The big one - Montana Owners Club

stiles watson · 09-12-2008, 04:13 PM

Ike seems to be the Big One that has been dreaded by folks along the Texas Gulf Coast for years. It seems to be the largest one since Carla in 1961. That one put 4" of water in my house in Freeport, TX. In some areas of town the walls were knocked out just under the window sill.

Developers have built homes in areas previously known to flood. Unsuspecting buyers purchased a disaster in the making. Forty-seven years between Category 3+ storms allows for people to forget the devastation possible. Not even in Carla did we have a 20' storm surge. The home I once owned in Clear Lake was on some of the highest ground in that area and it was 22' above sea level. I would be very concerned if I still owned it. With storm surge, heavy rains and wave action, it could be in jeopardy.

I have two adult children with their families with homes in the "blast" area, one in League City and the other in Santa Fe (south of League City). My daughter and family evacuated to Jackson, Mississippi, but my son moved to higher ground in Santa Fe. I am deeply concerned that he made a poor choice. His son has some health problems and they were afraid of getting caught in slow moving traffic.

My truck sits unattended in a parking lot in Houston, near the airport. I guess that is why I carry insurance. I know some of the MOCers live in the Galveston Bay/Clear Lake area. I am praying that you are all safe. This could be a very tough time for many people. This is the Big One.

Charlie · 09-12-2008, 04:55 PM

Wayne left Texas City and is somewhere around Lake Conroe at Willis. I'm afraid Ike is gonna follow him right up I-45. Hang on Wayne!!!!!!

Waynem · 09-13-2008, 03:48 AM

It really upsets me that I was a fool when Rita came through and evacuated in a car to Lufkin, TX, 150 miles in 15 1/2 hours. Now, I'm dumb, because I thought 100 miles from the coast on this one would be okay. I will not be stupid the next time and will travel 300 miles away from the ocean if another one ever comes in.

I really do not know the status of the stick house in Texas City. My neighbor is essential personnel at BP and when it is safe to do so he will go home and check on our houses. He has a set of keys for my front door. Garage door sure won't work. I suspect electricity in all of that area is going to be out for some time.

I pulled the slides in last night around 2130 hours. We lost CG power about midnight and I have been running on the generator ever since. Just how long can a diesle generator run on a little less than 1/3 tank of fuel. Yep - I was stupid there. Didn't top off.

A tree feel next to Earlene's car but the good Lord spared her by making it fall in the opposite direction. So far the MH has taken a little tossing around, but all four wheels are down, and all four stabilizers are down. I guess there are some good things about a MH.

The winds are starting to pick up. Looks like we are getting the back edge of the storm now. All the wind is circling from the Northeast to Southwest. I guess that means we are on a little of the clean side. No lightening yet, but that typically follows after a tropical storm, sort of trails behind.

God bless all those who have been troubled by this storm.

mail2us · 09-13-2008, 05:10 AM

Stay safe Wayne. Unfortunately, power seems to be out for over 2 million folks and if that is accurate, power restoration will be in the weeks!

Not sure where you ended up, but saw earlier that you mentioned Lufkin. Is that where you are now? Dennis

capn chris · 09-13-2008, 05:28 AM

Sounds like the storm is following you, Wayne. Still serious threat there w/lots of wind and rain. A mess further south! Stay safe and keep us posted!!!

Charlie · 09-13-2008, 06:14 AM

Wayne-
When I moved from the coast the 300 miles was part of the criteria. You are welcome to park on my drive way next time or anyone else that wants to leave down there during a hurricane.
There is also a very nice state park five miles from my house.

Waynem · 09-13-2008, 06:27 AM

Dennis,
I'm in Willis, TX at Park On The Lake. The wind appears to have died down to tropical type, and the rain is constant. Still have 5 feet of all Lake Conroe to rise before I get the ankles wet. Well, I could go walk in the drive ways, but it's all surface and draining to the lake.

Charlie,
Where is there? What is the state park? Now that I'm in the MH I don't have to be as choosy for sewer hook-up. Oh! You have sewer at the stick house????

Capn Chris,
If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all. One report stated that the county courthouse in Texas City had 3 feet of water in it. I have the non-emergency number for the TCPD and gave them a call, apologizing for bothering them, but asking if there were flooding going on. (Yeah! Right! Why ask!) The reply was that there was water everywhere, but that is the extent they would give me.

