Crews work to restore power in Lafayette County
LAFAYETTE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Winter Storm Fern came through this weekend, hitting our northern counties the hardest.
Lafayette County was one of them, leaving many without electricity.
“The devastation that I saw literally… it looks like a war zone in Oxford,” said Shirl Braziel, an Oxford resident.
From trees snapping to power lines falling, Oxford took a heavy hit from Fern this past weekend.
Many residents like Shirl Braziel lost power, but in the meantime, she’s staying with family.
“Had I known it looked like this before I left home, I never would’ve left home. You have power lines down, you have tree branches, trees… everything is still popping. And it’s just not safe out and to me,” said Braziel.
Braziel lost power at her home around 5:30 Sunday morning.
While traveling to her relative who has power, she said she saw cars spinning on the icy roads.
Lafayette County officials say calls picked up late Saturday night.
“We really saw an acceleration of calls about trees falling, power lines falling right around midnight into Sunday morning,” Beau Moore, the Public Information Officer for Lafayette County government.
Beau Moore with Lafayette County says road crews have been working since that night.
Moore said there are around 32,000 homes in Lafayette County.
20, 000 to 25,000 of those were without power.
“The powerlines, they get to sagging and those lines become heavy with ice. And that’s what causes the poles to snap and come down,” said Moore.
Northeast Mississippi Electric Power Association said they had 27 crews working on Monday to restore power, and more crews are on the way.
Some crews have come from out of state to help out.
However, Moore said it can take days to the end of the week before all power is restored.
“If you live closer to one of the transmission lines, you’ll probably see power come to back to your area first because we got to get the transmission lines up and running to send the power,” said Moore.
Warming shelters are open in the city and the county.
Officials advise you to bring important medicine and essentials with you.
Braziel encourages residents to be kind in the hard times.
“Check on all your friends, even your enemies, if you have those. Just check on them if you can be of assistance, if you have enough food. Or you can walk a plate across the street to somebody. Just show some love,” said Braziel.
Officials urge residents to stay off the roads.
The county contracted with private companies to help clear the roads.
Warming shelters are open at Lafayette Elementary School for county residents and at the Oxford Conference Center for city residents.
If you need assistance in getting to shelters, you can call the non-emergency numbers for the Sheriff’s Office and Oxford Police Department.
Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office – (662) 234-8789
Oxford Police Department – (662) 232-2400
