UPDATE: Tuesday, 8:10 am
Thousands of power outages remain in the Tri-Cities, four days after a winter storm dumped several inches of snow on our region.
According to Appalachian Power, about 30,000 people are still in the dark in Southwest Virginia. They also report around 4,000 people without power in Northeast Tennessee.
Here is a breakdown of the approximate power outages Appalachian Power is reporting for the Tri-Cities region:
Tennessee:
Sullivan County
3,200
Hawkins County
650
Virginia:
Buchanan County
10,100
Dickenson County
6,900
Scott County
5,900
Russell County
2,900
Wise County
2,000
Washington County
1,100
Smyth County
900
Tazewell County
100
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American Electric Power, the company that owns Appalachian Power, serves 175,000 people in Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. Of those, roughly 50,000 customers are still without power.
AEP District Manager Isaac Webb calls these outages "unprecedented and overwhelming.'
When mother nature shuts off power inside, sometimes she leaves a solution outside. "Mayo, mustard...I just brought that out here so it wouldn't spoil," said Ruth Grear. Like thousands in the Tri-Cities region, Grear and her family lost power Friday night when heavy snow pushed trees onto power lines. "We're using a kerosene heater thank goodness," said Grear.
Downed power lines litter the Grear's Kingsport neighborhood. Across Sullivan County, nearly 12,000 AEP customers still don't have power. Line crew supervisor Chris Gilmer oversees 14 different circuits in the area. "We've got a lot of obstacles we're dealing with," said Gilmer.
Originally, the main obstacle was impassable roads. From there, diagnosing all the problems. And now, with more than 1,000 problem areas, the shear size of the situation. "Every contractor that we can get a hold of...they're bring them in just as fast as we can get everybody brought in," said Gilmer.
Making matters worse, trees are continuing to fall, snapping power lines like this one. "There's no way to know when one's going to fall just like the one that fell that took it down," said Gilmer.
Just when the power will return depend on where you live. Sullivan and Hawkins County should see light Monday or Tuesday. But, in places like Dickenson and Buchanan counties, some might be without power on Christmas.
Disheartening, but not a total loss for people like Ruth, who grew up in Scott County, Virginia without power. "Take a sponge bath like we did back in the old days," said Grear.
For a full video report, click play above.
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