We're getting side-tracked a bit here. In this case: it happened in an area where most folks are accustomed to mild weather year-round and I don't recall seeing

We're getting side-tracked a bit here. In this case: it happened in an area where most folks are accustomed to mild weather year-round and I don't recall seeing even a single box of food kept outside; I was out for propane, and only noted a few other things that got hard to find much more quickly than expected; the power outage itself lasted until long after the freezing conditions did, because the outage was caused by massive tree destruction that took out power infrastructure over a large area. This happened back in January and there are still cleanups happening here and there from it. The bell curve for outages seemed to be a few days at the least, to about 5 to 10 days for most, to about three weeks for some in outlying areas. You can find some reasonable articles by searching for "2024 oregon ice storm". In any case, point was, whatever supplies you think you'll need for an extended power outage are likely to become scarce really quickly.