Every winter, storms take the grid down somewhere — and headlines rediscover that homes with wood heat keep warm through it. A fireplace or stove is the only household heater that works in a blackout, no battery required. The difference between “fine” and “miserable” is preparation.
The Reserve
Keep a storm reserve separate from your everyday stack: a half-tonne or a few weeks of bags you don’t touch in normal weeks. Storms arrive with no delivery slot for a week — the reserve is the whole game. Sizing logic: the winter guide.
The Kit (Checked Before Every Winter)
- Fuel chain: fire wool (windproof, no batteries) + kindling + matches — see the season checklist
- Tools: poker, heat gloves, a backup torch that isn’t your phone
- Cooking bridge: a kettle and pot that work on a stove top or fire pit wood outside
- Chimney swept: outages mean around-the-clock burning — a clean flue matters double (the guide)
During The Outage
- Light early, maintain steady: a constant moderate burn beats cold-start heroics all night
- Zone the house: close doors to the rooms you’re heating — one warm room well beats five rooms badly
- Cook safely: stoves and fireplaces handle kettle duty; never bring BBQs or charcoal indoors — carbon monoxide kills
- Watch clearances: furniture migrates toward the heat in outages — keep the metre rule (safety checklist)
The Quiet Advantage
Grid-down evenings by firelight are, honestly, kind of magical — candles, family, the kettle murmuring on the stove. The prepared version of that evening is warmth and hot food; the unprepared version is three jumpers and cold beans. Stock up at the firewood shop, and see the full winter checklist.