November 23, 2015
A utility pole dangles near E. 23rd Ave. and S. Garfield St., after a wind storm, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, in Spokane, Wash. (Young Kwak/Pacific Northwest Inlander)

A utility pole dangles near E. 23rd Ave. and S. Garfield St., after a wind storm, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, in Spokane, Wash. (Young Kwak/Pacific Northwest Inlander)

Many Eastern Washington residents are still without power and with repair timelines not coming soon enough, we need to bring the focus of this storm back to YOU! It’s easy to get caught up in the waiting game, but one thing important to focus on staying safe. Here are a few tips to pass on:

  • Prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, use generators, grills, and similar items outdoors only.
  • Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to keep your food at a safe temperature for longer. Foods that have reached a temperature of more than 40 degrees Fahrenheit should be thrown away. Also, remember your medications such as insulin or liquid medications require cooling still, keep them close to an ice pack to make sure they remain usable.
    • More on food safety:
  • With dropping temperatures, one thing we need to be concerned about it hypothermia. Hypothermia happens when a person’s core body temperature is lower than 35°C (95°F). The biggest concern in our situation is chronic hypothermia. Chronic hypothermia happens from ongoing exposure to cold indoor temperatures (below 16°C or 60°F) and commonly happens with folks who:
    • misjudge cold
    • move slowly
    • have poor nutrition
    • wear too little clothing
    • have poor heating system
  • While we are past most of the active danger, there could still be downed power lines and you never know when they might be active. Steer clear of power lines and transformers. If you should find yourself in a situation where a power line falls on your car, stay inside the vehicle and never touch the line.

Stay safe out there, crews are working as fast as possible to get Spokane back to 100% operational.
Here is a great list of resources available to our community (via Spokane Public Library): http://www.spokanelibrary.org/inlandstrong/