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GALE BLOWS DOWN DOUGLAS FIR

Posted by Anne (White Rock, Canada) on 15 November 2007 in Cityscape & Urban and Portfolio.

Many thanks for everybody's posts - so much appreciated!

Well! I couldn't post because we have been out of power overnight from Monday. A massive Douglas Fir tree blew down one block away from home. Most homes, street lights, traffic lights etc., were in darkness. Allso much of the lower mainland and metro Vancouver was affected. By Monday afternoon I went out with my friend Peter to find signs of life and somewhere to get hot food and drink. We were in luck - the Semiahmoo Shopping Centre and a few blocks north of there had power. It was like the blitz in World War II that night - without lights, heat, etc. However , crews worked around the clock fixing all the power lines which had broken in the gale force winds and I believe everyone had their power restored yesterday. Ihave now come down with a flu' bug, so forgive me for not getting around posting. :-)

Well! I am back and missed being away so long due to ill health. It was a bit of a struggle to find energy to stay on my computer and post. My daughter Lesley and her husband Robin, gave me this wonderful gift of a cruise to Alaska and Lesley and I had a whale of a time! I could just live on that ship - absolutely wanted for nothing! Hope to hear from you all! Don't know how much I can get around posting comments - so will probably have to keep them brief - but will try to get around as much as I can! Thanks to all my friends for their good wishes!

Please go ahead and give me constructive criticism where needed! I am a bit out of practice at both taking and editing decent photographs - so help me if you can!

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Comments (10)

Anne from White Rock, Canada

PS. Here the crews were in the process of cutting up the huge tree so they could truck it away!

15 Nov 2007 9:14am

AG from United Kingdom

Events like these do tend to bring out a ‘wartime spirit’ in folks and it amuses me that neighbors of decades actually speak to each other for the first time. Once the power is restored, they go back to normal silence. Sorry about the tree, though.

15 Nov 2007 9:49am

Viewfinder from Bradenton, United States

First, hope you feel better soon. I just got my annual flu shot last week. When these things hit, it's clear we all live just on the edge of catastrophe. It is sometimes a good reminder as to how good we have it, when we lose things like power, heat, etc. Should never take these for granted. Very nice capture of the clean-up crew. Poor Douglas fir, though.

15 Nov 2007 11:32am

Craiger from Vacaville, California, United States

Take care of that bug! Great documentary shot!

15 Nov 2007 11:42am

Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada

Poor you, get a lot of rest, such experiences can be traumatic...so sorry about the tree, although when it's nature that brings them down, it doesn't hurt as much as when someone's axe does the cutting.

15 Nov 2007 12:15pm

amy from Rocky Mountain House, Canada

We saw some of the damage that had happened on the news... was thinking about you and wondering how you faired. Now I know... all's good with you except that flu bug. Is it me or are these seasonal storms that are happening getting worse? Take special care Anne with that bug... lots of rest and liquids, eh?!

15 Nov 2007 3:49pm

@amy: That's funny! I didn't see any of it on the news cos I had no TV or anything - didn't even still have my old battery driven ghetto blaster - I threw it out last year as I seemed to have more than enough radios, etc. I don't think it's you - the gales and storms which started around the same time last year have been worse than anything I've seen since I came to BC more than six years ago now. If you drive across to Lions Gate Bridge through Stanley Park the forest on either side of the road is a mess with downed trees - still not cleared from last years devastating gales. They have done an awful lot of work clearing and restoring the more populated areas of the park and the Seawall walkway re-opened to the public again today! It still has scars though with stumps of trees in the cliffside above the walkway and the area above the bluff is now clearcut instead of being filled with trees. They all blew and slipped over the cliff edge damaging the sea wall, plus the extra force of the tides. It would be a right mess if something like that happened in 2009 just before the Winter Olympics are due to start the following February. This flu' bug has been one of the worst for discomfort, but have slept a lot and today after a long nap felt a lot better. But still no strength! Just posting a few things on here seems like a day's work! Off to bed again now - it's late - hope you have nothing like that going around Rocky Mountain House! ;-)

Laurie from New Jersey, United States

Sorry to hear about the rough bit of weather and all teh damage and discomfort it caused. I hope you feel better soon too.

15 Nov 2007 4:04pm

Weekend Warrior( LV) from Kamloops, Canada

And the storms start again!!! I think we are instore for a wild ride again!!

16 Nov 2007 12:12am

MaryB from Staffordshire, United Kingdom

Hope your feeling lots better soon Anne!
It sounds like your getting some wild weather there atm! Our weather here has just turned cold and frosty, all the poor wildlife and flowers are not really sure what season it is!

16 Nov 2007 12:55am

Bron from Canberra, Australia

Rest and recover friend! I have to ask - did the food in your freezer spoil or does it need longer to happen?
Amazing documentary picture

17 Nov 2007 12:17am

@Bron: Thank you Bron! The food was OK - guess I had plenty of it packed tightly together - so it didn't thaw out - I was kinda worried about it when night time fell again and the power was still off - I only opened the door briefly once to check and it was still like a rock. The funniest thing I heard though - was a man in the supermarket telling me he had to come out and get a jug of milk because he daren't open the fridge door and let the heat in. I am wondering what he did with a full gallon jug of milk after he had used some of it! Mine was fine - it was still quite cold in the fridge even though I went in and out for milk etc. quickly. Much colder in there than on the kitchen counter!!!!! Thank God the power was restored by the next day! Some neighboring districts didn't get power restored till Wednesday. Damage to trees and power lines all over the lower mainland.

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