Without power, Texas families fear for safety amid unending cold, 'brutal' conditions
Chuck Lindell
As widespread power outages continued and temperatures plunged into the single digits, hundreds of thousands of Texans endured frigid homes Tuesday — fearful for the health of family and neighbors, dreading burst water pipes and anxious as another winter storm approached.
And there was anger.
Anger at the glacial pace of recovery, at public officials who oversee the state's energy infrastructure, at utilities and energy providers that were slow to provide crucial information to increasingly worried Texans.
It also was a time for people to band together and help friends, family and neighbors through a disaster, and for emergency crews to put in long shifts repairing a stressed electrical system or answering calls for help.
In the 24 hours before noon Tuesday, the Austin Fire Department received 601 calls for help with burst water pipes, in addition to 11 fires, 17 wrecks and four reports of fallen electrical wires.
Complicating matters, the weather continued to be uncooperative, with another storm system expected to drop freezing rain from the Hill Country and into the Austin area, making for continued dangerous travel through Wednesday morning.
Officials worried that ice buildup from the storm could down even more power lines, worsening the electricity situation.
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Huddling with a small child in the cold
Those without power were already struggling.
David and Mary Holmes lost electricity shortly after 2 a.m. Monday, dropping indoor temperatures below 50 degrees after more than 30 hours without electricity — but at least 18-month-old Nara let them bring her into their bed overnight.
"As poorly as we slept with the baby moving around all night, we wouldn't have been able to sleep at all if she was in her freezing room alone," David Holmes said. "I got some old chemical hand warmers and put them in socks and put them under our sheets (but) because they're old, they didn't put out much heat."
Holmes said he was frustrated with inadequate explanations about blackouts that were supposed to roll but did not, adding that he hoped the appropriate leaders and organizations will be held accountable. (Austin Energy, under state orders to reduce the load on the Texas electrical grid, had to cut power to so many circuits that it had no remaining options for areas without hospitals and other emergency services, officials said.)
"We really don't want to do another night like last night but are afraid to travel far if at all. We will also soon run out of milk for the baby and other food," Holmes said.
In the meantime, like many others, Holmes said he was worried about damage to water pipes despite putting faucets on a constant drip.
A saving grace was a gas stove they were able to light with matches, providing warm soup, water and coffee — though that did nothing to calm Holmes' worries about his mother in Odessa, who is also without power but has no gas appliances to fall back on.
Mario and Angelica Carrillo also relied on a gas stove to provide warm food and drink as they coped with a Southeast Austin home where indoor temperatures fell below 50 degrees.
It wasn't the type of conditions they expected for their 2-week-old daughter, Izel.
"Was really cold overnight and our daughter just took turns sleeping on one of our chests wrapped in blankets," Mario Carrillo said. "But we've made it OK thus far."
In eastern Georgetown, Neil Grobler saw power restored twice for short periods Monday, but by noon Tuesday he had been without electricity for about 12 hours. Things got worse when he lost water too after the utility reported pump station failure due to the power outages.
"It's 55 degrees in the house and dropping," he said.
'An inexplicable failure'
Tim Taylor said it fell to 37 degrees inside his Tarrytown home Tuesday — "which is pretty brutal," he said.
He and his wife looked into getting a hotel room, but every place they called was either booked up or without power, leaving him frustrated about the lingering blackout.
"They had a fairly significant lead time to prepare for this," he said. "It's just an inexplicable failure."
Katy Genden tried leaving her Northwest Hills house, where indoor temperatures had fallen to 47 degrees, but treacherous road conditions ended the attempt to find warmth.
"We tried driving to get to a friend close by with power but ended up at the bottom of the hill and had to walk home carrying three small dogs," she said.
It was so cold in their South Austin apartment that sisters Jimena and Gabriela Tangassi went to the garage for a restless night's sleep in their car, engine off because they didn't want to open the door and let in the cold.
"It wasn't very comfortable but it was definitely warmer than the apartment," Jimena Tangassi said.
Those who ventured out to open grocery and department stores found long lines of people shopping for essentials.
"I live nearby, so I'm just trying to stock up on supplies that I think I'll need until this is over," said Ryan Lerma, standing in line outside the South Congress Avenue H-E-B. "I'm just trying to get essentials. I have a list of what I need to get, but I don't know what will be available."
Houses with fireplaces had an advantage, though some creativity was necessary at the South Austin home of Courtney Flores.
When their supply of wood ran out, Flores said her husband rolled lawn bags tight and tied them into paper logs. "Those lasted the entire day," she told the American-Statesman via Twitter.
After that, they turned to charcoal, starter logs and rolls of paper towels — "whatever we can find to safely burn in the fireplace," she said — and later traded some of their food for wood with a neighbor.
"Yay for banding together," she said, adding that even with the fireplace, indoor temperatures hovering around 50 degrees, so the family of five slept in one room and donned as many as three pairs of socks and four pairs of pants.
Jolene Keene, executive director of Accessible Housing Austin, was worried about residents of a newly opened apartment complex in the Windsor Park area that provides affordable housing to people with disabilities.
"We just opened up three weeks ago, so many of them are coming without much in the way of cold weather supplies," Keene said. "They are very worried. More snow is in the forecast (and) many people with disabilities are more sensitive to cold."
One resident who needs oxygen had to be moved but had a family member in town who was able to step in, she said.
"I know of nothing being done to help our complex specifically, but I can't get through to 311," Keene said.
According to Austin officials, the city's 311 call center was functioning again Tuesday, as was the city's website.
American-Statesman staff writers Katie Hall and Heather Osbourne contributed to this report.