Ice storm made for a difficult Christmas in 2004
Bonnie Beck-Franks and pet cat Punky warm themselves by the kerosene heater during the four days in December of 2004 that the power went out at their Wooster home. At right is Mike Franks' backyard, showing the ice-laden tree branches and power lines.
The Christmas decorations were up and looking wonderful as ever. The gifts were wrapped and arranged artfully under the Christmas tree. Everything we needed for our annual holiday gathering was in place just waiting for the big day. The early forecast for Dec. 23, 2004, was cold with a chance of snow. With no warming forecast before Christmas, it was looking like a “White Christmas.” Picture-perfect, right?
Then a winter storm formed in Texas, laden with copious Gulf of Mexico moisture. It swept into the Ohio Valley on Dec. 22. Holmes and Wayne counties saw the first rain from the storm around 7 a.m. on the same day. Simultaneously, the air temperature began to drop into the freezing rain range (32-2 F). The rain would freeze on contact with surfaces. It rained, albeit lightly, for the following 24 hours, all of it accumulating as ice.
Electric power lines and trees were icing up. When the weight of the ice became too much to bear, the tree limbs and sometimes entire trees failed and would plunge to the ground, often taking power lines with them. To make matters worse, the winds picked up to nearly 20 mph. This caused increased tree damage and introduced power line gallop, greatly exacerbating the problem.
Power started dropping around 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday in Holmes County and continued throughout the night and early morning. More than 23,000 Holmes and Wayne homes woke up to darkness Thursday morning.
Linemen from other Ohio counties and from 13 states were brought in to assist local linemen in the restoration of power. Good Samaritans stepped up, helping to keep roadways clear of fallen timber.
Wooster Walmart power dropped at 4:30 a.m. They were forced to move perishable foods to reefer trucks. Elder-Beerman was out 4:30 a.m., and Buehler’s Milltown was out a half-hour later. This was extremely bad news because there was only two shopping days before Christmas. Luckily, they all had power returned by noon. Others weren’t so lucky.
“It happened the first night we had our son home from the hospital after he was born,” Keith Whitman of Wooster said. “We laid in bed with no power trying to keep him warm while we listened to transformers pop and large tree branches drop throughout the early morning. Wild, we were trapped in our house because a huge limb fell in front of the door with power lines weaved in it. Will never forget it.
“We tried to contact the fire department to come clear our front door so we could get out. My mother-in-law was picking us up because she had power. The fire department was so busy we got nowhere, so I had to force the door open and carry my son like a football through the downed tree and avoid the power lines to get him out to the car. It was crazy. Transformers were popping and shooting sparks everywhere.”
The pain was not equally distributed in Holmes and Wayne. Some never lost electricity. Some were without it for more than a week. Some had it restored, only the have it fail again. The icing was causing roads to close, open and reclose, hampering efforts of recovery and emergency workers.
Berlin had adequate water supplies. Walnut Creek was struggling with water. An ingenious solution was found: A 4-inch fire hose was stretched between the two villages, and water from Berlin filled Walnut Creek’s water tanks.
In early January a thaw came, melting the ice that had built up. That would be good news in most situations, but it arrived with heavy rain. Killbuck Creek began to swell. Holmes County Fairgrounds became inundated. Low-lying villages like Millersburg, Killbuck and Glenmont began to flood.
Firefighters were forced to fight fires in frigid, chest-high water.
The rains finally stopped mid-January, the flooding receded and the cleanup began.
At our household we were without electricity for four days, and the house became very cold. Luckily, we had a kerosene heater, Coleman camp stove and hurricane lanterns. All were put into service, and we were able to stay in our home. But that family gathering never happened.
Count your blessings and prepare for the worst. Winter is very unpredictable.
“Looking Back” is a feature from Mike Franks, a local historian. He can be emailed at mlfranks@gmail.com.