Recently, power outages have been occurring with more frequency. Most homes rely on electricity for light, appliances, and heating or cooling. Power outages can occur because of extreme weather conditions, accidents, or because systems become overloaded, such as in heat waves. Public Health Specialist Carrie Godes recommends preparing for times when electricity is unavailable.
“We are seeing power outages, and what we are telling people is: what would you do if we had a power outage that lasts up to three days?” Godes said.
Oftentimes, we unconsciously rely on electricity. Whether it is for communication, using the dishwasher or clothes dryer, or cooking a meal, it is smart to create a plan of action in case power goes out.
“If you are someone who has medical equipment, such as oxygen that depends on power, that can be a life-threatening situation,” Godes mentioned.
Things to have on hand in case of power outages are flashlights, lanterns, extra batteries, a hand-cranked or battery-operated radio, non-perishable foods, and extra drinking water. It is good to know your own home system as well.
“If you are on a well, if you have an on-site wastewater treatment system–so a septic system–there are different things that happen to those two specific different systems in power outages. So you may not be able to flush toilets or get water. And then when the power goes off, certain things happen, so knowing your own home and what happens to your home and your different systems in a power outage is really important,” Godes stated. “And then there is just the general stuff, right we don't open our fridges; we try to keep them cool, and if they go beyond so many hours, then there is the risk of some food spoiling.”
Planning ahead for power outages and emergencies keeps you, your family, friends and community safe. And, there are different circumstances to prepare ahead of time for outside of the home.
“When you are thinking about emergencies, and thinking about preparedness, we often times visualize ourselves in our houses,” Godes explained. “But we also know that we live in an area where we have a lot of commuters; so what if you are away from your home and you can't get back because we have a canyon closure? So, do you have something in your bag if you are a commuter, or going to be away from your house, that just gets you through a certain period of time?”
A go bag for your vehicle could have water, food, extra clothes and medications. In case of emergencies, you can also sign up for county alerts; GarCo911 is Garfield county’s emergency alert system.
“And that will send you a targeted message–we can do that by geographic areas–so you will find out if there is a closure on a road, if there’s a fire, if there is any type of emergency. Even if the air quality threshold reaches a certain level, we can use that too to notify people,” Godes said.
Godes notes the importance of having a personal plan, and then looking out for your neighbors who may be more vulnerable in an emergency situation, like a person without a vehicle.
“So just doing some thought work, and that ready.gov is a really great place and they probably cover everything we’ve just talked about–emergencies, power outages–it's all there. So just taking that time to talk as a family and have your plan,” Godes emphasized.
