(Estherville)(KIWA)– It looks like we may be in for what has been a rare event this winter — an honest-to-goodness snowstorm.
The people at the Iowa Rural Electric Association have some tips for you to remember. Ryan Craig is president and CEO of Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative…
“From our perspective and that of the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives, we always encourage Iowans across the state to take proactive steps to stay safe, during and before storms and of course after storms. So before storms, preparing for them, we always ask folks to have a preparedness kit in their cars for winters. I mean we’ve heard this for years, right? You want to have a flashlight, batteries, blankets, non-perishable food, any necessary medications you might need for an overnight stay, and then, of course, a phone charger is always helpful as well.”
Craig says electric co-ops know that there will be outages, and they plan for that…
“We plan for that throughout the year. Our folks are out building lines to the construction standards that we have so they can ride through these winter storms. We do a lot of work whether it’s in new construction or replacing old construction, going out and replacing that copper to aluminum, just to assure reliability. On top of that, just new construction standards meaning for one limiting the stance, the feet in between poles. So historically we’ve seen ranges out there from 300 to 350 feet in between poles. During our new construction standards, we go out and shorten those where we can down to around 225 feet just so there’s not so much space between the poles, making it a more robust system.”
If you do have a power outage, according to the National Fire Protection Association (or NFPA), it is safest to use flashlights rather than candles. If candles are necessary, they say you should keep them at least 12 inches away from anything flammable, never leave them unattended, use sturdy holders, and extinguish them before leaving a room or going to bed. If you need to run a generator, the NFPA says only run them outdoors, in a dry, ventilated area, and far away from windows and doors to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Hook them up safely and never plug them into an outlet to “back feed” power into your house. If using a fireplace, make sure screens are in place, and always make sure smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in place, working, and have fresh batteries.
And if authorities tell you no travel is advised, stay off the roads unless it is an emergency.
(Courtesy Community First Broadcasting station KIWA in Sheldon.)
