  Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 6342 Registered: 02-2004 |
AUGUST 14TH 2003. Was the day that Detroit was shut down. No lights every where. This city has back to 10,000 B.C. However while other cities under the blackout have suffered widespread looting. Folks here in Detroit and suburbs stick together and we didn't loot and riot. YAY! I was wondering, what did you all do to cope with no power? Any thoughts? (Message edited by danny on August 14, 2007) | ||
Bigjeff Member Username: Bigjeff Post Number: 105 Registered: 08-2006 |
Had a party. "Drink all the beer before it gets warm." Can not remember if we finished all the beer! | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1769 Registered: 05-2005 |
you're right, that truck that was delibrately burned down next door to me doesn't really qualify as rioting or looting...kind of in between really. a friend with a pool in corktown had a kickass pool party. the next day i drove to flint to take in a movie (mostly to get outta the heat) and get some more beer and ice (Message edited by gravitymachine on August 14, 2007) | ||
Dannaroo Member Username: Dannaroo Post Number: 124 Registered: 05-2006 |
I was in Bahrain during the blackout and I remember turning on CNN and seeing the pictures of people in NYC walking across the bridges with all the abandoned cars and it sort of blew my mind. My parents said that they got their power back on within 24 hours but they could see that the houses on the opposite side of I-94 (in St. Clair County) didn't get their power back for another day or something. How long was the power off in your community? | ||
Revaldullton Member Username: Revaldullton Post Number: 649 Registered: 07-2007 |
In NYC we rescued all the beer from the delis, grabbed our guitars, took to the streets and had a old fashioned 60's love in. No looting or rioting here at all. Then we all went back to ignoring each other like normal NYers. the good rev | ||
Jtw Member Username: Jtw Post Number: 152 Registered: 06-2005 |
in Ann Arbor, the power was off for a few days - certainly not 24 hours. it was sort of fun, really; everyone was grilling all the meat in their freezers and drinking all the beer they had laying around, and everyone was just giving it away so it didn't rot in the warmth. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 1729 Registered: 10-2003 |
We drove to Muskegon and hit every antique store on the way. Why not? Impromptu road trip. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3577 Registered: 02-2005 |
I believe it was three days in the city and inner suburbs. The heat was disgusting, and I remember some neighbors leaving to go to the closest destinations with power (i.e. northern Oakland and Macomb, I think) and stay at any hotel they could find. | ||
Scs100 Member Username: Scs100 Post Number: 1388 Registered: 12-2006 |
I missed it by about 1/2 of the state. I was at Blue Lake when it happened and woke up to NPR saying that the power was back in NYC. | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 1805 Registered: 01-2004 |
Hm. Remember that the President guy was going to fix the grid after this catastrophe ? They never even determined the freakin cause. A bird, a tree, lightening, OHIO.....lol My most vivid memory was the out of gas SUVs littering the highways. | ||
Lowereast Member Username: Lowereast Post Number: 4 Registered: 08-2007 |
I remember clearing out my freezer and taking the food over to my friends place in Windsor. Windsor got power back before the States side did. On my way home, I picked up some carry out to take for everyone back home...and the joyous US customs officer confiscated it out since it contained Canadian beef…What a waste! | ||
Meaghansdad Member Username: Meaghansdad Post Number: 61 Registered: 07-2007 |
I took my ass to work!! | ||
Yvette248 Member Username: Yvette248 Post Number: 859 Registered: 10-2006 |
Failure to trim trees around power lines in Ohio was the trigger. Ohio failing to follow guidelines and communicate to its neighboring states made it 10 times worse. btw, The only reason Pennsylvania wasn't affected is because it managed to identify power surges coming from Ohio and cut off its link. | ||
Trying_2_stay Member Username: Trying_2_stay Post Number: 37 Registered: 08-2007 |
I was stuck at home with my mom who didn't want to stay in her apartment because it was too dark and listen to her whine about my neighbors who had a really late night party in the dark. Luckily my kids were in Arizona with my mother in law and missed all the fun. No showers for 2 days yuck! | ||
Jazzstage Member Username: Jazzstage Post Number: 52 Registered: 08-2007 |
Yes, but the problem with the beer is that the toilet's didn't work either. But with no lights you could freely go outside and go behind your garage like we did when we were kids. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 9847 Registered: 12-2003 |
