You’ve been a good little prepper, right? Researching for days before choosing the best flashlight for your “bug out bag”, stocking all kinds of canned food and water, and even some fuel. Yes indeed, you’re prepared. You even look over your inventory sheets and pat yourself on the back, “I got this,” you tell yourself as you shut off the lights and go to sleep.
You wake up in the morning, it’s much brighter than it should be. You can see the sun through the trees. How did you over sleep, you have an alarm clock, oh, the power is out. That’s alright, you’re prepared for power outages, you’ll just set up your camp stove on your truck tailgate outside and make some coffee and breakfast. Heck, it’ll be like camping! Oh wait, you lent your stove to your cousin for a couple of days for his fishing trip. You were trying to help family out, and be a good guy, who can fault you for that?
It’s alright, I’ve got canned foods, it may be cold, but at least I’ll have food. Then you remember all the stuff in your fridge, and all that meat in the deep freezer. How long is that all good for. How long before all that money is wasted? So, you eat some ice cream, drink some milk, and make a couple of sandwiches using the lunch meat before it goes bad. You figure this is an excellent time to catch up on some reading, so sit down and just wait for the power to come back on, but you’re bummed out about not getting your morning cup of coffee and having a hot meal.
You’re pretty sure you still got this. You got food, even if it’ll be cold, you’ve got blankets, and you were smart enough to take your well pump off the grid.
What’s wrong with this scenario?
Would you believe to millions of Americans, including many preppers, there is a situation that has happened, and how it’s been dealt with.
If you’d practiced this t-plus event, which could be an indicator of something minor or very serious, you’d know where the flaws are. Was it bad to help your cousin out? Should you be possessive about your equipment for mundane use by others?
Here’s somethings to consider:
- Who’s the first person you call to check for power issues? The second? What if the phone was also non-functional?
- How many heating/cooking fuel sources do you have? Is that enough?
- How would a break in your routine impact your rational thinking? Now be honest and ask again.
- Was this the time to bug out to a retreat or meetup area? How do you know?
When you wake up without power, and the cause isn’t immediately obvious–a car wrapped around the power pole in your front yard–the first thing you should do is go to your bug out book. Flip to the check list for power outages and follow it down.For the immediate-term:
- Verify everyone else onsite is present and accounted for.
- Check your land lines/cell phone for signal or national/state/county emergency messages.
- Call you power company to report the outage (the number should be listed on your checklist) Speak with a person if possible and give/get as much info as possible.
If the power will be out for longer, follow the steps on the list in order until you complete them for that expected duration.