Like previously posted, neighbor has keyes to stick house and when he calls I'm going to tell him to raid the freezer and take it over to the plant. They can have one gigantic cookout/BBQ. Darn freezer is chock full.

Checked the Fuel consumption every hour for the last two and either the gauge is broke, or the diesel gen does not use up much fuel. I'll start the engine next time and make sure, but I think it doesn't eat up that much fuel. I have the house air (Wow, what a system - basement type, "True Air," like central in the stick house) on auto so that the fan cuts off when it gets cool. Current draw is 15-16 amps. Turn the television on and checked the current - still 15-106 amps. When neither is on, current shows 4 amps. Figure that is the chartger/invert and refrigerator running.

I don't think we will be getting back to TC anytime soon.

Man I hate this. Hurry up and be over with!!!!! Heck, I even have to watch some "air" channels on the tv cause the antenna is down and digital is to weak with the antenna down. Bummer, huh?

capn chris · 09-13-2008, 06:59 AM

Good report, Wayne. Glad you riding it out OK. Been watching the reports etc. Not pretty. Stay safe!

Charlie · 09-13-2008, 09:31 AM

Wayne-
I have a tap into the city sewer at the house but no electric for the RV. This is the little known town of Cooper, Tx. It is about 20 miles north of Sulphur Springs. The state park is Cooper Lake State Park. There are two sections with CG's on the lake. I think this not to be general information but TPW allows RV's that have evacuated from the coast to stay in state parks at no charge. I know this from Rita as we had friends evacuate to Lake Somerville and they were not charged. This time they went to Garner.

I hope you don't have too big of a mess at TC. Received a report from daughter this morning in Katy and only damage she had was the board fence was down. Several neighbors had shingles missing. Two major items I've seen on TV is the Flagship Pier at Galveston washed onshore and the panels of the roof at Reliant Stadium ripped off. Texans going to have to find some other place to play football until repairs done.

mail2us · 09-13-2008, 05:19 PM

Won't second-guess you on Willis. You had originally mentioned Lufkin and that was one of the staging areas for HomeLand Security/FEMA. Ike was obviously a large hurricane in diameter and who can really determine where to head out other than "far away". Glad you and Mrs. are OK. Looks like a stay is in order. Your hometown area is not ready for ya! Dennis

Waynem · 09-14-2008, 03:10 PM

Picked up stakes and for one night we are at Artesia RV Resort in Brenham. (Resort! Yeah, right!!!) When I step down on the bottom step I could probably fall forward and brace myself on my neighbors slide out.

Tomorrow we are moving to Austin Lone Star RV Resort. Any one in the area drop on by and say hello.

Dennis, I mentioned Lufkin as when RITA came through.

I guess the point is you cannot second guess a hurricane. The weather forcasters do a pretty good job, but even they are not 100% sure. If you have never been in an evacuation, count your blessings. My evacuation was voluntary, as Texas City did not require a mandatory evacuation. If you do not get on the road early enough, you will be in a freeway parking lot. Due to circumstances beyond my control when RITA came through, I was 3 hours later than I wanted to leave and it took 15 1/2 hours to travel 150 miles. For IKE, I left early enough, but as time progressed the roadways becamce a parking lot again and I preferred to stay in the CG and ride it out. God or bad decision, the fact is we are okay. But, I'll travel earlier and further the next time.

Thanks all.

SlickWillie · 09-14-2008, 03:54 PM

Wayne, glad to hear y'all are safe. We left a day early as they thought Rockport was going to take a good hit. We made a mistake by going to the stick house in East TX. Rita came through our neck of the woods, and I didn't think it was so bad there. But, when they started saying Rusk County might get 75 MPH winds from Ike, I decided it was time to get the heck out of town. We saw lots of RV parks on Hwy 281 as we traveled down to Johnson City. Miller Creek RV Resort is a really nice park. They have a large number of pull thru lots, and although they are not paved (gravel), are nice and level. They actually were giving a 15% discount to hurricane evacuees. I hope we don't have to run for some time, but we will keep them in mind for any future storms.

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