Last year today Buffalo NY was hit with a massive snow storm that knocked out power for an entire week and fell trees as old as 100 years old. I happened to be visiting for a vacation that week. I want to remember the hard time and the tree my family lost then. We had no heat, only a gas stove to cook. The house was an average 53 degrees. We ran out of firewood on day 5. The area my parents live got hit the worst. 90% of the trees were damaged and 50% were lost. The tree they lost was a 90 year old silver maple. Here are my photos. The last photo was taken about a month ago. You can see how big the stump was.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

I blogged when I got back to Baltimore since we had no power or internet when I was there. Here is my first blog upon returning.
**************************************

Tuesday, October 17, 2006
4:44 PM - Buffalo's Record snowstorm
Current mood: crushed
Category: Travel and Places

its horrible. I have never seen anything like this in my life. my mom and I were driving home from buying a couch and it started snowing around 4:00 on thursday. WTF, it was only supposed to rain. Then it started STICKING. my mom gasped and said "the leaves are still on the trees"

I knew we were done.

Todd's plane was supposed to come in at 6:30. about 2 inches had fallen since then and branches were already starting to snap. His plane didn't leave the ground until 8:00. I was at the airport for 3 hours waiting for him IN THE DARK because they lost power. Finally at 9:30 the plane comes in and they have to hand wheel the stairs out, because the retractable boarding things have no power. By now there is at least 6 inches on the ground and i'm in the CELICA. I thought we would be OK because I just had brand new all season tires put on. It didn't matter. It didn't matter if you had an f-ing SUV. I got onto the highway and nothing had been salted. I got about a half mile up and we got to a place where 4 cars were already stuck and others were barely making it through. Then its our turn. I get 10 feet into it and my wheels just spin.. I try for 15 minutes and the only progress i'm making is sideways getting closer to an abandoned car. Todd and I switch places and he has the same luck. Finally we switch places and Todd pushes. SUCCESS!!! Todd hops in as the car is still rolling since we don't dare to stop.

I get off the higway at the next exit and play russian roulette with side streets. Downed trees and power lines everywhere. I get stuck a few times but finally we are 2 blocks from my parents house then ugh, a tree blocking the enitire road. There are a few people out already so Todd and I join in in tree removal. 20 minutes later and Todd is pushing me into the driveway of my parents house. I place the car in the only place that has the least chance of getting wiped out by a tree branch and we have a drink. The lights keep flickering....

at 3:00 AM it starts getting really cold. the power went out. Then the phone...

The destruction we saw the next morning. I can't even describe it. Trees were turned into shred. My mom's 90 year old maple tree is destroyed. 24 inches of snow stuck to trees was more than any of them could handle. Its so sad.

I left my parents yesterday with no power and no phone. We spent all day Sunday cleaning up tree branches. The big one in the back is going to have to come down. I used to swing from that tree. Somehow the branches, 2 feet thick, missed the brand new glass picnic table, but landed on both our garage and our neighbors. I would guess that 2/3 of the trees in my parents neighborhood will have to come down. the older and larger they were, the harder and more likely they were to fall. I didn't recognize it when I left and I will definatly not recognize it when I go back.

The house was 53 degrees Monday morning. but the good news is it got to 60 so they opened up the windows. Todd was a big help on Friday with the cleanup. He helped shovel the roof, since it was 24 inches of VERY WET snow.

It was so hard to leave. I wanted to help but I knew everything left to be done, had to be done by professionals. I can't hook up the power. I can't reattach the phone. I can't take down the tree, not even if I had a chainsaw. It's going to take a crane and lots and lots of people. I returned to Baltimore yesterday safe and sound. on the way back about 2 dozen bucket trucks from Pike Electric rolled past me heading for Buffalo. That was a nice thing to see.

Steve got power last night. So did some of my parents friends. They have pleanty of dinner invites. mom will stay at the science museum volunteering until they kick her out. Dad can go to the office. They also got some more firewood delivered. The phone was turned back on today and dad started talking to the insurance company. I heard that FEMA may approve some emergency money that can be applied for, so if insurance won't cover having the tree cut down, maybe FEMA will.

So aside for cold nights they should be OK. They will have to start over with the fridge since its a total loss. The garage needs a hole fixed and I can already hear my mom screaming about what a wreck the tree people are turning her garden into.

So here are my props to all my friends and family in Buffalo. To the Schlegels, Bergers, Burkes, Moudys, Tuyns, Olivers, Englers, Obergs, Ettingers, the entire block of South Drive, to all of Amherst, and to my kitty Missy, I wish you well and good luck. May the cleanup be not too back or heart breaking. I know my heart already broke several times. Thank you Marian for charging my phone and thanks to dad's friend in East Aurora for the cell phone and lanterns.

Thanks to the wonderful tree, who held my imagination and my swing for 31 years of my life. I will always love you.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Too cold...why must people keep reminding me that winter is coming?!

I played in the snow last weekend and it made me sad. I can't wait for spring!

__________________

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

~Lacey~

My Photos