LIBRARY OPEN WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY AS USUAL

The Mi Wuk Lending Library, aka Little Library in the Pines, will be open for business as usual this week, Wednesday and Thursday, 1-4 p.m.
   
Bookclub will be meeting on Thursday as usual.

For those of you who might not know, Joan Henderson, our esteemed librarian/volunteer has been at Sonora Regional since the Saturday before the big storm hit.  She was in intensive care much of that time.  Today a report has been given the she is showing significant improvement.  Please do not call her.  But you are more than welcome to send her a card, c/o Sonora Regional Medical Center, 1000 Greenly Road, Sonora, CA 95370.

Cards will be also be available at the library tomorrow and Thursday for you to come in and sign.  One of the volunteers will take them down to Joan.

Yeah for the sunshine!!!  No power outages in Mi Wuk Village.  But--a lot of cleaning up to be done.  No complaints!

ONLY 2 MORE POWER OUTAGES IN THE VILLAGE

As of 9.30 p.m. there are only 2 more outages to be repaired in Mi Wuk.  I do love that PG&E website.  Although it doesn't say where they are, we know they are there.

Full-screen95346:
2 outage(s) affecting 1 to 49 customer(s)

Outage Number: 285089
Affecting: 1 to 49 customer(s)
Cause: PATROLLING
Status: Awaiting T-Man
Start Time of Outage: 03/20/2011 11:48:58 AM
Est. Time of Restoration: not available
Last Updated: 03/27/2011 09:38:31 AM

Outage Number: 295985
Affecting: 1 to 49 customer(s)
Cause: STORM
Status: Awaiting T-Man
Start Time of Outage: 03/26/2011 04:41:44 PM
Est. Time of Restoration: not available
Last Updated: 03/27/2011 08:39:05 PM

The power at our home was restored at noon today.  Strange not to hear that generator, be lighting those candles, oil lamps and lanterns, cooking on the Coleman stove or adding wood to the fireplaces.  Now it's clean up around here, and unfortunately for many of our Mi Wuk neighbors, a lot of clean up around their homes. 

We can look forward to a somewhat sunny week with warmer temperatures.  Thank you Mother Nature.

~Blythe

WHAT GREAT LUCK ONE TO FORTY-NINE MI WUK HOMEOWNERS HAVE!!!

We (yes, WE) are still without power.  At least for my home, this is a new record:  8 days.  Our last record was 7 days, 3 hours.

I think this is the major culprit (from the PG&E outage map at http://pge.com/myhome/customerservice/energystatus/outagemap/zip.shtml:

Outage Number: 285089
Affecting: 1 to 49 customer(s)
Cause: PATROLLING
Status: Awaiting T-Man---can someone tell me what a T-Man is please?
Start Time of Outage: 03/20/2011 11:48:58 AM   (9.30 per Russ)
Est. Time of Restoration: not available
Last Updated: 03/27/2011 05:48:45 AM

It's the only outage remaining from last Sunday.  And I know we've been out since last Sunday morning.  Sigh. 



From the National Weather Service, detailed forecast for our immediate area:

 

Today: A 20 percent chance of rain after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Southeast wind between 6 and 11 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.

Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. South southeast wind between 5 and 8 mph.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 52. East northeast wind around 6 mph becoming northwest.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33. North northwest wind 6 to 9 mph becoming east northeast.

NO SNOWFLAKES in the picture!  I love snow but we do need a break.

DAY 7 OUT OF POWER

I just checked the PG&E power outage report: 

Down from 14 outages to 10.
Down from 1500 people affected to 50-499 affected.
There have been several new outages today and yesterday.
Outages from the 20th or 21st are estimated to be repaired at or around or by 10 p.m, Sunday night, the 27th. 
     Wouldn't that be nice!!!???

So for today:
...no snow
...little or no rain
...many tree bombs
...no power
     But I'm really getting used to it.  How about you?  And if you've stayed away from Mi Wuk, how smart you are!  We should be back to normal next week sometime???

I'd love to hear some comments and see some photos from some of you who have "weathered the storm", sitting tight here in Mi Wuk, without power.  (Just email your photo/s to me and I'll get them up on the blog.)  I think we're beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

• What have you learned? 
• What piece/s of equipment do you wish you'd had on hand?
• What piece/s of equipment are you going to purchase in preparation for the next outage?
• What was the most helpful equipment you've been relying upon?
• How'd you cook?
• What hints can you share so we can all be better prepared?

LATEST STORM UPDATE---it's looking better!

From: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick

 

Friday, Late Afternoon: Snow showers. High near 40. Southeast wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Tonight: Snow. Low around 30. Southeast wind between 7 and 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Saturday: Snow before 11am, then rain. High near 38. South southeast wind between 13 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Saturday Night: A chance of rain showers before 11pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. South wind between 8 and 11 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Sunday: A chance of rain and snow showers before 11am, then a chance of rain showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 43. East southeast wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
 

Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 51.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 55.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 38.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 56.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 41.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 59.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 44.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 57.

