Many residents of Smithville and portions of DeKalb County were without power early Saturday morning because of the winter storm
Charlie Parker, DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency Coordinator, says in most cases tree limbs weighed down by ice and snow, snapped causing them to fall across power lines. Caney Fork Electric also reported problems with a TVA transmission line. “Earlier this morning we had some power outages in the City of Smithville and in the county. We had some trees on power lines that knocked out service. There was also report of a TVA transmission line down. Since then all those (lines) have been fixed that we know of and everyone should have electricity in the city and county. There may be some interruptions throughout the day because the ice is still weighing heavy on power lines and tree limbs and they may continue to fall.”
Road conditions remain hazardous and Parker is advising people to stay home today (Saturday) unless you have to venture out. “The roads are not the best. We’re encouraging people to stay in today as much as they can and not be out and about on the roads. Secondary roads are still very slick due to ice and snow. As far as the primary roads, the city and state (TDOT) have done an excellent job trying to get those cleared off, but many of them are still icy in spots.”
With temperatures expected to plummet tonight (Saturday) into the lower teens, Parker says standby emergency shelters will be established for anyone in need. “We do have some shelters available on stand by. We’ve been trying to get set up this morning (Saturday) where we could have some shelters in case we had to start moving people. If there are problems, we will set up some shelters. We don’t want anyone freezing. If we do open shelters we will notify the radio station. You can call the non emergency number at (central dispatch) 215-3000 if it’s a situation that gets crucial. Anyone with medical emergencies, we will try to address those needs first, make sure we get somebody to them and get them to a shelter or make sure they get heat. If it’s an emergency, you can call 911, the emergency dispatch.”
Sheriff Patrick Ray also cautions motorists not to travel unless it’s absolutely necessary. He says several traffic accidents were reported Friday afternoon and Friday night because of the snow and ice, including some with personal injury.
Meanwhile, if you are an employee of the local hospital, nursing home, or other health care or emergency service in DeKalb County, Sheriff Ray says the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department will be glad to give you a ride to work today (Saturday) if you cannot drive to work on your own because of the hazardous road conditions.
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