‘Stay home.’ Madison, other counties deal with storm damage, blocked roads, outages.
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Ice storm aftermath: Damage and hazards
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Madison County officials declared a state of emergency Thursday after an overnight ice storm slickened roads and downed trees and power lines across the Bluegrass.
“Madison County is currently experiencing power outages and extensive tree debris on roadways throughout the County,” said Madison County Judge Executive Reagan Taylor, in a release. “Declaring a state of emergency enables the County and cities to have the ability to receive reimbursement if assistance is made available for communities impacted by this winter weather storm.”
Just after 11 a.m., Dustin Heisner, the county’s emergency management director, said the county had just over 3,000 residents without power, which was down from an earlier 5,500.
Second Street in Richmond was closed due to downed power lines in the area, Heisner said. The slow lane of I-75 northbound at milemarker 86 was also blocked by crews looking to clean up a tractor-trailer accident.
The weight of ice on trees may still cause them to fall throughout the day even after precipitation has ended, Heisner said.
“We’re still recommending that everyone stay home if they do not have to be out,” Heisner said in a Facebook video earlier Thursday.
Madison County residents looking to report damage, ask questions or send pictures can call 859-624-4756.
County officials across the Bluegrass have strongly advised citizens to keep off roads as many — especially rural roads — may still be slick or may have fallen trees or power lines on them. Clark, Madison and Montgomery counties appeared to be among the hardest hit by power outages in the state.
Power lines block some roads in Clark County
Clark Energy Coop, a energy company providing power to much of Clark and Montgomery Counties, announced that it had over 10,000 outages early Thursday morning.
After 10 a.m., Clark County was tracking close to 2,300 without power, said Steve Asbury, the county’s emergency management director and fire chief. Power lines were down throughout the county and some across roadways, he said.
The rest area on I-64 eastbound in Clark County is closed because a falling tree pulled down a power line, said Transportation Secretary Jim Gray.
Side roads slick in Woodford, Franklin County fares well
Johnny Mills, the deputy director of Woodford County’s Emergency Management Agency, said there were scattered power outages, slick side roads and no reports of major damage.
Roads in Franklin County were slushy in places, but generally passable, said Tom Russell, Franklin County’s emergency management director. Crews were working to clear a tree from Old Lawrenceburg Road and were still working to clear roads in subdivisions in the county as of noon on Thursday, he said. A slight temperature increase would greatly help road clearing efforts, he said.
“Not as many trees came down as I anticipated,” Russell said. He added that he thought the county fared well in the storm and most power outages were resolved or nearly resolved by midday Thursday.
This article may be updated.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 1:26 PM.