 

 

 It's beginning to look like a safe venture from wherever you live, up to Mi Wuk Village will be a real option next week!  You should probably be prepared to doing some shoveling though.

 

 

 

 

March 25, 2011    06:05 am     Mark Truppner, MML Reporter, My Motherlode.com

 

The Winter Storm Warning for the Sierra Nevada has been extended until 7 PM Saturday.

Three inches to two feet of snow accumulation is likely from 3,000 through 7,000 feet.

Winds of twenty to thirty-five mph are expected in the Sierra with gusts ranging from fifty to sixty mph.

CHAINS ARE REQUIRED ON ALL VEHICLES EXCEPT 4-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES WITH SNOW TIRES ON ALL 4 WHEELS FROM 1 MI WEST OF LONG BARN TO 7.2 MI EAST OF STRAWBERRY (TUOLUMNE CO) 

Woohoo, it seems as if next week is looking up! 

PG&E OUTAGE STATUS

http://pge.com/myhome/customerservice/energystatus/outagemap/zip.shtml

I just checked the PG&E outage status for our zip code, 95346.
There are still 14 outages.

Two are given the estimated restoration time of today, 25 March, 10 p.m.

Four are given the estimated restoration time of Sunday, 27 March, 10 p.m.

For the remainder the estimated restoration time is not available.

Most outages began on March 20th, with one additional outage each on the 21st, 22nd, and 24th. 

I'm really enjoying the availability of this site and hope you check it out as well.  While the outage locations are not given, the general data, such as time of occurrence, crew availability and cause are given.  

FRIDAY'S FOLLIES -- OR FRIDAY'S MI WUK DRIVING ADVENTURE

ALSO KNOWN AS DAY 6 OF THIS POWER OUTAGE

Friday morning borderlined on blue sky.  It hasn't lasted but it also hasn't snowed more than a teeny bit around 12.30 p.m.

IF my half of the garage was cleared out (mostly my stuff), which it isn't, I wouldn't have had to clean off my car before setting out on today's adventure:  Post Office, Zak's: new belt for the snow blower, Twain Harte Lumber: new wick for the oil lamp, and, since I was out, medicine from the Twain Harte Vet for our cat.  Everyone was operating on generators, and since Zak's computers were out, I couldn't get gas for our generator.  Repairman was on site.

Below:  Lama-Tamalin, just beyond Hiapo driving towards the 4-way stop intersection:

Below:  Diamond Jim's parking lot from Sierra Park Drive:

 

 Below:  Worker's trucks parked in front of Alicia's and the still-closed "Kelly's Kitchen":

Below:  coming back up the hill from Twain Harte, following a sand truck/plow combo, "Kelly's Kitchen parking area:

Below: parking area on north (left!) side of 108, across from Alicia's:

Below:  following another snow plow (and PG&E truck), this one tidying up the berm on the road side.

 

 Below:  Diamond Jim's parking lot:

Do you have a car port?  Your berm might be this high too!

Below:  bottom of our driveway....snowplow (my day for snow plows) had just gone up Susu Court, first time since Sunday. 

Below:  Here she comes, down the court, in reverse.  Kinda like Ginger Rogers---in high heels and backwards!  Cabin fever do you think??

 And away she goes.......probably making Lama-Hisum and Lama-Tamalin almost 2 lanes wide.  There are still some lines in the road though beyond Hiapo near Lama Court.

PG&E OUTAGE STATUS WEBSITE

http://pge.com/myhome/customerservice/energystatus/outagemap/zip.shtml

Scroll down the list of zip codes and double click on 95346.

One of our part time neighbors, Bob Feretta, just sent me the above link for checking out outage status.  GREAT resource, especially if you don't think they're doing anything.  They are!!!

Currently there are 14 outages in Mi Wuk--identified by number only, not location.   Most are awaiting crews or a specific category/specialty of crew member. 

Main causes for outages:

• equipm + t fail  (???)
• storm
• wire down
• broken pole
• not available

It's a great site for reference and much more informative than a phone call to PG&E!   Check it out.

MI WUK VILLAGE-SPECIFIC FORECAST

 I really like this website a gentleman at the library shared with me last week:


 http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=38.08052761936274&lon=-120.18562316894531&site=sto&smap=1&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=text

 On the website, you can move the icon to your area of interest.

The forecast specifically for Mi Wuk Village:

Today: Snow and areas of blowing snow. Temperature falling to around 27 by 2pm. Breezy, with a south southeast wind between 23 and 29 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 8 to 12 inches possible.

Tonight: Snow showers and areas of blowing snow. Low around 26. Breezy, with a south wind between 15 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 10 to 14 inches possible.

