CHEROKEE COUNTY, Texas (East Texas News) – Electric crews were in full restoration mode in Cherokee County on Saturday morning, according to Tom Trimble of Oncor.
Trimble said there was extensive damage to trees and power poles in the Jacksonville and Rusk areas.
At the peak, 5,200 customers were without power in Cherokee County. By 11:55 a.m., 3,730 Oncor customers remained without electricity.
Trimble said hundreds of crews are working to restore service. Oncor activated its Tyler Storm Center on Friday afternoon.
SWEPCO Outages
By 10:30 a.m. Saturday, roughly 17,000 SWEPCO customers were without power across southern Arkansas, northwest Louisiana, and eastern Texas. The hardest-hit areas were Carthage, Henderson, and Atlanta.
“Crews are actively assessing the damage and restoring power where it is safe to do so. This is a prolonged and historic weather event, and customers should also stay prepared as this storm could intensify as we move into the weekend,” the company said in a statement.
SWEPCO employs more than 6,300 workers responding to the outages, including line workers and vegetation management crews.
Outage counts (noon Saturday)
Rusk County: 6,666 customers.
Shelby County: 5,342 customers.
Panola County: 5,257 customers.
Cherokee County: 3,928 customers.
Cass County: 3,127 customers.
Nacogdoches County: 2,620 customers.
Morris County: 1,027 customers.
Titus County: 528 customers.
Hopkins County: 479 customers.
Smith County: 471 customers.
Bowie-Cass Electric expects more outages.
The Bowie-Cass Electric Cooperative reports that 4,414 meters are without power due to ice buildup on lines, trees and other equipment.
“As the day progresses, more outages are likely to occur,” the company said in a statement. “Additionally, with daylight, we will be able to get a clearer picture of the current extent of the damage.”
The Bond and Lone Star substations are offline due to a tree falling on transmission lines, according to the company.
Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative: Ice on Shelby County lines
Crews report ice on the electric lines in Shelby County, according to Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative. The company said crews are working to restore power “as soon as possible.”