My favorite part was during an NPR interview with some administration muckety-muck droning on and on about how it would take weeks and weeks for them to figure out the cause. The NPR interviewer piped in with the question, 'well how then could you rule OUT terrorism in forty-five minutes yesterday?!' Poor guy almost choked on his tongue. I don't believe the official story, because during the ordeal London's Tube operators were boasting about how what happened in NYC's transit system could NEVER happen in England...then their system went down during rush hour a week or so later. I'd bet after that they took their operating systems offline...so they couldn't be hacked from outside again. | ||
Izzadore Member Username: Izzadore Post Number: 64 Registered: 11-2006 |
I had just gotten on the road back to Chicago and was waiting at a stoplight at Greenfield and Mt. Vernon. When the light went out I turned on the radio and every station was dead. I knew right then that this was BIG. I got on the road and tried stopping a few times to get gas but I had to wait until I was in Saline Township before I found a gas station with electricity. | ||
Mdoyle Member Username: Mdoyle Post Number: 172 Registered: 10-2006 |
We were able to get pizza from the only place with gas ovens in the area, grilled hotdogs and hamburgers on out own gas grills, sat outside and remembered what the stars looked like. It's strange seeing such a clear sky when you arent wayyy up north. It was fun, wouldnt mind another, ha. | ||
Jeduncan Member Username: Jeduncan Post Number: 123 Registered: 11-2006 |
Time of my life. I want it to happen again. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 1749 Registered: 10-2003 |
There is something about events like this that really make people happy for some reason. Like when you have a blizzard so bad, the world just stops. Or an ice storm. All you can do is stay home. The blackout was a perfect and very large example. I think people like to be shaken up a little, to have the every day routine altered in a way that you just can't do anything about it but laugh. | ||
Hardliner Member Username: Hardliner Post Number: 80 Registered: 02-2007 |
stumbled around the dark with a big ol' question mark over my head. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3580 Registered: 02-2005 |
Of course it was Ohio's fault!!! | ||
Dannaroo Member Username: Dannaroo Post Number: 127 Registered: 05-2006 |
Now I feel left out for not being around during any of the blackout festivities! | ||
Scs100 Member Username: Scs100 Post Number: 1389 Registered: 12-2006 |
Mackinaw, better statement couldn't be said. (Message edited by SCS100 on August 14, 2007) | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 2 Registered: 08-2007 |
We played Scrabble by candlelight and ate sandwiches and drank beer and pop. It WAS fun! On the third day, we went out looking for some gas for the car, hot food and more batteries and made it out to a restaurant somewhere in north Macomb county (I think), where they had just gotten their power on, and we shared tables with other refugees. We met some nice people. | ||
Miss_cleo Member Username: Miss_cleo Post Number: 789 Registered: 05-2005 |
I was comming back from the beach with my kids. Got stuck at 12 and mound when the lights went out. Took a long time to get to 15 and Utica where we lived at the time. We slept in the basement for the few days the power was out, much cooler down there. We had to keep pulling water out of the sump pump to keep the basement from flooding....but we used that water to make the toilets flush. This is also the time your camping equipment comes in handy, did some cooking on the Coleman Stove. We always have milk jugs filled with water in our freezer, so we just transfered everything in the fridge to the coolers and cooked all of our meat as if thawed. The worst part was it was so damn hot, spent a lot of time in the basement. | ||
Diehard Member Username: Diehard Post Number: 104 Registered: 03-2005 |
I agree that it was fun! I had a few beers at the local bar after work - someone had to drink them before they got warm, right? We had water and candles left over from the Y2K scare and joined our neighbors grilling chicken and hanging out by the outdoor fireplace. We slept in the basement too, and it wasn't that bad. The worst part was going to the bathroom with a candle and stepping on one of those nasty centipedes that crawl into the house at night. Barefoot. Ick. I remember thinking how ridiculous some people were, driving all over the burbs looking for generators to keep their A/C going, then running out of gas and panicking. So unnecessary. | ||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 3434 Registered: 10-2003 |
Mauser how could you say they didn't determine the cause? What part of the investigation or findings do you disagree with? Gannon,...never mind. | ||
Mayor_sekou Member Username: Mayor_sekou Post Number: 1284 Registered: 09-2006 |
