November 17, 2015 – Out my front door this evening, the wind has taken away the lights….
I have been chased by power outages all day.
First out at Cultus Lake Lab where we were spawning fish lab, but they had backup power. But a tree pulled live wires down and pulled two power poles to odd and dangerous angles above the road out, so we were trapped at Cultus with (I thought) no way out.
We tried to go for lunch while the eggs were to sit in disinfectant for an hour, but they were without power too. No beer & burger for our crew 🙁
So we went back to the lab to finish up early, but had to park outside in a lot next door and tramp through the bush int he pouring rain to go in a back way since the fire trucks were parked across the road.
Then I learned that there is in fact another way into and out of Cultus Lake, via a very windy gravel road, with large water filled pot holes, that runs through the Reserve.
We thought we’d try for a late lunch in Yarrow. But their power was out too.
So we drove down the highway to Whatcom Road and found a place to grab a beer and a bite before heading our various ways.
Then, as I was fighting wind, traffic, and dodging branches along the Upper Levels Highway, several massive blue flashes lit up the sky and the lights went out along the sides of the highway. I have since found out that the big blue flashes that lit up the sky was the substation down near where we used to live.
Capilano Road exit was exciting as, in the blackness, I drove over a small tree across the road….bet the car behind me was more surprised than I was in my truck!
As I drove up Capilano Road, the lights blinked off and I could see something strange moving down the road at me. I slowed to a crawl, turned my high beams on, and quickly dodged a garbage can rolling wildly around the middle of the road.
A few more branches to dodge, and then I was home…in the blackness.
Quite the first day of egg takes for the Cultus Lake Sockeye Program!
And so….this seems to epitomize the day.
It is, in fact, an actual photo, taken with my iPhone, so I suppose it counts 😉
8 comments
You don’t realize how much light is spilling around a city until you get a blackout.
Our neighbourhood is pretty darned black at night most of the time, just not quite this black 😉
I might’ve seen the guy about to replace the street light by my place and talked him into letting it stay dark. I like the night.
The lights were off and on so many times last I thought I was seizing.
At my office today, too. My UPS was earning it’s keep!
Yes, the Village is very dark right now