September 25, 2005

A Little Help, Please

My mom and my best friend's (Susan's) mom are in DeRidder, Louisiana, a small town just above Lake Charles.

I have confirmed with the local electric company they will be out of power for two to three weeks.

Cameron and Lake Charles have been laid to waste.

I'm told by people there that DeRidder looks like a war zone.

My mom is freaking out a bit. While she has weathered many storms, none have come this close or caused this much damage. Then, there's that thing about being alone without my father (he died in December) standing over her to tell her what to do.

Susan's sister also lives in DeRidder and her house took a tree through the roof. Her mom took a tree to a shed.

Susan and I have been networking trying to figure out the next step. We need to get both of our moms out of the area until the power comes back on. There's still major power outages and gas shortages from Houston to Lafayette with roads also being closed through Houston, Beaumont, and Lake Charles.

If Susan's uncle from Tyler, a police officer, is not able to get enough gas to them in the next day or so, I will put together a truck with enough extra gas cans to take to the back roads to head that way. Both my mom's vehicles have gas we can syphon once I get there.

If anyone is between Houston and Lake Charles, please speak up and let me know what the gas situation is where you are.

Many thanks.

P.S. I'm also checking into getting a flight out of Alexandria to San Antonio for her.

Posted by Christina at September 25, 2005 03:16 PM

Comments

I wish I could offer some information about the gas situation, but as I can't, just wanted to wish you a safe trip if you have to go, and I'll be thinking about you and your mom (and your friend and her mom). They'll be in my prayers. Let us know how it goes.

Posted by: caltechgirl at September 25, 2005 07:51 PM

As a former Straight White Blogger I wish I could help but I'm outta my element in your neck of the woods. I hope everything comes out for the best.

The only thing I can offer is to keep a stiff upper lip and keep moving. If you are moving then you are moving forward.

Posted by: Ironnerd at September 25, 2005 11:55 PM

Try checking the hurricane post area on KHOU.com
out of Houston. San Antonio has plenty of gas. Not sure about Louisiana. I suspect flying might be best since 2.5 million Texans may be clogging the highways getting back to the coast after evacuating.

Posted by: Sinequanon at September 26, 2005 07:36 AM

Have you tried calling the major gas companies to see where they are delivering gas in that area? If you know the route you are taking, ask about specific cities/towns. They should be able to help with that. Or some of the gas companies have their stations listed online with phone numbers. Call the gas station directly and see what they say.

That's all I can offer to help out. That and I'll say a couple of prayers for you.

Posted by: vw bug at September 26, 2005 09:17 AM

Liberty county, just to the east of Harris, has no electricity. So they can't give you gas even if they have it. Montgomery County, north of Harris on the east side, has gas and electricity. Polk County, the one above Montgomery, has both intermittent electricity and gas.

Leaving after Tuesday will guarantee less traffic and less people trying to get gas at the same two pumps.

I recommend having something that gets good gas mileage. Taking gas cans, if you can get them. Bringing food and water for a few days, in case you get stuck somewhere. And getting a GOOD east Texas map. (A Texas map is not sufficient. You'll be trying to get down tiny roads to get across to your mom because the police are guarding the main roads and turning people away.)

Kingwood, NE of Houston, has gas. So does Porter, one town north. After that it is sporadic for a while. You can read my blog and see if I have some other insights I've forgotten. But we weren't trying to do Louisiana.

Posted by: Suzi at September 26, 2005 10:30 PM

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