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Pruitt: Could Be Worse - Remember '73 Ice Storm?

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John Pruitt signed off from Channel 2 Action News at 6 p.m in December but continues to tribute to WSB-TV and wsbtv.com. John has covered Georgia and the South for more than four decades. Now he's weaving his unique perspective on history into issues that are important to Georgians today.

There is nothing like a major weather event to unite a community. When the snow flies, when the ice coats, when our vehicles become useless, we are all affected. Weather like this is the great leveler—hitting everyone equally.

We enshrine the great weather events as historic landmarks. The Storm of 2011 will now take it's place in Atlanta history with other memorable winter ordeals like the Blizzard of '93, Snow Jam ‘82, and the granddaddy of them all—The Great Ice Storm of ‘73 .

Our current situation is serious, but we dodged a major bullet when the heavy ice accumulations did not occur. Because of that we all remain warm in our homes, cozying up to the fire or watching continuous weather coverage on Channel 2 Action News.

Imagine how it would have been if we were huddled in our dark homes wrapped in blankets and using transistor radios for information from the outside world, hoping and praying for a Georgia Power truck to appear and restore power.

That's the way it was in 1973—not for isolated neighborhoods but for 300,000 people—virtually the entire city. Not for just a few hours, but for an entire week!

The freezing rain began falling on Sunday night, January 7th. The ice accumulated on tree limbs and power lines, and by midnight you could hear the dreadful cracking sound of limbs falling. It was like the sound of an artillery barrage, and the results were just as devastating.

Power lines were down everywhere, and the city was plunged into a cold darkness from which it would not emerge for 7 days. The temperatures were well below freezing and stayed that way for a week. Nothing thawed.

I remember taking food out of our freezer, placing it in a bag, and putting it outside to preserve it. I remember watching the fish in our 30 gallon aquarium die because I couldn't heat or aerate the water. And I remember the feeling of desperation so many of us felt when we realized that our situation would not improve for many days.

Those lucky enough to have gas stoves or fireplaces found themselves with plenty of company as friends and neighbors moved in to weather the deep freeze. We slept at my mother-in-law's, using sleeping bags on her living room floor near her fireplace and boiling water for coffee on her gas stove.

I was nightshift reporter for WSB then, and every evening I was out with power crews as they waged a valiant effort to get everyone's lights and heat back on.

It was an extraordinarily difficult job because it was basically house-to-house. So many lines connecting individual homes to the main power lines had fallen, so crews took it one house at a time. And with each house that was restored, grateful residents emerged to hug and thank the crews.

Eventually temperatures rose, the ice thawed, and a storm scarred city was slowly brought back to life. Those who lived through it will never forget the experience. Whenever freezing rain is in the forecast, I have flashbacks to '73 and worry about the awful possibilities.

The Storm of 2011 has had huge impact on all of us, but we should be mindful that it could have been so much worse.

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