining metal scraps in neat piles. The next step is to get a dumpster for the metal and haul it away. Our local recycling center has teamed up with the garbage disposal folks to arrange a way for this to happen, and are even offering options on how to handle the sale of the scrap metal. The homeowners can keep it for themselves, or donate it to the local charities that are helping fire victims.
Let there be light! August 8, 2014, 2:44 PM. Power is restored!!! 22 days on a generator makes you appreciate it all that much more. Our hook-up is temporary, as we are going to be burying the line from the road to our property, but we don't mind looking at power lines just now. It's a welcome sight. And I never realized how much I enjoy vacuuming!
Stay tuned for next week's update.
Stay tuned for next week's update.
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