It is the anniversary of the 2008 Ice Storm in the Monadnock Region. On Dec 11, 2008 freezing rain downed trees and power lines. Throughout the night the air was punctuated with the sounds of falling branches and trees. We awoke to a scene of downed trees and icy branches.
In 2008 we did not own a generator but managed to keep warm with our wood stove. It was located in the basement and we slept on the living room floor located directly above it. It was bearable but not comfortable. Power was restored after two weeks.
The folks in town were great. The model home at the Redfield Homes LLC offered a hot shower and the chance to do laundry. I share my defrosted food with my generator equipped friends for a communal meal and the chance to take a shower.
I improvised a bit to provide some Christmas music for our quiet home. I retrofitted our refrigerator into an ice box with two buckets of ice. My friend brewed up an “ice storm ale” for the occasion.
Power restoration was a major undertaking with crews and equipment arriving from multiple places, even the southern states. Boynton Middle School was a staging area for transformers, wires and utility poles.
Update – 11 December 2024
It has been 16 years since the Ice Storm and as I write this the weather conditions are somewhat the same. The temperature is 32 degrees and it is raining. There is a slight buildup of ice on the upper branches but nothing approaching what happened in 2008. Could history repeat itself?
Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 10 years! Seems like yesterday… the kitties were NOT amused that their heater vents were suddenly not performing their required functions. They all piled up on top of me in bed, and decided they were rather better friends than they had previously thought.
Wendy, yes one might say that the ice storm made “strange bedfellows”.