Friday: Snow showers. High near 37. South wind between 13 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Friday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 30. Southeast wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Saturday: Snow before 11am, then rain. High near 40. South southeast wind between 9 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Saturday Night: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Sunday: A chance of rain and snow. Partly sunny, with a high near 45. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34.

Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 49.

THURSDAY'S CHECK IN

From MyMotherlode.com

March 23, 2011    08:32 pm   Tina Falco, MML News Reporter

 

Twain Harte, CA-- There has been little change in the number of power outages in the Mother Lode this evening.  Just under 5,000 Mother Lode residents still remain without power.

According to PG&E Spokesperson JD Guidi, Tuolumne County has the most reported outages with 4,580 mainly in the Twain Harte and Mi Wuk Village areas. There are 1,783 customers in Twain Harte without electricity, 1,350 in Mi Wuk Village, 390 in Sonora, and the remaining outages are scattered throughout the county.

In Calaveras County there are less than 500 customers without power mainly in the Arnold area.
"There's a lot of access issues and with current weather conditions, crews are having variables that are preventing restoration, said Guidi.

There are still no estimated restoration times available. To report an outage or to receive information on a specific neighborhood, call 1-800-PGE-5000.

MOTHERLODE WINTER STORM WARNING ISSUED:

March 23, 2011    03:47 pm     Mark Truppner, MML Reporter

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Motherlode from Thursday 3 PM to Friday 11 AM. 

The Winter Storm Warning now in effect for the Sierra Nevada, also continues until 11 AM Friday.

Half a foot to a foot of snow is possible above 2000 feet. One to four feet of snow foot is likely above 3000 through 4000 feet. Three to five feet of snow is expected above 7000 feet.

Additionally, a High Wind Warning has been issued for the Motherlode on through 5 PM Thursday.   Winds of twenty to forty mph are expected with strong gusts from forty-five to seventy mph.   This could lead to more downed trees and power outages.  This will also create difficult driving conditions, especially for small cars and high profile vehicles.

In the Sierra, winds of twenty-five to thirty-five mph are expected with gusts up to sixty mph.
Thunderstorms are also possible Thursday afternoon and evening. Funnel clouds will be possible along with weak tornadoes. These storms will most likely contain a lot of hail mixed with heavy rainfall.

A Flood Watch remains in effect for the Motherlode now through late Thursday night.  Periods of moderate to heavy rain will lead to rapid rises of small rivers and streams. Smaller creeks could overflow their banks.   Flooding of low-lying areas in both urban and rural locations should be expected. Rock, dirt and mud slides are also likely.

More wet weather is possible late Friday night and Saturday, as another storm system approaches the region.

Contribution from my husband, Russ:

Spring has sprung

Fall has fell

The snow on the ground

Is cold as.........

all get out!

There now, don't ya just feel a wee bit better????

These 2 photos are of the trees that laid across Lama-Tamalin on Monday and part of Tuesday.  Although they were trimmed to allow traffic to pass there are lines on the roadway which should not be driven over.  As of 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the lines were still on the road, although crews are at the corner of Lama Court and Lama-Tamalin working on lines, most likely those same lines.

This cedar is on our property.  We've been trying to keep it upright for several years as you can see by the ropes attached.  Hopefully it'll pop back up after the snow lets go of it.

PHOTOS TAKEN WHILE ON AN OUTING  TO THE POST OFFICE AND MEANDERING BACK HOME  2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon

Hi Kathy!

Below:  The action seems to be at Lama Teuemete/Nuke Trail,  just beyond Nupa Court

 

Next group of photos:  Hekeke Lane, just off of Teuemete:

To the left, as Hiapo intersects Lama-Tamalin:

Right turn from Hiapo onto Lama Tamalin/Hisum.  The low hanging snag of branch hanging from the line on the right of the photo was right above my car.  I certainly didn't daudle.

 

Lama-Hisum

A snow removal vehicle of some sort came through while I was out (finally--first time since Monday) and pushed the center 'berm' to the sides of the road.  Now it's definitely ONE LANE CLEARED with ice blocks on either side.  Fortunately I didn't encounter a driver going the other directions. 
Those poor guys just can't win.

No berm to scrap the undercarriage of the car!

After navigating back up my driveway (I always back up so I'm ready to go), curbing my tires and putting on the parking brake, my car skooched about a foot-and-a-half until it was happy where it was.  It'll be interesting to see where it is in the morning.  Can't go far due to the wheels being curbed.

Again, drive gently and courteously, yield to oncoming traffic just to be nice, be kind to the repair crews........  I know, talking to the choir.  I'm just very impressed with the way they are attacking the jobs that are waiting for them. 

By the way, it's snowing quite seriously right now, 4:25 p.m.  And I have to go back out and clean the satellite dish before I can sign off.  Not a pretty site!  (these photos were from yesterday, the day of reprieve)   First: Dish Network's dish.

 Wildblue's dish.......a nice little stretch, but 'Webster' makes it all possible for short people.