Snow is beautiful until it becomes dangerous

4/21/2021 (Permalink)

With the polar vortex in Texas raging and utilities being unavailable for the foreseeable future, people in the Southwest are currently living in perpetual freezing darkness.  Windmills are frozen and the electrical grid is being pushed to its brink, laying a heavy burden on fossil fuels to try and thaw the freeze.

In the 1990’s, Californians experienced storms that knocked out electricity for long stretches of time. While these were hard on the grid, electricity was always restored in a timely manner. Sometimes it took longer, but it always came back within a day or two. We were luckily spared from this blizzard-like weather, but for how long?

When will southern California experience a deep freeze?

The high desert regions are no strangers to light snowfall, typically getting a little less than a foot annually. What happens when the snow is waist high and people are stuck in their homes?  SERVPRO of Hesperia/Apple Valley and SERVPRO of Barstow/Twentynine Palms want to offer you some quick tips in the event of this hypothetical situation coming true.

• Have a plan. If a violent storm separates you from your family, what are you going to do? Where will you meet up?
• Have an emergency preparedness kit. This may include flashlights, a lighter, spare batteries, and canned food.
• Stay tuned in to local radio. While the world is reliant on television and wifi-enabled computers, these things will not be reliable if the power goes out. Be sure to keep a battery-powered radio handy in case of such an event.

Most importantly, if your home or business is damaged during a storm similar to the one I described, be sure to make SERVPRO of Hesperia/Apple Valley and SERVPRO of Barstow/Twentynine Palms your priority phone call. With 50 + years of experience in storm damage restoration, our technicians have the skills and training to return your home or business to preloss conditions.