Ice storm creating havoc in county

MOUNT VERNON — For the second day in a row, schools in Knox County and surrounding areas have canceled classes, and traffic moved slowly and cautiously along ice-covered roads taking employees to work.
Freezing rain fell throughout the county during most of the day on Tuesday adding to the layer of ice that accumulated overnight on Monday.
Predictions from the National Weather Service suggested Knox County would see more snow than ice and freezing rain, but the track of the storm pelted the area with freezing rain. Temperatures this morning started out near 40 degrees but are expected to drop today with the addition of high winds.
The weight of the ice took its toll on trees, and residents, as branches and trees fell on power lines creating power outages all over the county.
The Energy Cooperative had 8,000 members without power overnight. As of 5:30 this morning, 1,500 customers in Knox County remained without power. No timeline has been set to restore electric service, however, crews have been requested from other areas in Ohio to assist the cooperative.
According to a spokesperson from American Electric Power Ohio, ice and weather conditions overnight resulted in power outages all over central Ohio. As of 8 a.m., 4,300 AEP customers in Knox County remained in the dark. With wind gusts up to 45 miles per hour expected today, officials from AEP expect additional outages to occur.
With assistance from crews from Athens and Chillicothe, AEP expects to have all customers reconnected by noon on Friday.
“Our storm damage is spread through the county. There’s no one specific area that has been hit harder than the others,” said Brian Hess, director of the Knox County Emergency Management Agency. “What we are looking at now is limbs down and some of the power lines and telephone lines. The ice remains on them and the wind is picking up, so they are starting to sway and arc.
“We have had a couple reports of telephone pole fires; they are isolated, four or five around the county. We have one first responder apparatus that is currently in the ditch. Right now it’s a lot of headache type stuff. Depending on how bad the winds get, and how quickly these temperatures drop, it will be easier to gauge exactly where we go from here.”
Hess said a meeting with community leaders prior to the storm was very helpful.
“Not that it told us what was coming as far as the storm, because that’s the weather service’s best guess, but the fact that we were able to get various community members together and have a meeting and talk about the forefront of everything rather than during the middle of the storm allowed us to get on the same page before this happened and helped with communication that way. Communication is the number one key to everything. If everyone has the same goal, you’re going to return to a state of normalcy a lot faster.”
Hess said this morning he was waiting on the National Weather Service to contact him regarding today’s weather expectations.
“The last report was that if we get to one o’clock today, we should be in the clear. We’re looking at some winds until then, and temperatures dropping, and maybe an inch or two inches of snow. After 1 p.m. we should be in the clear for the worst of it.”
While Knox County remains under a Level 1 snow alert, the greatest concern for motorist safety remains navigation on the ice.
Hess said no emergency shelters are open at this time; that is done on an as-needed basis.
“I do plan on making contact with the Red Cross, our biggest resource, and determining where we will place them, based on where the most [power outages] are. When we get some calls in for a need or reports from the fire departments that we have some displaced individuals that don’t have any heat, we will accommodate them at that time.”
“Potential sites — schools, churches, township houses, various other sites — are already identified all over the county to accommodate these needs. I will assess where the need is, based on feedback from either calls to the dispatch center or first responders out on scenes, that are telling me individuals are displaced. We can react to that and get something set up to facilitate their needs.”
“With regard to shut-ins, we coordinate with the fire department and other first responders when a need or person is identified. If an elderly person, for example, or a special-needs person who is currently out of heat or is shut in, has no way to get to the grocery store or has no relatives around, based on that need, we would accommodate them either with a shelter or bring them the resources they need or take them someplace there is heat.”
Hess advises residents to keep an eye on neighbors, especially those who would be adversely affected by power outages and dangerous weather.
“The best thing you can do is be a good neighbor. Check on your neighbors. Make sure they are all safe. Check especially elderly or special needs, and then report that to us. Then we’ll be able to help.”