A Generac standby generator is a cost-effective, convenient alternative to a gasoline generator. It runs on propane or natural gas, starts automatically when the lights go out, performs a weekly exercise cycle to keep itself ready for action and is permanently wired into your home or business, replacing your conventional electricity supply when your conventional electricity supply jumps in to Lake Tahoe. While it’s usually structured to address specific electric circuits in your home or business, for a slight increase in installation costs it can be fitted with a transfer switch to handle your entire house or business.

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But for some, icy roads sent business through the roof.

“We had all we could handle for about 20 hours a day,” said owner Kent Kilroy of Kilroy’s Towing.

Most common were calls from people sliding off their driveways, especially on the steep slopes in Alta Sierra, he said.

And when accidents did happen, auto body shops got the calls.

“We’ve had a lot of tow-ins and cars buried in the snow for a day,” said Nancy Maldonado, an estimator at Chris’ Collision Repair in Grass Valley.

The shop’s staff has seen the big accidents in the past few days, but is expecting business to stay steady — most people who had minor fender benders won’t bring the cars in until the roads improve.

Tuesday saw “lots of spinouts in the snow and ice, but nothing major,” said CHP Officer Eric Wagner. While the highways were clear Wednesday, many of the side roads still were problematic, with patches of black ice, said CHP spokeswoman Heather Blancarte.

“People are still driving way too fast,” she said. “Increase your distance and slow down.”

The county’s schools reopened Wednesday, despite the icy conditions. Many buses ran late Wednesday morning, leaving some students complaining about their wait in the bitter cold and some parents frustrated at the delays.

“It was slow going,” said Durham School Services operations supervisor Bill Locke. “There were some roads we couldn’t get down, but the county did a good job of sanding. We were running about a half-hour to 45 minutes behind on most routes.”

Some roads in the Wolf Creek and Dog Bar areas were covered in 6 to 8 inches of ice, with Cascade Shores being another problem area, Locke said. Communication problems between dispatch and bus drivers are typical for the more mountainous areas of the county where reception is spotty, he added.

“As ugly as it could have been, it was a pretty good day,” Locke said.

The emergency room at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital and the waiting room at Yuba Docs in Grass Valley saw a jump in injuries due to people slipping on the ice.

Between 25 percent and 30 percent of emergency room patients seen Tuesday had injured themselves in a fall, hospital staff reported. At Yuba Docs, staff saw more “bumps on the head” and even some fractures, they said.

• It does not matter what kind of wood you burn: as long as it is really, truly seasoned. In the case of hardwoods, especially oak, they must be seasoned for over one full year! That means last year’s wood – NOT this years wood! If you’re wondering about which wood is really the best, or what causes the least creosote to build up, the answer is the same! Properly seasoned wood produces the most heat, and produces the least creosote! It’s not the kind of wood you burn that makes the difference, but whether or not the wood is seasoned. Firewood that hasn’t been split for over a year isn’t worth a darn! On the other hand, dry well seasoned wood is just great! Seasoned wood burns hot and clean!
   
• If you have trouble starting your fire, or if you have trouble keeping your fire going, you are probably using this years wood – which means that it’s not seasoned. Unseasoned, or green wood, is extremely frustrating and disappointing. If wood is not properly seasoned it will be hard to light. It will keep going out. It will smolder. It won’t put out heat. It just burns poorly and inefficiently. It is also the moisture in wood which causes creosote to build up at an accelerated rate. One fresh-cut cord of oak may contain enough water to nearly fill six, 55 gallon drums. The moisture content in the wood determines how much heat the fire puts out, and how much creosote will build up in your chimney.
   
