The aftermath of an unexpectedly strong Nov. 30 weather system affected life in Wrangell, postponing community events and unfurling an outpouring of support amid power outages.
Community events including last Friday’s Midnight Madness and downtown Christmas tree lighting were rescheduled to this Saturday, according to the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce.
As utility workers were busy restoring power, and food and craft vendors were focused on getting power to their homes, the chamber decided to postpone the Dec. 3 events to this weekend, Executive Director Brittani Robbins said.
The downtown tree lighting is planned for 6 p.m., and the holiday bazaar is scheduled from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Nolan Center on Saturday.
Arrowhead Transfer, local agent for Alaska Marine Lines, offered its freezer and chill vans for people with perishable food items affected by last week’s power outage. Charity Hommel, customer service agent, said Arrowhead’s own manager made use of their chill vans, and they wanted people without generators to know they had the option, too, and that they kept it going for as long as the power was out for those folks.
“We didn't want people to lose their stores,” Hommel said.
Pastor Kem Haggard, at Harbor Light Assembly of God, offered the church to anyone needing a place to warm up, a hot shower, or a cup of coffee during the outage, which lasted until Thursday morning — almost 48 hours — for people who live south on Zimovia Highway past City Park, where Southeast Alaska Power Agency’s lines went down.
“We have two showers, a nice warm fireplace, and we will even put some coffee on!” Haggard wrote in Wrangell Community Group on Facebook.
While he had a gas fireplace, Haggard said he didn’t have hot water at his own house, so his family made use of the showers at Harbor Light, which he put in a few years ago for visiting missionaries. He figured others in town were in the same boat. “We can catch up on sleep later,” he said during the outage.
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