Return to Houston

“Life is in the early stages of returning to normal for many Houstonians,” according to Bruce Sauer, editor of FleetOwner’s sister publication Trailer Body Builder (see related article), which is based in the Texas city slammed by Hurricane Ike over the weekend.

“I can't tell you about current road conditions in Houston right now because I evacuated the day before the storm hit, and I am still at my son's house outside of San Antonio,” Sauer reported today by email. “Neither my home nor office has electricity. My father-in-law's nursing home has no water. Traffic signals remain out. Most stores are still closed. But I understand that power is gradually being restored.”

Sauer reported that he was heading back to Houston this morning, “confident that the road conditions will be much improved. I understand that road crews did an outstanding job of clearing trees debris from the streets in our part of Houston and that the water has receded, making them passable.”

Evacuating ahead of the storm on Friday “was interesting,” Sauer said. “Traffic within the city flowed smoothly, but we hit Hurricane Rita-like traffic near the county line. Radio reports indicated that the average speed for the next 100-120 miles would be about 10 mph. Fortunately we know the back roads and were able to make the three-hour trip in just over four hours. No idea how long everyone else spent parked and crawling along U. S. 290.”