Its already 3 days post hurricane Irene. Living in upstate NY we don't often have hurricanes at all. Usually we get some rain from hurricanes that hit Florida and travel up the coast, weakening as they come closer. But this time it was different. For days we checked the weather every chance we could. Irene was huge and was coming up the east coast. There was a good chance we would get hit with some part of Irene. I stayed awake until midnight Sat. night. Irene was coming, having made it to Atlantic City New Jersey. It looked like we would be getting heavy rain starting around 2:00am. I fell asleep and woke up at exactly 2:00am. I could hear some rain but with our fans on, I couldn't tell how much. Five minutes later the phone rang. Scott was getting called out to work for a tree down. Hurricane Irene had arrived...in the middle of the night...and I was going to be alone with Sierra. A little while later the fire calls began..wires down..possible smoke in a structure.....water in basements. I got out of bed early in the morning. I had brought Sierra downstairs so she wouldn't be alone upstairs. David had slept at the firehouse so they would be ready to respond. It was very rainy and very windy. We lost power around 7:00am. We do have a generator so we were able to have some lights and some plugs and our food was safe. I had a radio which gave updates every 15 minutes or so. The rain and wind continued all morning. We would look outside at the trees bending and blowing and then I would have to look away. We have some huge trees,trees over one hundred years old. I couldn't imagine one of them falling on our house. Sierra was awesome. She found things to keep her busy. She played with a container of Tanagrams. She made the most incredible figures and designs. We played Chutes and Ladders, she blew up balloons and made our balloon family!! She kept herself busy all day long. I so enjoyed the time with her. At the same time I was worrying about Scott and all my boys. They were out in this mess, putting their lives in danger to help those in need. Our small volunteer fire company had over 45 calls on Sunday. Many were people with flooded basements, dangerously flooded, with water 4 and 5 feet high. Scott was working, he works for the highway dept. They were frantically trying to keep roads open and putting barricades up where roads had disappeared. Trees were snapping and falling all around them..not a reassuring picture in my mind. Luckily I could still contact him via cell phone. Even though I could no longer follow, the path of the hurricane, there was no doubt. Hurricane Irene had hit and it was going to be devastating!
Later in the afternoon the skies cleared and the sun peeked out. But the relentless wind only increased. Many trees snapped and were uprooted as Irene pulled away. Scott came home exhausted and concerned. He is the Deputy Highway Superintendent and he knew too well what they would face in the coming weeks. Three roads washed out, many others damaged, bridges washed away, trees down all over. (We still have roads that are impassable.) Directly around our house we were lucky. No trees fell on our property. But after Scott came home we took a ride. I was shocked. The damage all around was devastating. I could not believe the amount of trees down and the extent of the flooding.
Monday dawned , a beautiful day. Sierra and I went up to the firehouse to take a shower. Their meeting room was full of blow up mattresses and cots... a testimony to all those who spent two nights there, answering the record amount of calls! Roads were still blocked, trees still lying dangerously on wires. Not too far from here entire towns were flooded out. People were stranded in their homes , as the water flowed right through them.
It has been humbling. A reminder of how little control we have . A reminder of how comfortable our lives really are. We lost power for 36 hours. Many others around us are still out. They don't even know if they will be able to start school on Tuesday. David's community college has closed for the remainder of the week.
These are the facts. I have struggled with my emotions. I was scared, very vulnerable. I did not like being alone, but with Scott's job and the fact that he is Asst, Fire chief, the reality is that I will almost always be alone during any natural disaster we may have. Not a comforting feeling. I feel so, for those who lost their homes and for those who lost loved ones. One man , not to far from here, went to help his neighbor and was electrocuted. And I know that even though it was bad here, I am sure it was worse somewhere else.
Local flooding
A driveway washed away..right up the road.
Tree on my brother in laws house.. luckily no damage!
Local town park where I run the smmer camp
Usually you have to walk down a steep hill to get to the water. This summer we had very little water to swim in...not the case now!!
Monday.. a beautiful day!
Sierra's tanagram creations...Love the crab!!!!She didn't look at anything to do these!
One of many snapped poles!!
Part of our balloon family!
Although Sierra played happily , somewhat oblivious to what was happening around us, she did say the other day that "Hurricane Irene was bad" Yes it was. I wouldn't want to wish this devastation on anyone else ..but it would not hurt my feelings if it was another 80 years before NY has another direct hit from a hurricane!! As Scott always says when he puts Sierra to bed "Goodnight Irene!!!"
