We learn on the radio that Wilmington is cut off - all roads out are overwashed, even I-40. But because of the shortage of gas, he has to shut it down every night around 9. This is miraculous, the gift of cold drinks, food we can grill, and a fan to move the close, humid air of the living room - our new bedroom.
#Surviving the aftermath garage generator#
In a gesture of extreme generosity, Pete lets us hook a line into his generator so we can run the fridge in our garage and a fan, and recharge cell phones and a laptop computer. In only six or seven hours, we clear all four trees. As we clear the tree at the entrance to the neighborhood, he appears with his teenage son Parker and his STIHL Wood Boss chainsaw. My friend Chris has texted me to see if we’re OK, and I tell him that we are trapped and in need of a chainsaw. Pete hauls out his chainsaw and leads a crew of seven of us to cut up the trees and pile the limbs in heaps on the side of the road to make a clear passage. We have four large trees down across our street and no access for emergency vehicles or Duke Energy trucks. We learn from a neighbor that the water utility is running out of diesel fuel for its equipment and generators, and if that happens, the water will go off. We learn that the water is no longer safe to drink, not even for cooking.
From time to time, we get cell phone reception, texts, even the odd phone call. The power is off, and will stay off for almost six days.
The house is beat up by debris, but not damaged. We can see the mast of the boat down the creek - still moored snugly to the dock. This is part three of a four-part feature: The Approach, The Landfall, The Outlook. Surviving the Storm of a Lifetime … Again is featured in our December 2018 issue.
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