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Ice storm keeps locals busy

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Fire trucks and other emergency crews were kept hopping over the weekend as Mother Nature blew an icy storm into Fayette County, causing hundreds of residents to lose power.

The storm caused headaches for many Fayette residents who were looking to enjoy their weekend. Many who had set their sights on attending the Kiwanis Annual Pancake Day benefit hopes were dashed when they learned the beloved event had to be rescheduled due to the storm.

Between Friday and Sunday, the Fayetteville Fire Department responded to 56 calls for help, largely downed power line calls. The Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services personnel responded to 120 calls for help.

Luckily, no major injuries, accidents or weather-related disasters were reported, city and county fire officials said. The most significant damage reported came 4:30 p.m. Saturday when a portion of a carport fell on top of a vehicle on Swanbrook Drive in Fayetteville. The roof grew heavy as ice accumulated on top and toppled over, city fire officials said.

“With the storms, we ran a lot of power lines down and tree limbs down, but nothing significant,” Fayetteville Fire Department spokesman Lt. Bill Rieck said. “We’re lucky, other than a few people being without power and the inconveniences that might bring.”

During inclement weather, Rieck said the department generally calls in another shift of fireman to help handle the call volume. Last weekend was no exception. Every hand came in handy.

The roads were not only treacherous for everyday residents. The roads were equally hazardous for the firemen, who worked hard to navigate through the icy streets of Fayetteville and Fayette County.

But many of the firemen will shrug it off when asked: They say they are used to it.

Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Capt. Pete Nelms indicated the bulk of the county’s weather woes arrived at 4 a.m. Saturday when the power outages began.

Many residents remained without power through Monday morning. But electric officials pledged to have most of the affected residents power restored by midnight Monday.

“Icing on trees snapped limbs and took trees down. Many of them striking power lines. This caused power outages in many parts of Fayette County,” Nelms said. “There was no significant damage to critical infrastructure, homes or businesses.”

Georgia Power reported that about 250,000 in the Atlanta metro area lost power. And as of 5 p.m. Monday, there were 2,800 outages, said Mike Tyndall, spokesman for Georgia Power.

“That number is going down very rapidly,” Tyndall said Monday. “We expect all power outages relating to the ice storm to be restored, not only in your area, but across the state by the end of the day.

Peachtree City fire officials indicated much of their residents dodged a bullet. Many of their residents were not affected by the ice storm.

“Most of the utilities in Peachtree City are underground,” Peachtree City Assistant Fire Chief Ed Eiswerth said. “This has drastically lowered the number of calls for “wires down” compared to other local departments.”