Do you have important items gathered into an emergency kit? How will you communicate and reconnect with your family after a disaster?

Use these checklists to ensure you are prepared for any type of disaster:

• What to do before, during and after a power outage
• Make an emergency plan
• Download the American Red Cross Family Disaster Plan template
• Build an emergency kit
• Tips for building your kit on a budget
• Keep a kit in your car

To help prevent tree-related outages and mitigate wildfire risk, we proactively prune trees to help keep our equipment clear. When there is a high risk for a wildfire, we may temporarily shut off power to certain neighborhoods to prevent our electric system from becoming the source of an ignition. Learn more about wildfire prevention and mitigation.

Just as we manage vegetation to keep trees away from power lines, it's important for you to create a line of defense around your property by clearing dead trees and brush away from your property, particularly if you live in the south hills and other heavily forested areas of our community.

When selecting a new tree to plant, follow the "Right Tree, Right Place" approach. By picking the proper species and planting procedure, you can increase public safety, reduce power outages, reduce the need for routine pruning, and promote healthy, beautiful trees.

You should also have a plan for how you and your family will stay safe from wildfire. Find more information at https://www.ready.gov/wildfires. 

Being prepared with a back-up power system in the event of a major disaster or prolonged power outage is an important part of disaster planning, especially for people who use electricity and battery-dependent assistive medical devices such as breathing machines or power wheelchairs.  Learn more about our Residential Medical Support Program.

Generating your own power

Using a generator when the power goes out is a great option, but safety should be the top priority for both you and utility workers. There are two kinds of generators, portable and permanent. Portable generators are intended to provide power to an extension cord which is then plugged directly into an appliance or piece of equipment. Permanent generators are wired directly into the electrical system of your home. Learn more about generator safety.

EWEB offers a Backup Generator Program to assist with the purchase and installation of a backup generator and transfer switch to safely power critical components in a home during an emergency.

Let there be light

Whether a natural disaster or just an unanticipated power outage, having emergency lighting is critical to helping you navigate the darkness. LED flashlights provide super bright light and last for hours. Keep several flashlights at home and keep one in each of your cars. Lightsticks and emergency candles or lanterns can provide low level lighting for extend periods of time. Make sure your emergency kit includes extra batteries.

Stay connected

Smartphones have become a vital tool to receive emergency alerts and warnings, so it's important to make sure you can keep them powered up in an emergency. If the power goes out, preserve battery power by minimizing device use and changing the setting to low power mode or airplane mode. Have an emergency charging option for your phone and other mobile devices. 

Getting to know your neighbors can improve your safety and help the whole community become more disaster-resilient.

The Map Your Neighborhood program can help you meet your neighbors and prepare for emergencies. Once you and your neighbors have a good start on household preparedness, you can use the Map Your Neighborhood program to plan to help each other effectively after a disaster. Map Your Neighborhood walks your group through a simple step-by-step process to customize an emergency preparedness plan for your area.

Southeast Neighbors also has some great information about Map Your Neighborhood on their website.

If there is an extended power outage in the middle of winter, you'll need to take steps to keep your home as warm and comfortable as possible. 

• Avoid opening and closing exterior doors. 
• Set up "camp" in one room, and close off the rest of the house.
• Close interior doors, and hang blankets across passage ways to help retain heat.
• Place rolled up towels at the base of exterior doors.
• Cover the windows with blankets and/or plastic. 
• Put blankets, rugs or pillows on the floor to further insulate the room. 
• Wear loose layers of clothes.

Any time the power goes out, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature. The refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will keep the temperature for approximately 48 hours if the door remains closed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends these food safety steps to follow before and during a power outage. And Oregon State University Extension offers these Tips for Keeping Your Freezer Frozen During Power Outages.