• If you are going spend hundreds of dollars on firewood, it’s essential to KNOW that the wood you are buying REALLY IS seasoned! Seasoned wood looks  dark, or gray when compared to green wood  – but if you split a piece of seasoned wood – it’s WHITE on the inside. It’s brittle, or gnarly. It has cracks running through each piece, and a lot of little cracks on the inner rings. Unseasoned wood has a wet, fresh looking center, with lighter (“drier-looking”) wood near the edges or ends which have been exposed since cutting. When firewood is very fresh, the bark will be tightly attached. Avoid these hassles at all costs! When you get cold, you’ll be miserable if your firewood does not produce the heat you need. Only well seasoned wood produces pleasant, trouble free heat.
• Depending upon when it was cut down, softwoods like fir or pine might be dry enough in just one year to burn nicely. But, a year is not enough for hardwoods: especially oak!  As far as quality is concerned, madrone is unquestionably the best wood!  Madrone is extremely dense, HARD wood. It burns extremely HOT, and it burns for a long time. Next, comes live oak, eucalyptus, walnut, and then all other oaks*. Fir is probably the most trouble free wood you can buy overall. But, if you read further down you’ll see it’s advantages and disadvantages. *White oak is troublesome wood. Though it is often mixed in, it’s a disappointing hassle. Remember that piece of wood that just NEVER seems to burn up? That’s white oak. Stay away from large quantities green wood, and accept as little white oak as possible – though it is difficult to avoid it entirely.
• DO NOT cover your wood with a tarp …. or you will prohibit evaporation! Use a shed, or buy a prefab wood crib.

• What REALLY causes creosote to build up? Creosote is the condensation of unburned, flammable particulates present in the exhausting flue gas (smoke). The actual cause of creosote condensation, is the surface temperature of the flue in which the flue gas comes in contact. Like hot breath on a cold mirror, if the surface temperature of the flue is cool, it will cause the vaporized carbon particles in the flue gas (smoke) to solidify. This condensation is creosote build-up. If the wood you are using is rain logged, or green, the fire will tend to smolder. Wet wood causes the whole system to be cool, and inefficient. But, dry wood means a hot fire! A hot fire means a hot flue, and a hot flue means much less creosote.
   
• Back in the early 1980′s, tests were conducted to discover which kind of wood created the most creosote in a regular “open” fireplace. The results were surprising. Contrary to popular opinion, the hardwood’s, like oak and madrone, created MORE creosote than the softwoods, like fir and pine. The reason for this, is that if the softwoods are dry, they create a hotter, more intense fire. The draft created by the hotter fire moves the air up the chimney faster! Because it is moving faster, the flue gas does not have as much time to condense as creosote inside the chimney. Also, because the flue gas is hotter: it does not cool down to the condensation point as quickly. On the contrary, the dense hardwood’s tend to smolder more, so their flue gas temperature is cooler. Thus, more creosote is able to condense on the surface of the flue. So, saying that “fir builds up more creosote than oak” just isn’t true! It is a misunderstanding to think that it’s the pitch in wood which causes creosote. It’s not the pitch that is the problem, it’s the water IN the pitch. Once the water in the wood has evaporated, that pitch becomes high octane fuel! When dry, softwoods burn extremely hot!
   
• Which kind of wood is better? That depends on what you want. If you are a first time fire-burner, or if you only want to burn a couple dozen fires a year: definitely go with a DRY softwood, like fir. Your odds for being happy are infinitely higher with fir, especially if you are just now buying wood for this year.  The fresh aroma of fir creates a lovely holiday ambiance! Fir seasons quickly, and when it is dry it is truly delightful, trouble free wood!  It’s easy to get going. It smells great. It’s easy to split for kindling. It creates BIG, friendly, luxurious fires! But, it doesn’t last as long as oak or madrone! You must feed a stove more frequently to keep it going with fir, and there is no guarantee that there will still be live hot coals in the morning. Cord for cord the hardwood’s may be a better deal.

