Like most homes in fast-growing Rio Rancho, the O'Farrells heat their home with natural gas, which they hope will see no interruptions. As avid campers, they have a gas camp stove and lantern for backup. Dawn cans produce that the family grows in a large garden at the side of the yard. It requires considerable water in this desert climate. One reason for that, Rio Rancho officials say, is that the young city didn't have to rely on old computer technology, and is currently very close to doing its final Y2K testing on the few systems that needed fixing.
Officials expect no interuption of any city services.
Still, Dawn worries that the community, her family and close friends still could suffer because of external, even distant, Y2K failures. One failure, such as a region-wide power outage, could cause a cascade of problems ultimately reaching the family stoop, affecting her home and children, she says. The O'Farrells are most concerned about long-term impacts such as power outages or brownouts in winter, that may cause appliance failures when motors or compressors don't get the required electrical voltage. Dawn plans to continue home schooling in all but the most severe circumstances. In those scenarios her teaching energies might have to be re-directed to the essential tasks of survival, she says.