Big Sandy region recovering from ice, snow storms
A tree fell on a power line at Pigeon in Johnson County during last week’s weather event. Big Sandy RECC crews worked the area Monday to restore power service.
By TONY FYFFE
BSN Editor
Volunteers with Appalachia Reach Out helped deliver much-needed items to Lawrence County Monday.
LOUISA – The ice and snow have melted from last week’s winter storms in the Big Sandy region, but the after-effects remained Tuesday for thousands of residents who were still without power.
Freezing rain early last week resulted in significant ice accumulations in the region and knocked out electricity to thousands of power customers, while snow added to the mix later in the week.
The major weather events came after a similar ice storm the previous week that affected more than 6,000 Kentucky Power Company customers.
Last week’s storms were more severe and caused much more damage to power lines, as more than 51,000 Kentucky Power customers were without electricity by 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, according to the company.
The number included 7,635 in Lawrence County, 2,744 in Johnson County, 2,199 in Floyd County and 861 in Martin County.
“Outages peaked around 11:30 a.m. today at 59,204 customers,” the company said Feb. 16. “There are more than 800 outages or places where crews will need to address. Customers without power are spread out over multiple counties but the majority of them are in Boyd, Carter and Lawrence counties.”
The company reported Monday at 6:30 p.m. that 7,700 customers remained without electricity, including 2,700 in Lawrence County. Power to most Lawrence County customers will be restored by today (Wednesday), the company said.
Big Sandy RECC reported on the morning of Feb. 16 that around 8,500 of its members did not have electricity, including 4,100 in Johnson County, 3,000 in Floyd County, 785 in Martin County and 453 in Lawrence County.
“All of our crews are working and several mutual aid crews are currently enroute to assist,” the cooperative said. “We understand all your frustration as most of our employees are without power as well. Please be patient, as our phone lines are overwhelmed.”
By Monday afternoon, Big Sandy RECC had restored power to all but 2,460 members, according to President and General Manager Bruce Davis, who told WSAZ-TV that crews had done a “tremendous job” replacing 200-plus broken lines.
Numerous warming shelters were set up in the Big Sandy region to help residents who did not have power.
Also experiencing damage last week was Foothills Communications, which will begin replacing utility poles and cable on Ky. 32 in Lawrence County today at 9 a.m. The work is expected to take four to six hours if there are no unforeseen complications. Motorists should expect long delays at the work-zone site.
Ryan Litteral, Foothills’ staking engineer, said the company’s facilities suffered significant damage during last week’s ice storm, with one of its hardest-hit areas being along Ky. 32.
“We have a pole route that carries our cable along KY 32 which has several broken poles in the Adams Hill area from mile point 20.3 to mile point 21.1. We will make every attempt possible to minimize disruptions to traffic while we replace these poles and the cable that runs through this area.”
Trucks and equipment will block both lanes of the work zone for long periods of time. Traffic control will be maintained by flaggers from the Dry Ridge Road area at mile point 20.3 to the intersection with KY 1760 near mile point 21.1.
“We apologize for the temporary inconvenience,” Litteral said, “but this work is necessary to restore service to Foothills customers. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding.”
The National Weather Service said that 3 to 5 inches of snow and 0.2 to 0.4 inches of ice were reported in Lawrence County during last week’s weather event.
Other snowfall totals in the region included 4 inches at Thelma in Johnson County, 2 inches in Paintsville, 3.5 inches in Prestonsburg and 3.8 inches in Inez.
Freezing rain accumulations included 0.50 inches at Stambaugh in Johnson County, 0.25 inches at Bays Branch in Floyd County and 0.33 inches in Inez, the National Weather Service said.