Thousands in this Kentucky county have been without power for more than a week

Thousands of residents in Boyd County have gone without electricity for more than a week and may remain without power until the weekend, officials said Thursday.

The Eastern Kentucky county was hit hard last week during the first of three winter storms. The county had the most outages in the Kentucky Power service area, peaking at 16,000 customers. As of Thursday afternoon, about 11,000 customers remained without power.

Residents stepped up to help by removing fallen trees from roadways, donating hot meals to the warming shelter at the community center and checking in on neighbors.

“People come together in dark times,” Boyd County Judge-Executive Eric Chaney said in an interview Thursday.

In a video posted on Facebook late Wednesday night, Chaney said he could smile a little seeing the outpouring of assistance.

“What I’ve seen over the last 24 hours is groups of individuals that are out cutting trees in the middle of the roadway for no reason other than they want to help,” Chaney said. “I’ve seen people pouring into the convention center today bringing supplies, bringing pillows, bringing hot meals to the 65 families that are down there.”

Gov. Andy Beshear visited the Boyd County Community Center in Catlettsburg on Wednesday afternoon. In a news conference, the governor said the area was the hardest hit in Kentucky during the first two winter storms.

“Here in Kentucky, we are tough and what we’re seeing here in Ashland and Boyd County and the surrounding region is a whole lot of tough Kentuckians coming together to protect and to care about one another,” Beshear said.

The Kentucky National Guard was called in to assist with wellness checks, transport people to warming stations and shelters, provide crews to transport medical staff and remove debris from roads with the Kentucky Division of Forestry.

Chaney said in the southern part of the county, residents were without cell and landline service Thursday. He is worried those who need help will have no way to reach out. The National Guard is going street-by-street to check on residents.

The power outage has been deadly. A 77-year-old woman died Wednesday afternoon after going two days without power and heat, according to Boyd County Coroner Mark Hammond.

Kentucky Power, the utility company for Boyd County and other Eastern Kentucky counties, said in a news release Thursday morning they would concentrate on providing broad restoration times, especially in the counties affected in and around the Ashland area.

“We realize that some customers have been without power since the first storm and we continue to make them a priority,” it stated.

The company has estimated power won’t be fully restored until the weekend.

Stephanie Stidham, a Summit resident, said she lost power for several hours after the first winter storm last week. She lost power again Monday during the second storm, and it hasn’t been restored.

A neighbor’s tree fell, knocking down a power line in her driveway.

Stidman and her son have stayed at her father’s home in Worthington, in Greenup County. Stidman has seven cats, including one that requires daily medication, causing her to trek back and forth to her home and her father’s.

Her home’s indoor temperature is in the 40s. The one night she stayed, she stayed under three blankets with her cats.

Stidman said she is anxious that an outdoor cat she takes care of will step on the downed line.

Like Chaney, Stidman said she has seen her neighbors helping each other. She has checked on her elderly neighbors who have kept warm using a kerosene heater.

“It’s been a mess,” she said. “It’s been exciting to see the county work together.”

Kentucky Power focuses on making repairs that restore power to the largest amount of customers first, but the company is being sensitive to customers who have been without power for an extended period, said Cindy Wiseman, Kentucky Power’s managing director of external affairs and customer services.

Kentucky Power has 2,100 crew members working in Eastern Kentucky. They are also working with drone and helicopter vendors to access damaged power lines in remote areas.

Beshear announced the Kentucky State Police will fly Kentucky Power employees to Eastern Kentucky to assist in power restoration efforts Friday afternoon.

About 30,000 Kentucky Power customers, or 18%,remain without power as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks electricity disruptions.