Thousands of Bartholomew County residents faced a second day without power on Friday.
Besides seeing the impacts of large, toppled trees crushing sheds and damaging some homes, uncertainty about how long the power outage would last added stress, weighing heavily on people’s minds.
The storm, which tore through southern Indiana at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday, caused more than 6,300 power outages in the area.
A third of those residents woke up Friday morning still without power. For many, the stress increased with each passing hour.
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Duke Energy, Bartholomew County’s main service provider, anticipated that the vast majority of power would be restored by midnight Friday — the 33-hour mark for the outage.
Crews worked to restore power until about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, said Chip Orben, government and community relations manager for Duke Energy.
With the arrival of daylight Friday morning, more than 570 line workers, damage assessors, tree trimmers and other workers converged on Columbus to resume the effort and speed up restoration.
Lineman maneuvered Friday around a fallen tree at Michael Rush’s home in the 1500 block of Washington Street, where a backyard shed was flattened by his neighbor’s tree.
Rush retained power throughout the night, only to lose it temporarily when Duke crews came to repair electric lines.
His most immediate concern, however, was getting insurance quotes on the damage and removing the tree from his yard, Rush said.
“I’m hoping that a week from today, everything will be back to normal,” he said.
Toppled trees were the main cause of delays in restoring power, because they obstruct the crews and their vehicles, Orben said.
In the wake of Thursday afternoon’s storm, the Bartholomew County Emergency 911 center received 21 reports of trees down in roads.
“We’ve got a lot of tree damage,” Orben said. “We’ve got trees on roofs. We’ve got trees on lines.”
With the ground being wet from a brief afternoon downpour and the trees top-heavy with spring leaves, strong gusts of wind can easily tip trees over, he said.
Damaged trees have to be cleared before crews are able to repair electrical lines and poles.
To speed up restoration in areas completely without power, Duke supplemented local crews with contractors and redeployed crews to areas where they were most needed.
Areas such as nursing homes and hospitals get priority in these situations, Orben said, but crews also paid special attention to local high schools preparing for today’s graduations.
In about 20 areas with high levels of damage around Columbus, about 40 people were typically without power, Orben said.
Some of the most severe damage included a broken electric pole behind the Circle K convenience store at 262 N. Gladstone Ave.
Homes in the surrounding neighborhood were still without of power at noon Friday, and some residents were beginning to lose patience.
Robert Reeve, who lives in the 500 block of Cleveland Street, said he called Duke multiple times in efforts to learn when power would be restored — only to hear prerecorded messages.
“I understand that they have outages,” he said. “But if you work for the public, you’re supposed to serve the public, and that’s not service.”
However, estimated service-restoration times are also available at Duke’s website for specific areas, Orben said.
The power outage was particularly problematic for Reeve and his girlfriend, Belinda Abbett, at their Cleveland Street home.
Abbett has dealt with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, which makes breathing difficult, for more than six years. She requires a constant supply of oxygen and breathing treatments four times a day.
Without electricity, Abbett could not refill her oxygen tank or undergo breathing treatments.
Reeve said he was unaware whether he needed to take Abbett to the hospital because he did not know how long they would be without power.
To ensure she had the supplies she needed, Abbett contacted the company that supplies her oxygen through its emergency number. She was brought six tanks of oxygen to get by, but said she also worried that the lack of air conditioning in her home might irritate her condition.
Abbett said she thinks there should be a policy for people with specific medical needs to contact their electricity providers directly during outages.
There is a such a policy for customers with severe medical conditions that require electricity operated equipment, Orben said.
Customers can request that a special code be put on their account, he said, with the recommendation of a doctor. If approved, this gives them priority during power outages.
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- Stay away from downed power lines and electrical wires. Consider all lines energized, and do not drive over or stand near them.
- Customers who have special needs, such as electric-powered medical equipment, should make arrangements for a backup power supply or relocation during outages.
- Never replace a fuse or touch a circuit breaker with wet hands or while standing on a wet or damp surface.
- Move over and slow down when driving. Drivers are required by law to move over one lane when two or more lanes are available to make room for utility crews. On single-lane roads, drivers must slow down and be prepared to stop.
Source: Duke Energy
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How to determine if food is still safe for consumption following a power outage:
- Check the freezer temperature when the power comes back on. If the thermometer reads 40° F or below, the food is safe and may be refrozen.
- If a thermometer has not been kept in the freezer, check each package of food. If it still contains ice crystals, it is safe to refreeze or cook.
- Refrigerated food should be safe as long as the power was out for no more than four hours and the refrigerator door was kept shut. Discard any perishable food that has been at temperatures above 40° F for two hours or more.
Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
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Estimated repair times for Duke Energy customers are available at www.duke-energy.com.
Customers without power are encouraged to call in and report issues in at 1-800-343-3525.
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“We’ve got a lot of tree damage. We’ve got trees on roofs. We’ve got trees on lines.”
— Chip Orben, Duke Energy spokesman
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