Ten Things I Needed During a Power Outage

11/12/2019 (Permalink)

The number 10

The month of October was a time of turmoil and unpredictability. The Kincade fire was spreading at an alarming rate and if it wasn’t for the brave firefighters who came from all over the nation to help, there would have been more destruction than what happened. PG&E took preventative measures by shutting off the power in many counties in the bay area. I live in Marin County and my job is in Sonoma. Both locations underwent a blackout for multiple days. During the outage, there were essential items that I wish I had to make the process easier. This is a list that I have compiled from the least to most importance, so that next time I can be prepared and perhaps you could be too.

10. First Aid Kit: Bottom of the list but still an essential item. Not needed for just a power outage but in general for your safety.

9. Powered Portable Charger(s): I realized that having my phone charged was a necessity at times to receive notifications about the fire and to call family members who are experiencing a power outage as well.

8. Batteries: These guys come in handy for a multitude of reasons. Especially if you want access to any electrical item that could use batteries for a charge or for the next item listed.

7. Flashlight: The Night came quickly and before we all knew it, everything was pitch black. Making it difficult to move around. Having a flashlight (especially LED because they last longer) is an essential item that can save you from falling or hurting yourself.

6. Gas: Many of my family members and co-workers were worried to drive for too long, especially in the traffic due to the evacuees leaving the dangers of the fires. Gas stations were generally closed with the next station being about 40 minutes away. Having a car is needed just in case we need to rush to loved ones or evacuate from the fire ourselves.

5. Cooler: A cooler is a great place to store your refrigerated goods. Most people I know had to throw away their week’s supply of groceries. Not only did it cost a lot of money to replace when the power came back, but we were left without any fresh food. Therefore, having a large cooler would be an important item for the preservation of food. Of course, this would only work with the next item on my list.

4. Manual Can opener: A can opener is an important tool to open cans storing unperishable foods. This is a lifesaver and keeps you from having to buy food out in neighboring counties where the lines were incredibly long in some cases. Save yourself the drive and the money.

3. Ice: Everything else on the list are items that you can buy and store until you need them. However, Ice is trickier because it doesn’t last long unless you take up space with a bagful in your freezer. Therefore, when an outage occurs this may be not only the most important item to have but also the most difficult to acquire. For example, I was in the city of San Francisco which is 40 minutes away without traffic and even in the stores in the city was it hard to find ice. Most stores were emptied out because the millions of people knew of the value ice had during this time. This is the most difficult to have but if you have a chance to buy some while an outage is announced by PG&E, my advice is to go buy some asap.

2. Canned or unperishable foods: Just in case you do not have access to a cooler or some ice. Having canned foods or snacks like bars, nuts, or candy could go a long way in keeping you sustained for a while. We didn’t know how long the power was going to be out, but we might as well not go hungry in the process.

1. Bottled Water: We need water to survive and this was an item that was not rare to find like ice but was still highly sought after during the power outage. Preferably not in plastic containers but if presented with an emergency, then it is better to have access to this resource more than any other item on this list and why I have it as my number one choice.

Again, thank you to the first responders and be safe everyone.