Burke Centre Library! That's where I went to keep cool and use the wi-fi to update Burke Patch readers. The staff was awesome, as they hosted so many people seeking refuge on both Saturday and Sunday. Every chair was taken, and people were sitting on the floor using laptops ... and even reading!

I'm so happy my Kindle Fire was fully charged so I could tackle some of the books on my list during the outage!

I know this sounds bad, but discount travel websites came in handy for me to find hotels in the area that were affordable. I was without power for days and needed to find a place for my wife and I to do work (Patch for me and lesson plans for her school's summer program) and relax in an air conditioned room. It was frustrating at first, hopping from hotel to hotel (because we couldn't find extended nights in either of them) but it then became cool as we "backpacked through Fairfax County."

It is not over for us.
After spending considarable moneys for ice and batteries, we had to dump everything out of empty our refrigators, and evacuate. Useless Fairfax County government. We are sitting now six days without power and water. At least the county could have established ice distribution and spoiled food collection centers, like DC and some Maryland counties did almost within hours. Even cell phones stopped working. But there was not a peep from Fairfax county gov.. If the county is not capable of providing such minimal emergency assistance particularly to the less firm, we don't need such complacent government.
It is the county's primary responsibility to provide emergency assistance and be ready for such at any time. With climate changes in the future, such calamities are expected to occur more often being storms, huge snowfalls, wild fires, droughts, magnetic man made or solar storms, etc.
I hope this current calamity will make people aware that the county gov. is for such emergencies totally ineffective. That the county can not ignore them and be oblivious to their taxpayer plight. It should and must do everything possible to learn what and how to organize an effective system. There are enough people with emergency preparedness experience in the NV area that could be asked to provide the needed advice or even replace those that don't know how to prepare and organize an effective system.
Sincerely,
Stan Backaitis

Definitely books. When I wasn't working, I finally got to read one of the many unread books collecting dust on my bookshelf. I also finished a book I've been trying to finish for weeks.

The things that got us threw the power outage (three nights without power) were flashlights, a camping light (which was terrific to read by) and a battery operated radio. I like radios, and have quite a few battery powered ones throughout the house. My husband always has lots of batteries around to be prepared. Listening to the radio at night let me know what was going on in the world (especially in my local area) and I enjoying listening to the baseball game at night. Without a flashlight or camping light, I could not have read or even walked around my house, so having those items was very helpful. We got a lot of reading done at night. After two days, I went and bought a little battery powered fan to wear around my neck at night and during the day. My house was over 90 degrees inside. It was almost impossible to sleep. The fan helped a little bit. Now I plan to buy a couple of larger battery powered fans just in case we have this power outage again.

I left Arlington on Sunday and am visiting a close friend and U Mass classmate who lives in the Berkshires. Why with millions on vacation across the USA did anyone who could escape the heat and lack of power stay in NoVa?

I went to stay with a friend who had air conditioning

Sincerely appreciative for plentiful safe, potable, running water, flush toilets and our safe roof/home. Yes, this 'disaster-experienced' Girl Scout had basic batteries, flashlights, candles, matches, etc., was prepared against this type of unannounced natural disaster. Our family has lived thru' several 'no-electricity' sequences - both in & out of country. Gentle suggestion for serious consideration for all of our respected neighbors - - check out Am Red Cross' basic 'Disaster Preparation course with its 'Preplan Kit per Person' for practical to dos... ;8-))

Nina...I agree! We were so thankful for water. We had rechargeable "wind-up" radios, battery operated lanterns, and a camp stove with propane to make coffee! A cold shower was not too bad in the heat. We went 5 nights without electricity here in Fairfax City. We relaxed and read in the lower level of the house on the weekend , kept those windows closed and the upper level open...lower level never went above 75 ! And during the week we went to work and were fortunate to be able to go out for dinner. When I look at the damage done to some people's homes and hear about deaths that occurred I know I have no right to complain. Make the best of what life brings you.

Used semi-frozen bags of vegetable as ice packs. Wrapped them in kitchen towels and handed them out. Everyone was happy and stayed cool.

We used flashlights and ice the most. The flashlights were helpful Friday night when the power failed. The ice was needed to keep our food cold while we waited for power to be restored. Thanks to NOVEC, our power was back up within 24 hours, so our food didn't go to waste. We were also very thankful that we had running water! During the day without power, we ended up doing a lot of reading. We were also thankful that the Centreville library was open & had electricity and a/c available (no internet or wifi, but you can't have everything). The worst of the whole experience? Dealing with Verizon! At one point we had no landline phone service, spotty cell service (line kept dropping) and no internet. That meant no communications with the outside world, without driving somewhere to find a wifi connection. We didn't get our internet back until 5 days later. We did appreciate Starbucks and Panera, where we were able to log in every so often.

Large battery-powered fan! With that, a camp flashlight, some candles, a good book and a cool basement, I could go for hours. And a couple of nice candlelit baths, as well. Unfortunately for me, my son went to boy scout camp and the battery-operated fan went with him. No more
fans in McLean. I'm stocking up battery-powered fans and D cell batteries for the next time around. And once the kids were safely off to camp, I must admit the previously locked up but now loaded Ruger 10/22 gave me some comfort.

Best thing of all was a little windup flashlight/radio and WTOP 103.5 !

We used our solar powered walk lights. When the sun went down we pulled them out of the ground, removed the ucky plastic stake part, and brought the lamp portion in the house. Next day they went back outside to charge in the sun.

A well insulated house that held out the heat and humidity. When the power went off, I went to bed. When I got up, the power was on. Verizon FIOS was not, however, for most of the day.
Another thing that got me through was the Woodbridge Patch, keeping me informed of progress towards repairing the outages.

Visiting my parents in New York, where I'll be for another week. Hope there isn't another bad storm in the DC region this weekend.

The D-Cell battery operated fan I pirchased from Walmart, just before they ran out of batteries.

The Embassy Suites in Old Town turned lemons into lemonade for us. Their suites include free happy hour and a great buffet breakfast. And when the power went out there for a few hours, guests were provided with ice water, flashlights and playing cards. Our power came back on Tuesday night, but we stayed in the hotel anyway. With the kids back home, it was a like a mini-vacation.

I was w/o power for 5 days, and unable to drive due to recent surgery. Luckily, I have an emergency car recharge battery that powered both my cell phone and a fan. Best of all was WTOP radio that provided the news of the disaster.

Cool basement, battery operated radio, running water, enough food. Buy a generator. This all goes to show that we can't depend on the government to help us out-we need to depend on ourselves and become a bit more self-sufficient like our ancestors were!

Keep a car-charger for your cell phone. If worse comes to worst, you can run the car for a while, charging the phone and listening to news on the radio.