Grant County still has thousands without lights

Grand County, Arkansas – Thousands of people across the state are still waiting for their lights to come back on as the effects of this week’s ice storm’s power disruptions are still being felt.

In the entire state of Arkansas, around 21,000 consumers are served by the Electric Cooperative.

According to them, 16 of their 21,000 customers still don’t have electricity, and southern counties in the state, such as Jefferson, Lincoln, and Grant County, are experiencing the greatest number of outages.

Rob Roedell with Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas says, “this area was hit very hard. It’s probably the epicenter of this storm.”

Grant County receives assistance from a crew from Ozark, Arkansas, just outside of Sheridan along Highway 165.

Roedell noted 2,500 power outages in Grant County as of Thursday night.

According to Roedell, 125 crew members are working across the state.

According to Roedell, the melting ice is posing some difficulties for employees as it loses the struggle against the sun, but the milder temperatures are helping.

The precise moment when all the power will turn back on is unknown.

“People down in this area down in south Arkansas should prepare for a multiple-day event,” Roedell said.

A 77-year-old guy who was shivering in the dark and suffering from pneumonia was being worked on by the Ozark crew in his backyard.

Near the house, a tree encased in ice is lying in the yard.

His son accompanied him as workmen assisted with power restoration. He expresses gratitude for the employees and expresses even more grateful that his father’s house wasn’t hit by the falling tree.

Roedell focuses on safety because there are still many more outages to fix.

If you observe a downed electrical line, he advises you not to touch it.

Although the lines should be dead, he claims that there may still be deadly stray power in the lines.

Make sure your weather head is in good shape, as Roedell noted as a critical piece of advice.

He claims that if it is broken, workers won’t be able to restore power to your house until it is fixed.