Deloris Sanchez, 56, and Mallissa Lee, 52, take refuge at the Gallery Furniture store on Feb. 18, 2021. The extreme winter weather caused an extended power outage in Texas. The furniture store opened its doors to bring warmth to people. (Go Nakamura/Getty Images)
Many residents in Texas were left without water, electricity and heat for several days after extreme winter weather caused extended power outages. A Houston furniture store chain opened the doors of its two stores again to provide warmth to local residents.
Jim McIngvale, owner of the Texas furniture store Gallery Furniture, said Wednesday (Feb. 17) that he has once again decided to turn his two stores into temporary shelters and warming centers, providing Food, hot drinks, blankets and warm clothing to the local community. clothing.
“A lot of people are without electricity. Come to us until the power is restored.” McKinville told KPRC-TV.
As of Thursday, the extreme weather had killed at least 40 people in the United States. Some of those people are from the country’s central and southern states. Faced with record-breaking extreme weather without power and heat, they tried to keep warm in their own way, which unfortunately led to accidents and even death.
In the Houston area, one Family died of carbon monoxide poisoning after staying in a car parked in the garage (to keep warm); according to authorities, a 75-year-old woman and her three grandchildren gathered around a fireplace to keep warm, which resulted in a fire that killed them all.
The Texas power supply was put on maximum alert for the first Time between the night of Feb. 14 and Feb. 15. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the nonprofit organization that operates the state’s power grid, began rolling out blackouts to conserve power during the winter storm.
Furniture store owner repeatedly “sends relief”
“It’s cold and windy, so we’re opening our doors to Houstonians.” “Instead of complaining about what you should be doing, you should be doing something that’s good for the community,” McKinville said in an interview with ABC13.
“Get people to come here. Whether they want to stay here for two hours until their power is restored or they want to stay for two days, we’re here to serve the community.” He continued.
McKinville is known as the “Mattress Mack” in the Houston area. The two Gallery Furniture locations, at 6006 North Houston Highway and 7227 West Grand Parkway South in Richmond, both have 24-hour security, he said.
According to KPRC-TV, the owner said the temporary shelter will follow Epidemic prevention regulations to curb the spread of COVID-19, a disease caused by the Chinese Communist virus.
He said people can’t bring their pets to the warming center.
This is not the first time McKinville has converted some of his stores into warming delivery centers when needed.
In September 2019, he turned his mattress showroom into a temporary shelter during Tropical Storm Imelda, which ravaged the area. Prior to that in 2017, he did the same thing for homeless Texans during Hurricane Harvey’s landfall and made headlines.
The extreme weather was caused by a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event in the Arctic polar vortex starting Jan. 5.
The link between the SSW event and climate change is unclear. According to a recent publication by climate.gov, ETH climate researcher Daniela Domeisen said, “There has been little trend in SSW frequency over the past few centuries.”
Amy Butler, a researcher at NOAA’s Chemical Sciences Laboratory, added that using climate change to explain this SSW doesn’t make sense.
In a press release issued over the weekend, ERCOT advised residents to set thermostats to 68 (F) degrees or lower when possible; close curtains and blinds to reduce heat loss through windows; turn off and unplug non-essential lights and appliances, and avoid large appliances such as ovens and washing machines.
McGinville told Fox & Friends on Thursday that he expects as many as 100 Texans to come to his warming center over the next two days.
“The nature of Life is to give.” He added.
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