The Roanoke Valley switched gears in dealing with snow and ice from Sunday through Tuesday to tackling the cleanup and handling power outages on Wednesday.
Major power outages forced Appalachian Power to call in reinforcements, including an estimated 650 line workers and tree contractors. Those numbers included outside contractors and out-of-area AEP employees.
45,000 power outages were reported in Virginia at the storm’s peak, with 5,700 still without power on Wednesday evening in our area, the vast majority in Roanoke City and Roanoke County. The Raleigh Court area of Roanoke City was one of the hardest hit areas, and Patrick Henry High School was closed Wednesday as crews worked to restore power.
An Appalachian spokesperson said power may not be restored until Thursday night, or even Friday, in areas where damage is most severe. Fallen trees continued to pose problems throughout the area, blocking roads and leaving homeowners to deal with the significant cleanup.
Bill Turner story/photo