A winter storm blew across the North Georgia and Western North Carolina region the evening of Tuesday, March 4, and into the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 5, knocking out power at thousands of homes and downing around 60 trees onto Union County roadways.
The Blue Ridge Mountain EMC worked tirelessly to restore electricity to customers, with the outage map at one point showing nearly 7,000 people with lights out across the co-op’s five-county footprint – including 25% of Union County meters.
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“Dwindling down the 6,600-plus members who were without power overnight and this morning to approximately 321 members currently without power,” the EMC said around 4 p.m. that Wednesday. “As of right now, we know of 12 broken poles. There could be more as our crews continue to work through the outages.
“High winds wreak a lot of havoc in our beautiful mountains. Crews will continue working as weather permits. Thank you for your patience, kind words and support today!”
The Union County Road Department worked hard, too, spending Tuesday night and all day Wednesday clearing roadways. Thankfully, the storm did not result in any major reported structure damage, with no trees falling on homes.
Resident Chris Collins told the North Georgia News the morning of March 5 that the county “did a great job” removing trees from roads.
“I had called while on my way home, as there was a tree down across both lanes of traffic,” Collins said. “And within a short time, the county had the tree cut up and out of the roadway. While I was there, they were getting multiple calls for other locations all throughout the county.”
The Blue Ridge Mountain EMC wants people to know that when severe weather causes power outages, EMC employees immediately begin working to restore power to as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time – as soon as it is safe to do so.
“Serviced first are primary lines serving hundreds and sometimes thousands of members,” according to the EMC. “Medical facilities and individuals on life-support systems are given top priority during outages.
“When your lights go out, check with your neighbors to learn if they are also in the dark. If they’re not, check your fuse box or circuit breaker to see if you can locate the problem. If the outage has affected your neighbors, contact Blue Ridge Mountain EMC at 706-379-3121 or 800-292-6456 to report the outage.
“Power outages that occur in severe weather, or that last for an extended period of time, can place a heavy burden on the system at the moment the power is restored. To prevent an overload on the system and possibly another outage, take these steps:
“Turn off every inside light except one. Turn down your thermostat. In cold weather, close windows and drapes to save heat. Pick one room on the warm side of the house and use blankets to insulate the windows.
“If the outage lasts over 60 minutes, turn off the electric water heater. Make sure your kitchen range is off, both the surface and the oven. Never use it as a substitute for your heater. Turn off all unnecessary appliances. Avoid opening the freezer door.
“If you see a downed power line, STAY AWAY! Immediately go to a safe place and call Blue Ridge Mountain EMC. When power comes back on, slowly switch appliances and lights back on and gradually return your thermostat to its normal setting.”