• Hardwood’s, like madrone, live oak, eucalyptus, walnut, black oak etc., are the choice of the serious fire burner. You may pay $300 for a cord of oak, and only $250 for a cord of fir. BUT, because the oak is more dense, it weighs much more than the fir. So you actually get more for your money with hardwood. In fact, you may get almost twice the fire for the money! Because hardwoods are denser, they provide more available fuel in the same space. So, hardwoods burn longer. If hardwoods are properly seasoned, they do burn very hot. (Look for oak mixed with madrone.) The fuel available in hardwood enables stoves or inserts to sustain high temperatures for significantly longer periods. Also, unless the stove is shut down tight, hardwoods may keep a hot live coal bed for days. So as a rule, airtight stoves, or inserts, perform best with dry hardwoods. It is, however, always important to have a large supply of really good kindling – because hardwood is difficult to start. Having a quantity of fir on hand is great source of good kindling.

• When buying firewood, remember that first and foremost, it must be properly seasoned. The best way to get seasoned wood is to buy THIS years wood for NEXT year! For a scrupulous first time wood buyer, a moisture tester may be a good investment. Wood sellers will often tell you that even though this wood was split this year, it will be just fine. Except in the cases of fir or pine, that is not true. Look for gray, or darkened, brittle wood that has a lot of cracks in the inner rings. Seasoned wood looks gray, or dark and dingy because it has been sitting sitting in the sun, drying, and collecting dust for a while. But, if you split it: it’s dry and very WHITE inside! Unseasoned wood has the fresh clean look of new lumber at a building supply store. Unseasoned wood  has that same fresh look on the INSIDE when it’s split. Though seasoned wood is darker on the outside, it’s bone white on the inside.
   
