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Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009

Crews gradually restoring power

More than 72 hours have passed since people began losing power. Hundreds of thousands are still without it, but thousands have regained power and have tried to piece things back together.

Here's a rundown on how parts of the state are doing:

Boyle County

On Friday afternoon, Kentucky Utilities reported that 6,950 Danville residents were still without power.

Water treatment was up and running Friday, but residents were urged to conserve usage so towers could refill to appropriate levels. A boil-water advisory was also in effect.

The American Red Cross office on Third Street handed out free gallon jugs of water to people Friday afternoon.

Among those getting water was Lee Stratton of Mitchellsburg, who has been at home helping care for four children — ages 14, 13, 8 and a 1-month-old. Stratton works at a local car dealership, but hasn't worked since the ice storm.

"We don't have any heat other than a little wood burner. No lights," he said. "We've got candles."

He added: "All the expenses and no money coming in is making it pretty rough."

Chad Boyd of Danville was also there. Boyd said he, his wife and two kids, ages 5 and 1, have been staying with eight other people in a one-bedroom apartment in Junction City.

"It's been awful. We've been staying with some people but they've got so many there they're starting to run out of stuff, too," Boyd said. "The kids are getting impatient because they don't have anything to do. They're kind of getting aggravated and tired of being in the house all the time."

"I'm ready to see it gone," Boyd said of the ice.

Garrard County

In Garrard County, outside the city of Lancaster, "We still have around 2,000 customers in Garrard County alone without electricity," said David East, deputy director of emergency management.

The boil-water advisory for Lancaster was lifted Friday afternoon. However, customers with Garrard County Water Association were under a boil-water advisory.

Garrard County schools will be closed Monday and Tuesday. Power still has not been restored to Paint Lick Elementary.

And while county roads may be passable for a single vehicle, they are not passable for school buses or larger vehicles. A two-story frame house, which was unoccupied at the time, was destroyed by fire in the Buckeye community Thursday night because tanker trucks could not get to the scene, Judge-Executive John Wilson said.

Some 39 county roads were opened Friday. Wilson, County Attorney Jeff Moss and other county employees were out helping to clear debris from county roads, in addition to National Guard units and inmates from the Lincoln County jail.

"We've got all hands on deck trying to make sure these roads are cleared," Wilson said. "Even our ambulance drivers are out with chain saws."

County officials still ask people to stay off the roads. However, if residents need to get the basics, "now is the time to do it," East said.

"We are expecting some severe weather later this weekend," East said. "We're looking at the possibility of four inches of snow Sunday and Monday."

Jessamine County

Perhaps 3,000 to 4,000 people in Jessamine County are without power in the unincorporated areas of the county and the city of Wilmore, said John Carpenter, emergency manager director for Jessamine.

Frank Hubbard, emergency management director for Nicholasville, said about 20 percent of the households remained without electricity. The outages are primarily on the west side of town.

A crew of independent contractors from Kansas, who arrived in town Thursday, was helping restore power Friday, Hubbard said.

Madison County

About 12,500 Kentucky Utilities customers in Berea and Richmond were without power on Friday morning, said Kelley McBride, spokeswoman for Madison County Emergency Management.

Madison County Judge-Executive Kent Clark said crews had cleared the 620 miles of roads throughout the county by 7 p.m. Thursday. Workers will continue to clear the roads through the weekend.

Corey Lewis of the Richmond Fire Department said Richmond firefighters had gone on 335 runs since Tuesday. They have transported residents to shelters, cleared downed power lines, and responded to water problems and other issues. Only six of those calls were for structure fires.