
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 13, 1994                   TAG: 9402130135
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: D9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NATIONAL GUARD CALLED TO RESCUE THE POWERLESS

Gov. George Allen on Saturday ordered a handful of Virginia National Guard troops into one locality to assist in evacuations after a weekend ice storm downed trees and power lines throughout most of the state, leaving more than 200,000 customers without power.

Utility officials say it will be next week before power is fully restored. A Virginia Power spokesman said there were more people without electricity Saturday morning than at any other time in the utility's history.

Allen spokesman Ken Stroupe said the governor approved Caroline County's request for National Guard troops at noon. Six guardsmen with four-wheel-drive vehicles and water tanks were sent to the county, where about 150 local volunteers have been working shifts of 36-48 hours to aid stranded residents and help clear roads.

Allen declared a state of emergency covering all of the state Friday as ice-weighted trees and limbs began falling across power lines.

James Rhodes, Virginia Power's president and chief executive officer, said that as of 8 p.m. Saturday, 66,000 customers were without power. That was down from 104,000 overnight.

Appalachian Power Co. had 97,000 customers out of service; the Association of Electric Cooperatives reported 50,000 homes without electricity. All three utilities said it would be Tuesday or Wednesday before power was restored to all customers.

"It is one of the worst ice storms we have ever encountered. The amount of ice on the trees and lines was incredible," William Byrd, a Virginia Power spokesman, said. The March 1993 blizzard that dumped over 30 inches of snow in some western portions of the state caused about 70,000 outages, Byrd said.

Rhodes' estimate of the storm's cost to the utility at several million dollars and rising. He had no estimate on damage done to power lines and poles.

"This is the worst I've ever seen, and I've been doing this for 15 years," Michael LaCivita of the state Department of Emergency Services said.

LaCivita said the county had a three-page waiting list of people asking to be evacuated. He said 150 of the county's 19,217 residents have found shelter at the county's three emergency centers.

By knocking out electricity, the storm represented a second blow to the 727 residents of the town of Bowling Green, who already were without water. The town issued a boil-water order earlier in the week after finding its water system was contaminated. The water system has had contamination problems over the past several months.

LaCivita said 123 of the state's secondary roads were closed because of downed trees and icing. He said emergency services agencies supplied generators for several nursing homes that were without power. LaCivita also reported minor flooding in some of the extreme southwestern Virginia counties.

by CNB