Some Residents Without Power Opt for Hotels

“I thought, ‘Ok, I’m prepared for this,’ “ Clark said. “I had purchased flashlights; I had plenty of candles; I had water stocked up; I had non-perishable food. But when you wake up and there’s no power, you’re not mentally prepared.”

Clark’s husband works at the Weather Channel. She said he made sure the family was well-prepared for the storm.  But Clark said the reality of sticking out the storm without power was daunting.

“When you walk around your house and it’s just dark and you’ve got your kids coming down stairs, and they’re a little freaked out, and you know it’s going to get cold, you just have to think, ‘Ok, are we going to stay here and stick it out or are we going to do something about it?’ “ she said.

Clark called a few hotels, but most were booked solid. About two and a half hours later, she and her sons Nicholas and Reid, checked into the Ritz. General Manager Erwin Schinnerl says the hotel is prepared to take in local residents during a storm.

“We open our doors, particularly families looking for a place to stay, should there be power outages or them anticipating having challenges in their own homes,” Schinnerl says. “We are here for them to take care of their needs. And some of them bring not only their family, but also their family pet.”

Schinnerl says the hotel is on a stable power grid, but they have backup generators, just in case.

As for Clark, her power has been restored. She and her boys checked out Thursday morning. Her fourth grade son Nicholas said he didn’t mind having some extra time off.

“I was excited to be out of school because, you know, it’s school,” he said.

It looks like his excitement will last a little longer. The Atlanta Public Schools are out until Tuesday. Friday’s closure is weather-related. Monday is Presidents’ Day.