Long lines, long wait for power after ice storm

updated 6:05 p.m. ET Jan. 29, 2009

CADIZ, Ky. - Hundreds of thousands of ice storm victims hunkered down in frigid homes and shelters Thursday, expecting to spend at least a week without power and waiting in long lines to buy generators, firewood, groceries and bottled water.

Utility companies in Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Arkansas and West Virginia warned that many of the estimated 1.3 million homes and businesses left without electricity wouldn't have power back before Saturday at the earliest, and at worst, as late as mid-February.

Utilities typically count 3 or 4 people per home so the outage in terms of people is significantly greater than 1.3 million homes and businesses.

Already, the situation was becoming dire for some communities in Kentucky, where the power outages crippled pumping stations and cut off access to water.

Unsure about supplies
Tracie and Jeff Augustinovich drove 15 miles from their home in the western Kentucky town of Rock Castle to buy groceries. Their home had very little running water, and though they stocked up before the storm, they weren't sure their supplies will last.

"We're buying up anything that we can eat cold," Tracie Augustinovich said.

For heat, the couple were using a kerosene heater loaned to them by a friend — at least until the fuel runs out. When it does, she said, they would go to a shelter.

At a Pep Boys in Louisville, Jason Breckinridge scored one of the last 5,500-watt generators for his elderly parents after putting his name on a waiting list. "Man, this thing is huge," he said as he wedged it in the back seat, "but we'll find a way to get it out and get it hooked up."

Utility crews found themselves up against roads blocked by ice-caked power lines, downed trees and other debris. Help from around the country was arriving in convoys to assist the states with the worst outages. But with so many homes and businesses in the dark — there were more than 600,000 across Kentucky alone — the effort is still expected to take days, if not weeks.

The hardest-hit states were Kentucky and Arkansas, where 352,000 customers lacked power Thursday. Late Wednesday, President Barack Obama signed requests from Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe for federal emergency declarations.

The Kentucky outages set a record for that state, topping the black out caused last year by the remnants of Hurricane Ike.

Restore some, lose others
At a mall turned into a staging area in Barboursville, W.Va., crews in hard hats met alongside piles of poles, generators, wire and other supplies to find out where to go first.

"We're attacking it head on," said Appalachian Power spokesman Phil Moye. "As long as the ice is still on the trees, the storm is still here."

St. Louis-based AmerenUE said it had added 800 workers to its efforts to restore power in southeast Missouri, and another 800 were expected Friday.

"As we restore some, we're losing others. The ice is just so treacherous," said utility spokeswoman Susan Gallagher.

Hundreds of shelters opened their doors, and deputies in some communities went door to door to let people know where they were. Since phone service and Internet connections are spotty in many places, there wasn't another way. In Harrodsburg, Ky., where phone service was restored, residents were asked to call 911 if they needed transport to shelters.

Town worried about water
In Caruthersville, Mo., near the Tennessee border, church leaders and other volunteers knocked on the doors of the elderly and handicapped residents to make sure they were all right. A generator was in use to distribute some water in town, but Fire Chief Charlie Jones had concerns about what would happen when the temporary measure ran out.

"We're definitely worried about the community with no power, no water. Restaurants aren't open and there are no (open) fueling stations," he said.

At a Red Cross shelter in Louisville, Joy McKnight was waiting to be reuinted with her family. Her three grandchildren and the family dog were staying with friends, her daughter was putting in long hours as a security worker, and McKnight and her mother were staying at the shelter.

"I'm just taking it a day at a time," she said.

The storm has been blamed for at least 25 deaths, including six in Texas, four in Arkansas, three in Virginia, six in Missouri, two in Oklahoma, two in Indiana, and one each in West Virginia and Ohio.

Emergency officials feared that toll could rise if people stay in their homes without power for too long, because improper use of generators can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

"I'm so worried that we're going to have a death due to hypothermia or carbon monoxide," said John Robinson, the severe weather coordinator for the National Weather Service at North Little Rock, Ark.

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