What to Do When the Power Goes Out: The First 24 Hours

First, pause and get a clear picture.

Before you start opening drawers or moving food, take one slow look around. Check who is home, whether anyone needs help moving safely in the dark, and whether an alarm, smell, fallen line, or damage makes the situation more urgent. If you see a downed line, stay well away and call emergency services or the utility. Do not assume a line is safe because it is quiet or looks inactive.

Use a flashlight or battery lantern. The CDC recommends battery-powered lights instead of candles because a familiar room still becomes a fire risk when it is dark and everyone is tired. Put one reliable light where people are walking, and keep another close to the person who may need to move around most.

Then find out how wide the problem is. Look outside from a safe place, check the utility’s outage information if your phone has service, and listen for local weather or emergency alerts. You do not need a perfect restoration time before you act. You only need enough information to decide whether this looks like a short interruption, a storm-related disruption, or something that may affect your household through the night.

Make people the first priority.

A power outage is harder on some households than others. Start by noticing the needs that cannot wait: powered medical equipment, refrigerated medicine, infant feeding, mobility, oxygen, heat sensitivity, cold sensitivity, a well pump, a garage door, or a person who is alone. A simple message to a neighbour, family member, or support person can turn a private problem into a shared plan.

The American Red Cross advises households to think through electrical and non-electrical alternatives for medical devices, communication, cooking, locks, elevators, and refrigerated medicine before an outage happens. During one, call the relevant care provider or pharmacist for medicine-specific guidance rather than guessing. If the home is becoming too hot or too cold, or a medical need cannot be met safely, move early to a friend’s home, a public cooling or warming space, or another safe location.

Keep the first check-in practical. Who is here? Who is alone? Who needs a call? What is the weather doing? That is enough to start. You can make the longer plan after the household is steady.

Protect phone power and useful information.

Your phone is more valuable as an information and connection tool than as entertainment during an outage. Lower the screen brightness, switch to a battery-saving mode, close apps you do not need, and use short messages when a call is not necessary. Keep a charging cable and charged power bank in one known place. If service is crowded, a brief text can often get through when a long call will not.

Write down important numbers on paper while you still can: the utility, a local contact, a medical provider, and someone outside your immediate area. A battery or hand-crank radio is useful when cellular service is weak, but even a paper list and a simple plan keep you from relying on one device and one network.

Give the household one agreed update point. For example, decide that everyone will check messages at the top of each hour rather than draining batteries and nerves all evening. If children are with you, explain what is happening in plain language and give them a small job, such as keeping flashlights together or choosing books for the evening. A little structure makes the room feel less uncertain.

Keep the refrigerator and freezer closed.

Food safety is one of the few parts of an outage with useful time limits, so this is a good place to be disciplined. Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. The CDC says an unopened refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours. A full freezer can keep food safe for about 48 hours, or about 24 hours when it is half full, as long as the door stays shut.

That means the first move is not to inventory the fridge. Put a note or a piece of tape on the handle if it helps everyone remember. Eat shelf-stable food first. If the outage looks likely to continue, use a cooler with ice for the food you need to access, rather than repeatedly opening the refrigerator. A thermometer kept in the refrigerator, freezer, or cooler gives better information than touch or smell alone.

When the power has been out four hours or more, discard refrigerated perishables such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and leftovers. Frozen food that still has ice crystals or feels refrigerator-cold may be safe to cook or refreeze. For a more item-by-item decision, use FoodSafety.gov’s outage chart. Do not taste food to decide whether it is safe.

Be careful with water, heat, cooking, and carbon monoxide.

What still works at your home depends on how it is built and connected. If you use a well pump, electric water heater, elevator, electric garage door, or electric cooking, an outage may change more than the lights. Treat water as a priority. Keep drinking water available for people and pets, and pay attention to local notices about water systems or boiling guidance after a storm.

Never turn the kitchen into an improvised heating system. The CDC is clear: do not use a gas range or oven to heat a home. Generators, charcoal grills, camp stoves, and gasoline-powered engines stay outside, well away from doors, windows, and vents. Carbon monoxide has no smell or colour. A battery-powered or battery-backup carbon monoxide alarm is not an accessory, it is part of using fuel safely when the power is out.

If it is hot, find the coolest safe room, close curtains against direct sun, drink water, and move to an air-conditioned public space before heat becomes dangerous. If it is cold, close off unused rooms, layer clothing and blankets, and stay together in the safest warm area. When indoor conditions become unsafe, leaving is the sensible choice, not a failure of preparation.

Unplug what should not restart all at once.

Turn off or unplug appliances and electronics that were in use when the power failed, especially cooking equipment and sensitive electronics. This lowers the chance of a sudden load when service returns and helps protect against a surge. The California Public Utilities Commission advises turning appliances back on one at a time after restoration.

Leave one light switched on so you know when power returns. Then restore only the essentials first: heating or cooling if needed, the refrigerator, a phone charger, and any important medical equipment. Walk through the home before returning to normal use. If you smell gas, see water around electrical equipment, or find a tripped breaker that you do not understand, stop and get qualified help.

Use the first night to make a simple plan for tomorrow.

Once the immediate work is done, resist the urge to solve every possible future scenario. Decide only what you need for the next stretch of time. Is there enough drinking water? Who will check the alerts? Where will everyone sleep if the house is warm or cold? What food can be eaten without opening the fridge? Which neighbour or family member should hear from you in the morning?

This is also the time to think about what the outage reveals. A power bank that is never charged, a flashlight with missing batteries, a medicine that needs cold storage, or a contact number stored only in a phone is not a personal failure. It is useful information. Add it to a short list for later, then return to the essentials in front of you.

For a practical first pass before the next outage, use the free preparedness checklist. It is built around water, light, warmth, food, health, and people because those needs remain useful whether an outage is brief, weather-related, or part of a wider disruption.

A short power outage checklist.

1. Check people and hazards. Help anyone who needs support, and stay away from fallen lines or damage.
2. Use safe light. Reach for flashlights and battery lanterns before candles.
3. Get clear information. Check the utility, local alerts, and weather without draining your phone.
4. Keep cold food cold. Close refrigerator and freezer doors, then use a cooler for the food you need.
5. Protect health and temperature needs. Make the call or move to a safer place before a need becomes urgent.
6. Use fuel outdoors only. Never heat a home with a stove or oven, and keep generators far from openings.
7. Plan the next stretch. Decide what the household needs for the next few hours, then rest where you can.