Updated: Lexington mayor urges patience as power outages persist. Restoration efforts ongoing

Christopher Leach, Beth Musgrave

Mayor Linda Gorton urged patience as the city recovered from Friday storms that knocked out power to thousands in Fayette County, downed trees and power lines and caused millions of dollars in damage.

“I know for some people are frustrated,” Gorton said during a press conference Monday at the Kentucky Horse Park, where Kentucky Utilities was staging its storm relief efforts. Gorton said the strong winds resulted in extensive damage throughout Fayette County and the state, causing problems with power restoration efforts.

“We are getting it done but we urge patience,” Gorton said.

Gorton, who also does not have power at her Lexington home, said many intersections and roads are still closed due to fallen trees and debris that still have downed power lines mixed in. Kentucky Utilities and the city are working to get those roads back open, she said.

The city and the Red Cross are working to help those with medical issues without power find shelter. People can call 3-1-1 if they have a medical need and still don’t have power. As of Monday, Gorton said the city had received 63 calls from people who need medical assistance.

In addition, FoodChain, at 501 W. 6th Street, is preparing meals for people who may have lost food but don’t have the money to replace lost food items. The city is also reaching out to local food pantries to try to figure out a way for people who need food to get it.

Gorton said she will declare a local state of emergency, which can help with processing damage claims. The city is still collecting information from private homeowners and businesses on damages. The amount of total damages is still not available but Gorton said preliminary information shows it will be in the millions.

“It’s going to take a huge effort to get some of these buildings back,” Gorton said of some of the damages. “This is an all hands on deck situation.”

Fayette County had more than 25,000 customers still without power as of 2 p.m. Monday, according to poweroutage.us, a website that tracks power outages across the U.S. Across the state, more than 110,000 were still without power.

Majority of LG&E and KU customers have power restored

As of Monday afternoon, 76% of the LG&E and KU customers who lost power from Friday’s wind storm have had their power restored, according to the electric company.

LG&E and KU said those numbers can fluctuate, but that figure has improved since Sunday evening. The electric company also said estimated restoration times have been posted for those still without power.

As of 2 p.m., 27,985 LG&E and KU customers were without power in Fayette County, according to the electric company’s outage map.

Estimated power restoration times for residents without power are now available, LG&E and KU announced in a Facebook post Sunday evening. The electric company said people can track their estimated restoration process by viewing the outage map on the company’s app or online website.

The company said restorations times were available for all customers on the company’s online outage map.

“An important caveat is that each outage job is different and presents its own unique challenges for our crews, which is why estimated restoration times can vary by customer,” LG&E and KU said in the Facebook post.

Tornado cleanup in McCracken County

Residents in Western Kentucky were cleaning up damage Monday from a tornado that hit McCracken County during the storm. A state of emergency was declared in the county after the storm.

Gov. Andy Beshear visited the area to survey damage.

A house near Fremont, Ky., was destroyed by a tornado on Friday, March 3, 2023.
A house near Fremont, Ky., was destroyed by a tornado on Friday, March 3, 2023.
Aileen Guillermo, a student at Trinity Christian College in Illinois, helps clean up near Fremont, Ky., on Monday, March 6, 2023, following a tornado that struck the community in McCracken County three days prior.
Aileen Guillermo, a student at Trinity Christian College in Illinois, helps clean up near Fremont, Ky., on Monday, March 6, 2023, following a tornado that struck the community in McCracken County three days prior.

Power nearly fully restored in Eastern Kentucky

Power in Eastern Kentucky has almost been fully restored, as a spokesperson for Kentucky Power said Monday there are approximately 200 Eastern Kentucky customers without power.

That number peaked at roughly 18,000 in the immediate aftermath of the storm, according to Kentucky Power. More than 700 Kentucky Power personnel, business partners and external resources responded to restore power.

How to handle storm debris removal in Lexington

Gorton said people can put smaller storm debris in yard waste disposal bins.

Debris can also be brought to the curb with some limitations. Debris can be no longer than 12 feet in length, and 16 inches in diameter. Debris will not be picked up curbside until the city’s Streets and Roads crews finish clearing streets. Do not put storm debris into the street and do not block the sidewalk.

In addition, people can bring debris to Old Frankfort Pike Landfill, 1631 Old Frankfort Pike, at no charge. The site will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday, Gorton said.

Updated power outages statewide

More than 48 hours after Friday’s historic wind storm blew through Kentucky, over 100,000 customers were still without power, according to poweroutage.us, a website that tracks power outages across the United States.

Kentucky was reporting the most outages of any state in the country Monday, according to poweroutage.us. At its peak, the number of outages in Kentucky was around 400,000.

Fayette County still had more than 25,000 outages Monday. Other counties that were hit particularly hard included Jefferson, Edmonson, Hart and Woodford counties.

“Today is the day we are going to see a lot more progress and our target is to have everybody in Louisville and Lexington back up Wednesday by 11 p.m.,” said Daniel Lowry, a spokesperson for KU.

‘We believe that a lot of people will get power today’

Gov. Andy Beshear said in a Monday morning news conference that greater progress is expected to be made on power restoration.

“We believe that a lot of people will get power today,” Beshear said.

Beshear said officials initially focused on ensuring safety in the immediate aftermath of the storm to prevent further injuries or deaths. Now that that’s handled, Beshear expects a lot of progress to be made Monday regarding restoring power.

Nearly 125,000 across the state were still without power Monday morning, Beshear said. He also added that 5,598 homes and businesses were under a boil water advisory and 307 homes and businesses were without water.

“That’s a very small number,” Beshear said regarding the homes and businesses without water.

Beshear said he expects the damage from Friday’s storm to qualify for a federal disaster declaration on the public assistance side. In total, 64 counties and 19 cities have declared a state of emergency from the storm’s damage.

Lexington police using inverters to power traffic lights

As of 1 a.m. Monday, 26 intersections in Lexington remained without power and were being powered by an inverter, according to Lexington police.

Some of the more notable intersections being powered by an inverter are Harrodsburg Road and New Circle Road; Tates Creek Road and Alumni Drive and Harrodsburg Road and Clays Mill Road.

Grocery store in Lexington still without power

Good Foods Co-Op, an organic grocery store cooperative on Southland Drive, remains closed Monday due to a power outage, the grocery store announced in a Facebook post.

The store has been closed since 7 p.m. Friday due to a power outage in the surrounding neighborhood.

Fayette County Public Schools closed Monday

Fayette County Public Schools are closed Monday because of power outages and storm damage, district officials said Sunday evening.

“At this time, we have at least 21 schools that either have no electricity, internet service outages, damage to their facility needing repair before reentry, power lines down in the area, or trees and debris preventing access to their campuses,” the district said in a Facebook post. “Crews from FCPS and Kentucky Utilities are working diligently to fix the issues.”

FCPS said that school would be canceled on Monday and the district would not use an NTI day for at-home instruction.

CATCH UP

Advertisement