Entergy makes headway on reducing outages
Power restoration crews had reduced the number of outages left from Easter Sunday’s severe thunderstorms to fewer than 1,400 in Garland County by nightfall Tuesday.
One of the larger areas still without power at presstime Tuesday, according to Entergy Arkansas’ online outage map, was Quail Creek Road and surrounding roads in the Lakeside area, which had some of the most significant structural damage in the county, at 475 outages.
As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, 2,640 customers were without power in Garland and Montgomery counties, down from just over 6,600, Entergy said in a news release posted online. By 4 p.m., the number had dropped to 2,053, and by presstime, it was down to
1,358.
Restoration crews have been focusing on repairs “with the potential to impact the largest number of customers,” it said.
On Tuesday, power restoration crews were working south Hot Springs in the Valley View, Whispering Hills, Lakeside Road, James Street and Quail Creek areas; out Airport Road to the Pearcy area; and the Thornton Ferry Road areas.
Entergy said late Tuesday the damage was primarily caused by straight-line winds “as strong as tornadoes.”
“Water-saturated ground and the severe winds caused huge trees to uproot and topple onto power lines and broke utility poles in half,” it said in a news release.
In addition to the poles and wire down, the storms damaged approximately 82 substations and knocked
47 different transmission lines out of service, impacting 837 total miles of transmission line in the state. In many cases, the transmission work must be completed before service can be restored to homes and businesses, the utility said.
The city of Hot Springs announced Tuesday it is offering residents free pickup of tree storm debris through May 13.
“It is important that debris be left curbside for pickup, while ensuring it is not placed under any power lines. The debris should be cut in pieces no longer than 6 feet in length and less than 24 inches in diameter. It cannot contain lumber or any non-tree
debris. Any stumps or tree materials larger than the maximum measurements would need to be taken to the Garland County Landfill,” the city said in a news release.
The debris pickups will not count toward the two free pickups a year the Solid Waste Department’s C.A.P.S. program offers. This initiative is a collaboration between the Solid Waste Department and the Stormwater and Street divisions, the release said. To schedule a pickup, call C.A.P.S. at 321-6921.
Entergy said the large line of severe thunderstorms with straight-line winds and tornadoes that passed through Arkansas late Sunday evening caused more than 128,000 customer outages across the state. As of Tuesday morning, Entergy said there were
91,860 customer outages in the state.
“We’ve reached a point in recovering from last weekend’s storms that can be very frustrating for you. The storms have passed, yet power outages remain as we continue our restoration. We know you want to know when your power will be restored. We ask for your patience as we rebuild damaged infrastructure, including poles, wires, substations and major lines,” the release said.
“This is a major restoration effort. We have more than 4,400 workers from within our company and from contractors and our mutual assistance agreements with utilities restoring service for our customers. We continue assessing damage to our transmission system, but we know it has been extensively damaged,” it said.
“Additional resources have been mobilized to assist with the restoration. Restoration may be slower than normal due to
COVID-19 social distancing requirements. Repairs are underway, even as damage is being assessed. Estimated restoration times and area-specific details will be communicated when available as damage assessment continues,” the release said.