News

Storm knocks out power for 1,097, closes schools

By Bill Moss, Published: January 2, 2014

A winter storm packing wind gusts of 50-60 mph knocked out power for around 1,000 Duke Energy customers in Henderson County, closed schools and sent fallen trees onto a few roads.

Duke Energy crews had prepared to deploy to respond to power outages on Thursday and the county emergency management office had its shelter system on standby.

The storm had knocked out power for 1,097 households and businesses, the utility reported, the most outages of any county in Duke's service area in the Carolinas. Spartanburg County had 1,068 outages.
"We're in the area where they are predicting sustained winds of 20-40, and gusts of 50-60 just after dark and through the evening and through the early morning hours," Henderson County Fire Marshal Wally Hollis said Thursday afternoon. "They don't expect any snow in this area. We're in the high wind and very cold area, they're talking about."

 Fallen trees and scattered power outages are likely, the weather service said.

"We’re got our local crews on standby," said Craig DeBrew, a Duke Energy district manager. "We’ve alerted them to the situation so they'll come in early morning being ready to respond. From a Duke Energy Carolinas perspective it would be a fairly isolated and we’ll be able to pull from Duke crews and other contractors. ... Our typ go-to area is Greenville-Spartanburg."

Wind chills could reach as low as minus-1 early Friday, the National Weather Service said, and blustery conditions were forecast to last through Friday. By Friday night the high winds should subside. The high was expected to reach only 30 on Friday and then 39 on Saturday.
"We have the shelter team on stand by" in case of widespread power outages, Hollis said. "The first thing they'd do if there's just a few here and there is they'll try to place them in hotels."
If there is more demand, the Emergency Management Department would open the American Red Cross as a shelter and after that First Baptist Church, he said.
Duke Energy crews "work independently from us," he said. "But we're in close contact with them."
His advice was to stay inside.
"Stay home unless you absolutely have to go out," he said, "and make sure you have alternative heat and food supplies, nonperishable food that can be eaten without it being heated."