Centipedes suck. Those fuckers have a mean bite too. I was in a Cingular store about to purchase a new cell phone then click no more lights. Took a while to get home from Southfield and 696. And that day I wondered as I did during September 11th, why during emergencies is it everyone’s first instinct to buy gas? I still cant figure that one out. Didn't have a fun beer soaked party until two weeks later when I started my freshman year at state. Most of the time I slept in the basement or for brief periods the car with my equally aggravated and hot family members. Those days made me wonder how did people used to survive without internet, TV, or electricity like they did for most of humanity’s existence? Still haven't figured that one out either. | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 1808 Registered: 01-2004 |
"Failure to trim trees around power lines in Ohio was the trigger" There is absolutely NO official explanation, the trees in Ohio were one of a dozen that were bandied around before the whole thing was just ignored. Where on earth are you reading "findings" or a "report" ? Theyve been saying on the news all day that no cause was ever determined. Maybe you need to take it up with 2, 4 and 7. | ||
Arcas Member Username: Arcas Post Number: 28 Registered: 01-2006 |
I was just leaving MSU. Loaded up all the items in the car, said goodbye to the campus, turned onto Grand River... right when the street lights went out. The actual blackout wasn't all that bad for my neighborhood. We lived in a part of Detroit where the power would go out at least once every summer (if not multiple times). Lots of people already had generators or generally already had a lot of practice with coping with it. ------------------------------ ------------------- The "End of Suburbia" documentary talks about the 8/14/2003 blackout a bit. You just have to fast forward to about the 16 minute mark: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =Q3uvzcY2Xug | ||
Gdub Member Username: Gdub Post Number: 1140 Registered: 10-2003 |
Had a good time at the Bronx, then later at a party in Woodbridge. Had to wait another couple weeks to see the Stooges, though. | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 764 Registered: 01-2006 |
I was dating a really boring chick at the time, now that I look back on it. I think we sat in a friends' back yard in Lansing and told stories, or some lame shit like that. I want another shot at this! Everyone crank up the AC! | ||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 3435 Registered: 10-2003 |
Like in any accident, there is no single cause, but regarding the tree overgrowth, it was obvious from telemetered data which lines ground faulted and when. Tie that together with statements from witnesses (including utility workers in the field) who saw the lines arc on contact with trees, the physical damage to the trees in question, and the analysis of the loads the lines were carrying, it was pretty safe to conclude that the tree contact was a major factor. Not the only cause, just a trigger to get the ball rolling. The admission of the utility that they had deferred their vegetation management program probably helped as well. There certainly is an "official" explanation - a very well documented report form the task force commissioned jointly by the USDOE and Natural Resources Canada, much less the various other investigative reports from several utilities, state utility commissions, and the regional organizations which oversee the management of the power grid. (The same organizations which have published follow-up reports detailing the changes they have implemented, for whomever the hell it was that said not a thing has been done since the blackout.) "The whole thing ignored?" All the hearings and testimony? All that investigative work by industry, government, and academia? The training and retraining, the policy and rule making, the infrastructure upgrades? All of that is a sign of the blackout being ignored? I wonder who's been doing the ignoring. I haven't been watching the news all day so I don't know what they've been saying, but I'm not finding much on 2,4, or 7's websites regarding the blackout. | ||
Jrvass Member Username: Jrvass Post Number: 172 Registered: 01-2007 |
I was coming home from work and in Pontiac when WJR stopped broadcasting. It took an hour for what is normally a 15-20 minute commute. But I was lucky because I knew the sidestreets. I saw people carrying massive amounts of fresh water & ice in toy wagons and I got a clue. When I got home I fired up the generator and turned on the A/C & TV.  My gasoline supply was getting low by the 3rd day, but I could always siphon 30 more gallons out of the boat and last another 6-7 days. My sister lost hundreds of $ of food because my niece went to a friends house with a generator while they were on vacation up north. After the next outage, she forced my brother-in-law to buy a generator! James PS. It was fun. A free vacation! | ||
