Wednesday, February 1, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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What can local citizens
do to be prepared for a major
emergency such as a cata-
strophic mega earthquake —
or a few days snowed under?
First, recognize the vul-
nerabilities. In a “full-rip”
Cascadia Subduction Zone
earthquake, there is likely to
be significant damage to the
state’s major fuel depot in
the St. Johns area of Portland.
And re-routing fuel sup-
plies, which are contracted
for, won’t be a quick or easy
proposition. And in a major
region-wide emergency, fuel
will be allocated first to emer-
gency responders.
Even lesser emergencies
could interrupt fuel supplies.
”Whatever you have in
your tank when it happens
is what you’re gonna have,”
says Jack McGowan, a local
preparedness advocate.
Ideally, you’d have some
form of fuel storage for, say
100 gallons. But hardly any-
body can realistically do that.
So, the best practice is simply
to fill your tank — and don’t
let it get below half-empty.
That way you’ve always got
at least some fuel on hand.
A couple of safely stored
five-gallon gas cans are a
good idea, too — treated so
that the fuel doesn’t go bad.
Drop the gas into your tank
every few months and get a
fresh supply in the cans.
Water is critical to life.
Experts recommend storing
at least one gallon of water
per person for three days
for drinking, cooking and
By Sue Stafford
sanitation. (www.ready.gov/
water). That’s a lot of water
in an emergency that lasts for
several days or weeks.
Putting up a few flats of
commercial bottled water is a
good idea, as is filling several
camping containers. It’s also a
very good idea to have a good
water purification device in
case you are caught some-
where away from your water
supply. It’s always a good
idea to carry one in your hik-
ing pack or your emergency
car kit anyway.
The grocery supply net-
work is likely to be severely
disrupted in a major disaster
scenario. Most emergency
plans call for food supplies
for 72 hours — but for an
event like a Cascadia quake,
you need to be prepared for
much longer: Two or three
weeks to a month.
Having a stock of canned
food is fine — but you have
to cycle through it. McGowan
recommends purchasing a
couple of containers of freeze-
dried food from Costco.
”They’re not as expensive
as you might think,” he said.
The food stores well and
has a 20-year shelf life.
Surplus stores carry sup-
plies of MRE (Meals Ready
to Eat) and you can find tasty
freeze-dried backpacking
food at stores that cater to out-
door enthusiasts.
Don’t count on the ability
to refrigerate food. And don’t
forget that your pets will need
to eat, too — so you need to
lay in a backup supply of their
food as well.
You’ll also need to have
the means to cook. Camping
stoves are convenient, easy to
use and effective.
It’s a very good idea to
have an emergency backup
for vital medications. Just
like the food chain, the supply
chain for pharmacies is likely
to be disrupted.
Having an alternative
source of heat is important
if you heat primarily with
electricity. A portable gas-
powered generator is fine for
a while — but in a scenario
where fuel supplies are short
for an extended period of
time, that may not help you.
A wood stove requires
nothing but some muscle to
create the fuel.
Get a Red Cross solar/
crank radio so you won’t be
completely out of touch on
vital announcements/news if
the communication net goes
down for an extended period.
For some folks, there is an
innate, perhaps subconscious,
resistance to spending money
and effort preparing for some-
thing that may never happen.
But preparing for the “Big
One” also leaves you in great
shape to handle smaller emer-
gencies, from winter power
outages to a financial crunch
that forces you to tap some
emergency supplies.
And, for the well-pre-
pared, the confidence that you
are ready for anything and in
a position to help your family,
friends, and neighbors, offers
tremendous peace of mind.
WE ARE A FULL-SERVICE
Columnist
“The homeless” — that
term we use to refer to the
nameless people who live
on the fringe in Sisters.
They may be at home in
their car, or camper, or tent,
or under a stairway, or in
a public restroom in the
park.
When we hear that
the night-time tempera-
tures are predicted to be
down in the teens or 20s,
a thought may cross our
minds about those who
don’t have the good fortune
to have a roof over their
heads, or heat, or running
water.
Fortunately for Sisters’
homeless population, a ded-
icated group of volunteers
pulled together to open
our Cold Weather Shelter.
Doors opened January 1
and have been open every
night since. For Ed Fones,
who died in his car of hypo-
thermia two weeks before
the shelter opened, it was
too late.
Our harsh winter so far
has been inconvenient for
many Sisters residents —
leaks due to snow accu-
mulation and ice dams on
11
roofs, running out of pro-
pane, lots of shoveling,
and difficulty maneuver-
ing by car or on foot due
to deep snow and skating-
rink sidewalks and parking
lots.
For the homeless, this
winter has gone way beyond
being an inconvenience.
The subzero and single-
digit temperatures truly
pose a life-and-death chal-
lenge. And the good people
of Sisters have opened their
hearts to those without ade-
quate shelter. All the good
things that have been done
on their behalf have been
outlined in previous Nugget
articles.
As a shelter volunteer,
who has hosted both an
early and a late shift, I have
had the privilege of meet-
ing some of our homeless
population. They are no
longer a nameless, face-
less group of strangers.
They are each a unique
human being with a name,
a personality, and a life
story.
It takes no time at all to
become acquainted with
the shelter guests and sin-
cerely concerned for their
See CERTAIN AGE on page 14
Dr. Thomas R. Rheuben
General, Cosmetic, Implant
and Family Dentistry
~ Over 22 years Serving Sisters ~
We are preferred providers for Delta Dental PPO and Premier,
MODA, Advantage, Pacifi c Source, Cigna and the V.A.
541-549-0109
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Join us for
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bright and
early!
Come watch
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in our cozy &
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bar!
Starting at
6:30 a.m.
every day
SOUP OF THE DAY
February 1st - February 7th
Wed ........Cajun Chicken Gumbo
Thurs ...........................Beef Stew
Fri ....Clam Chowder & Vegetable
Sat..................Chicken Vegetable
Connect with
us for great
specials!
Sun .........................Tomato Rice
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Nightly dining until 10 p.m. (21 & over)
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