Letters to the Editor

Storm response is appreciated

To the editor,

I want add to the letter of Feb. 3 by Matt Fadiman. Kennebunk Light and Power District did an outstanding job in the recovery efforts from the damage caused by the storm of Jan. 23. I contacted Todd Shea that evening and he advised me that power could come back in a few hours, or possibly not until morning.

Most impressively, I was able to talk to a real person (Todd) right away. As it turned out, mine came back at 2:30 a.m., just as the house was transitioning from cool to cold.

I also want to extend my gratitude to the entire staff and board of trustees of KLPD. There are a number of other key players in the community, many behind the scenes, who also deserve our immense gratitude, such as first responders, people who staff the warming centers, and more. Many of them gave up the warmth and sleep of home to aid others in the dark and cold.

As difficult as it was, the storm may have strangely been a blessing in disguise, in that it took down a number of weak branches and trees, which may have prevented a much worse situation when the extreme cold and high winds of Feb. 3. arrived. The cold was so swift; imagine if power had been lost how quickly our homes would have turned cold, the danger to residents and all involved in the recovery process.

Although outages are rare in Kennebunk, it did prompt a couple of thoughts:

There are a number of online videos by folks who enjoy winter camping (I’ll pass) in subzero weather. Do you have camping equipment? Some claim you can set up a tent inside and it will stay about 15 degrees warmer than the room. A sleeping bag? Ski pants?

Personally, I bought a couple of hot water bottles last year and they do hold heat for a few hours. I also have a cooler generously wrapped with bubble wrap; if you do, be sure to protect children and pets from suffocation risk. Hot water stored in the cooler will stay warm for a long time.

While there is no way to know exactly when, or if, the power will go out, there is the option of keeping a couple of pots of water simmering on the stove when possible outages are forecast, which can be used for the hot water bottle or tea

For those with older water heaters there may be a reserve of warm water remaining a few hours later available from the faucet.

There are also a number of videos that offer suggestions on how to survive a power outage. That said, I would urge caution against any solution that involves any open flame-candles, etc.