The first storm of the season blew in to Vashon with heavy rain and high winds on Tuesday, taking out power to the whole island for several hours in the process. Most customers had power restored by morning, but scattered local outages lingered into Wednesday.

No island accidents or injuries were reported because of the storm, but Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) responded to more than a dozen calls that day, many of them related to downed trees and power lines.

“The storm caused inconvenience but no critical incidents,” said Chris Huffman, a firefighter/paramedic who was the duty captain on shift that day. “It takes a toll on us, but for the most part, it is not labor intensive.”

Huffman noted that the department was prepared for the storm and had on-island volunteers stationed at the southend to respond to incidents there, with the intent of freeing VIFR staff to respond to emergencies from a more central location.

Rick Wallace, the president of VashonBePrepared, suggested that islanders think of yesterday’s storm as a “giant alarm clock” for what may be ahead this winter and stressed that those who have not prepared should do so.

“Whatever you experienced yesterday, you can expect it to happen again, so get ready,” he said.

Being prepared has multiple benefits, he added.

“If you’re ready for a winter storm, you are mostly ready for a major earthquake, which we know will happen,” he said.

Vashon is no stranger to power outages, and several essential services and businesses have systems in place to help them function as smoothly as possible when the outages occur.

The Franciscan Medical Clinic, the island’s largest clinic, has a generator and operated normally after the power went out in the early afternoon, according to CHI Franciscan Health spokesman Scott Thompson.

For other health-related services, however, business was a bit trickier.

At the Vashon Pharmacy, co-owner Dave Willingham said that the pharmacists on duty donned headlamps and filled prescriptions, placing orders on temporary charges because they did not have electricity to process payments — all common procedures at the store when the lights go out.

“Same headlamps, different batteries,” he joked, referencing a memorable power outage of the not-so-distant past.

The pharmacy’s Internet service was still out the following morning and added to the challenges.

At Vashon Community Care, Administrator Judy Beggs said agency officials must notify the state whenever the power goes out, and they did so Tuesday, when it was out from about 2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The center uses a generator, but staff also put out flashlights for everyone and rely on paper products for dinner service. The most challenging element, Beggs said, was that the phone system was down and calls were routed to her personal cell phone.

“Everyone did just fine,” she added.

Other storms are likely this season, and VIFR’s Huffman reminded islanders to always assume downed wires are energized and avoid them. If the wires pose an immediate threat, people should call 911. If not, he recommends that islanders call Puget Sound Energy, report the problem and get in the repair queue.

“That helps us a lot and does not tie us up,” he added.

Wallace has advice as well for those who have not heeded previous preparedness warnings: Be sure to have 10 days of food and water, an alternate source of light and a way to stay warm. He added that sometimes people do not remember they have an alternate source of cooking and that their backyard grills can be extremely useful this time of year.

Finally, he said, many people believe they will be fine in a storm or other emergency–but not everyone will be, and the more people who are prepared, the better the island will fare overall.

“You owe it to the community to be prepared,” he said. “Winter is on us.”