Ice storm in Fort Wayne, Indiana - 12.19.08

The power company has 1200 linesmen and women working 16-hour shifts to restore power. Many of them came in from W. Virginia and Kentucky and three other states to help us. Thank you! I heard they earn about $70 per hour, and I'd still tip 'em if I saw them. Rough work that they say will last six days -- right up until Christmas Day. We consider ourselves very fortunate because our power was restored after "only" a 13.5 hour outage. By the time the power returned, our house had dropped to 53 degrees, and that was before the outside temperature dropped to single digits and the wind whipped to 30 mph. We really feel for the 50% of the city's residents and businesses who are still without power.