Out-of-state linemen help restore Winona power
WINONA, Miss. (WCBI) – Thursday marked five days since Winter Storm Fern hit Winona and other towns across Mississippi.
The storm left a trail of debris and challenges for the city to overcome.
“100% of Winona,” said Mayor Jerry Flowers.
That’s how much of the city lost power this past weekend.
“If you had a generator, you had electricity. If you didn’t have a generator … there was no one in the city of Winona that had electricity. Never in my life have I seen that,” said Flowers.
Mayor Flowers said Winter Storm Fern hit them the hardest on Saturday.
The city didn’t have icy roads, but they did have a number of fallen trees and down powerlines.
For days, people were without power and water, but since Saturday, crews have been coming in from out of state to help restore electricity.
Haley Fisackerly is the president and CEO of Entergy Mississippi.
“The worst damage is in this area, Montgomery County, Grenada County, and the surrounding the communities. And so, we are working to rebuild circuits, to feed power back into these communities. And our crew presence will be increasing,” said Fisackerly.
On Thursday, city leaders and volunteers prepared lunch for the linemen to show their appreciation.
When there are widespread outages, Fisackerly said Entergy first restores power to hospitals and essential services then moves into neighborhoods.
“Every time we have an event, we learn from that. And so, we have a very well-planned execution plan. We have team that prepares for these storms, so when we start to see them coming in, we know what to prepare for and what conditions,” said Fisackerly.
Having the right tools and equipment are a part of that preparation.
Winona Chief of Police says Roshaun Daniels said emergency calls increased during power outages.
“A lot of calls of just people trapped in, so we’ve been cutting trees, couple of officers had chainsaws. (We’ve been) opening roads up, so people could get out and get some kind of help,” said Daniels.
Delta Electric Power Association also serves Montgomery County.
Linemen from Maine, Ohio, and even Canada have come to Mississippi to help.
Entergy Mississippi expects the power to be fully restored in Winona and surrounding communities by Sunday.
City leaders ask that the community remains patient as water and power services come back online.
170 linemen were fed.
Thursday afternoon, Mayor Flowers declared a state of emergency for the city of Winona.