• Once wood gets over 4-5 years old, it does start to deteriorate, so the best wood is 2-3 years seasoned.  If you find good dry wood of any kind, you will really enjoy your fireplace! But, if you get stuck with green wood, you will be one very frustrated wood burner. Most wood for sale is “this years” wood. If you get serious about wood burning, you must always think one full year ahead! You should always buy this years wood for for NEXT year. Good buys of seasoned wood do come along, but they are often not advertised, because the serious wood burners already know where to go. If you are a first time wood burner, either buy dry, split fir, or hunt down really dry, cracking hardwood. You won’t be sorry if you spend a little more money – just to make sure that you get trouble free firewood.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, reports that some 23,600 residential fires in the 50 states were related to solid fuel appliances and equipment in 1996. An additional 5,500 fires were attributed to chimneys and chimney connectors serving heating systems burning liquid and other fuels. As a result of these fires, 130 people died, 230 people were injured, and total property losses were set at more than $184.4 million. In addition there were a minimum of 119 deaths from carbon monoxide and at least 4,700 “injuries” reported for the same time frame, though most estimates range much higher. The root cause of most of these losses is that most U.S. homeowners are unaware that chimneys are an integral part of a home heating system and that they require regular evaluation and maintenance. In a great many European countries – including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Germany – chimney-fire damage statistics have been reduced to negligible numbers because national coalitions of government, insurance companies, fire and building officials, and chimney sweeps have developed tough regulations mandating regularly scheduled chimney inspections and cleaning. The citizens of those countries understand the hazards of unmaintained chimneys, and their chimney sweeps are regular members of their home safety team. Most homeowners in the U.S. and Canada, however, seem to have little working knowledge of chimney and venting systems. This situation is complicated by the fact that faults, damage and problems rarely visible to the casual observer. In fact, people who will quickly replace a faulty automobile exhaust system because of the hazard it presents will allow their home’s exhaust system the chimney or vent – to go unchecked and unmaintained for years. The threat of chimney fires and unsafe indoor air quality conditions can be greatly reduced, perhaps even eliminated, if homeowners only understood that chimneys are active home operation systems which require regular maintenance. The Chimney Sweep’s Role The primary job of a chimney service professional is to aid in the prevention of fires related to fireplaces, woodstoves, gas, oil and coal heating systems and the chimneys that serve them. Wood burning heating systems, in particular, require careful monitoring and skillful operation. Chimney sweeps install, clean and maintain these systems, evaluate their performance, prescribe changes to improve their performance, and educate the consumer about their safe and efficient operation. The basic task of a chimney sweep is to clean chimneys. Cleaning means removing the hazard of accumulated and highly combustible creosote produced by burning wood and wood products. It means eliminating the build-up of soot in coal-and oil-fired systems, it means getting rid of bird and animal nests, leaves and other debris that may create a hazard by blocking the flow of emissions from a home heating appliance. In doing their primary job, sweeps also function as on-the-job fire prevention specialists. They are constantly on the lookout for unsafe conditions that can cause home fires or threaten residents with dangerous or unhealthy indoor air quality. How to Choose a Chimney Sweep: What a Homeowner Should Know The chimney service trade is not regulated, nor are chimney sweeps licensed in most states. Further, opening a chimney service business requires a relatively small capital investment. Thus, virtually anyone – without education, training, experience or even a working knowledge of proper tools or equipment – can become a chimney sweep. As a result, many ill-equipped, ill-prepared individuals are free to offer their “services” to homeowners. in some cases, these individuals will take advantage of learning opportunities and become competent, qualified sweeps. In other cases, they will continue along the same path they started on, offering incompetent service and, in some cases providing trusting homeowners with a false sense of well-being. For this very reason, a number of states are currently considering license requirements for chimney sweeps. As precursors to state licensing, some municipalities currently license chimney sweeps and in most of those, the criteria for licensing is the CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep credential. The CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep Program The CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep Program is acknowledged by a growing number of industry organizations, insurance underwriters, local, state and federal agencies and courts as the measure of a chimney sweep’s knowledge about the evaluation and maintenance of chimney and venting systems. CSIA Certified Chimney Sweeps keep abreast of the current developments and the technology of their trade. They are knowledgeable about the most recent National Fire Protection Association standards as well as the specifics of state and local codes covering their geographic area. In order to ensure a verifiable level of expertise within the trade, the Chimney Safety Institute of America administers the CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep Program. It is an educational and testing program designed to assess a chimney sweep’s knowledge of: 1.technical issues related to chimney construction and dynamics 2.solid fuel appliances and EPA requirements 3.the physics of woodburning and creosote formation 4.codes, clearances and standards 5.the practices and techniques of the trade. Throughout most of the 50 states, the homeowner’s best gauge of a chimney serviceperson’s knowledge is the CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep credential. C.S.I.A. Certified Sweeps are tested every three years, and display a dated, photo-ID badge. A good way to be sure the sweep servicing your chimney is currently Certified is to check the search engine on this website or call the CSIA office. These sweeps must also sign a CSIA Chimney Sweep Code of Ethics to help insure homeowners get not only a knowledgable sweep, but an honest one. Don’t settle for less! If you are planning to hire a chimney sweep to inspect, evaluate or clean your chimney system(s) – here is a checklist of the things you should know about the person or company you are about to hire: ■How long has the company been in business ■Does the company offer current references? (Don’t hesitate to check them.) ■Does the company have unresolved complaints filed with your city or state consumer protection agency or the Better Business Bureau ■Does the company or individual carry a valid business liability insurance policy to protect your home and furnishings against accidents ■Is the company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (provides access to ongoing education) ■Is he or she a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep? The C.S.I.A. Certified Chimney Sweep tm credential is the hallmark of excellence among chimney service professionals and among homeowners and related industry professionals who understand the quality and value it represents. Homeowners should be aware that there is only one legitimate national certification program for the chimney service industry and that is the CSIA program. Those who have earned the CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep credential have demonstrated their commitment to their industry, to fire prevention, and to the clientele they serve. The Chimney Safety Institute of America is a non profit, tax-exempt educational institution dedicated to chimney and venting system safety. CSIA is committed to the elimination of residential chimney fires, carbon monoxide intrusion and other chimney-related hazards that result in the loss of lives and property. To achieve its goals, CSIA devotes its resources to educating the public, chimney service professionals and other fire prevention specialists about the prevention and correction of chimney and venting system hazards. Reprinted with permission from the Chimney Safety Institute of America, www.csia.org