Blksoul_x Member Username: Blksoul_x Post Number: 48 Registered: 06-2007 |
I remember the city having a quiet calm to it for those 2 or 3 days (particularly my hood)__no resemblance of panic whatsoever. I remember not seeing or hearing many cars on the streets, people lined up outside the neighborhood liquor/lotto store waiting to be let in one at a time. The local Save-A-Lot was packed outside with customers waiting to enter, and people bargaining for deals on the produce stuff because people knew that they had to get rid of it. The streets were lined with neighbors talking and laughing, kids playing in the streets with the street fire hydrant blasting. I remember during those few days everybody was the same in social status. It was kind of fun for those days. blksoul-atcha! | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 1812 Registered: 01-2004 |
Mikem - too much respect for you on this end to argue, so i'll defer to your information. Lets just say 2,4 and 7 suck, and call it a day - eh bro ? | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 1814 Registered: 01-2004 |
 Check out the headlines from that day - all put out using laptops with dying batteries, complete with jaggy fonts on the headers.   (Message edited by mauser765 on August 14, 2007) | ||
Ffdfd Member Username: Ffdfd Post Number: 145 Registered: 09-2006 |
quote: That's awesome. Sprinklers are so lame. It's always better to compromise the safety of your neighborhood by stripping hydrant nuts, sticking stuff in the barrel to get a big splash, lowering water pressure that might be needed for firefighting operations. When the kids are done splashing around in the street, make sure to park a big-ass SUV right in front of the hydrant. | ||
Detroit313 Member Username: Detroit313 Post Number: 453 Registered: 02-2006 |
Ah yes. My brother and I came home to find every tenant in the building cooking in the front of the building. Then the next morning we drove all the way to visit our parents in Nashville. It was great. We missed the whole blackout. <313> | ||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 3436 Registered: 10-2003 |
Mauser, no problem. Links of interest: U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force Final Report on the August 14, 2003 Blackout The August 14, 2003 Blackout One Year Later - Actions Taken in the United States and Canada To Reduce Blackout Risk Michigan Public Service Commission Report on August 14th Blackout | ||
Kathinozarks Member Username: Kathinozarks Post Number: 788 Registered: 11-2006 |
At brothers house in Chesterfield Twp. Lost power in house while on phone with husband in Arkansas. It was he who informed us that we were in the middle of the blackout. Driving home to mom's in SCS was kind of surreal. Had trouble sleeping because of neighbor's generator. That pissed me off. Spent time in basement with mom in SCS, listening to battery operated radio. It was exciting and kind of fun. | ||
Goose Member Username: Goose Post Number: 43 Registered: 02-2005 |
was in the car in shelby twp. returning home in SCS, noticed something funny when the radio stations went out, then noticed that the street lights werent working, then people outside the commercial buildings, no cell phone, thought the worst, terrorism, nuclear bomb, etc etc.... all i knew was that i wanted to get home to my family ASAP once it was confirmed that it was not terrorism, we enjoyed the few days without work relaxing, a guy with a nice sized generator on his boat kept a few of the coolers and neccessities running at Jacks on the lake, so we hung out there and had fun, we were bummed that the blackout picked the week that our boat was in the shop for repairs, we would have loved to take off on the lake for a few days.... now.... i pray for an annual summer blackout for 3 days or so, no cares, no work, no CA (well that sucked), but i really enjoyed the change, call me wierd....... bad/sad part, i did have an friend/aqquaintance die from carbon monoxide poisoning on bishop, sleeping in his basement with a generator running outside, fumes came in the window and gathered in the basement, he never woke.... rest in peace, sad ending.... | ||
Mkhopper Member Username: Mkhopper Post Number: 8 Registered: 02-2006 |
In my area of Redford Twp, the power was back on within 24 hours or so. When it all went down, I was working in Allen Park and almost immediately started hearing about how the freeways were backing up. I found it funny that the freeway was the first thing most people thought of, even though on regular days you can sometimes sit forever while waiting to get around some problem. Instead of Southfield, I got down to Schaefer with no problems, took that north up to Grand River and then west towards home. I was home in about 30 minutes and I remember hearing about people stuck for _hours_ on the freeways. |
