The final line of severe winter weather and freezing rain produced ice of up to half an inch within areas in the southern region of Arkansas, Entergy Arkansas said in a statement Thursday night.
The ice storm resulted in approximately 53,000 customer outages at the peak on Thursday morning. Currently 42,000 customers are without power.
The state has been hit by multiple waves of winter storm activity since last week. Entergy Arkansas has safely restored approximately 53,000 customer outages since Monday.
The company has identified 58 broken poles, 345 spans of downed wire, and 11 damaged transformers. Most outages are attributed to ice accumulating on trees and tree limbs, causing them to fall onto power lines. Half an inch of ice can increase the weight of a tree limb as much as 30 times, causing limbs to bend, snap or fall. In addition, the extra weight on power lines has caused them to stretch or fall onto roadways or other areas, making conditions dangerous for workers and the public.
The company has 2,800 workers engaged and responding to outages. This includes additional resources that have come to Arkansas from other states to assist with restoration efforts, including scouts, vegetation crews, electricians, track equipment and more.
