As of 5:00 PM Tuesday a total of 5,700 customers in Patrick County were without electricity.
Todd Burns, spokesman for Appalachian Power Company said that nearly 300 Appalachian Power employees are working on the storm outages in Western Virginia. In addition, 320 line personnel from outside of the area, and 240 tree-trimming personnel are working to restore service in the region. Additional line crews are coming from West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. Most customers expected to have service restored by midnight Thursday.
Never touch a downed utility wire, no matter how harmless it looks. It can be difficult to distinguish between a power line and a cable or telephone line. All downed lines should be considered energized and dangerous. And don’t touch anything in contact with the line, such as trees, fences or puddles of water, since they can conduct electricity. Keep children and pets away from this potential hazard. Call Appalachian Power to report any downed lines or equipment.
If you use a portable or RV generator, do not plug the generator into your circuit box. Portable generators “backfeed� electricity up the line and risk the lives of repair workers and the public. Follow the manufacturers’ instructions carefully, and plug essential appliances directly into the generator.
SOURCE: WHEO radio, 1270 AM, Stuart, VA
