USE YOUR IMAGINATION TO PREPARE FOR WINTER 

Debbie McDonald, Photo: Chris Sokol

Imagine the power goes out. What would you do? 

Imagine temperatures plummet and everything is iced over. What would you do? 

Imagine you are snowed in. What would you do? 

Imagine you are away from home when a storm hits. What would you do? 

All of these winter scenarios and more have happened in High Prairie since Ron and I moved here 23 years ago. One of the first questions we asked neighbors was “do we need a generator?” We were told that some significant upgrades by KPUD had made power outages much less frequent so we didn’t get a generator, but over the years we have used our imaginations to prepare for power outages and more. Food, water, sanitation, warmth, safety, and communication were at the top of the lists. 

Some of our conclusions have led to automatic everyday preparation like keeping our gas tanks above a half of a tank. Easy to do. We keep filled jugs of water where they won’t freeze to use for drinking and sanitation. We include the needs of our dog and livestock in our preparations. Manual can opener, extra medication, candles, blankets, emergency chargers, shoe traction devices, and a shovel might be on your list. One winter a plastic snow sled was indispensable in moving feed bags to animals and groceries from the car to the house. How about a communication plan for when family members are away from home? If you travel from home to a job or school, do you have a car kit in case you’re stuck? 

Every household is different, and family members should take time to imagine what could happen as well as what they will need to be safe, healthy, clean and fed. Be sure to write down what might happen and what you need. The lists don’t need to be overwhelming – you may already have the essentials – but taking some time to imagine what you and your family might need before winter hits and acquiring the supplies keeps the situation under control. 

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