Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 14, 1994 TAG: 9402140074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But thousands of people remained without power for the third day Sunday, and officials said it may be several more days before service is restored throughout the valley.
Appalachian Power Co. said the number of customers without power in its Pulaski Division - covering the New River Valley along with Wythe, Bland, Carroll and Grayson counties - had dropped from a high of 58,000 to 37,000 on Sunday.
Throughout the New River Valley, shelters were open for those without power or heat.
In Radford, which has its own electric department, power was restored to most homes Friday or Saturday.
"The magnitude of this is so great, nobody can imagine," said City Manager Bob Asbury. He said the ice storm has caused three to four times more damage than Hurricane Hugo did in 1989.
Residents eager to clear trees and limbs from their property should be patient. "There's no way a landfill can take all this," he said.
And as far as mulching the limbs?
"I don't think there's enough chippers in the country."
A plan is being developed for removal of trees and lines from public rights of way and private property. No brush or wood should be taken to the landfill in west Radford until the plan is announced.
At Apco's service headquarters in Christiansburg, several people were taking calls Sunday while about 100 workers remained out in the field, slowly restoring power to Montgomery and Floyd counties.
Ted Aaron, area superintendent, said a helicopter was surveying for downed power lines.
"We tried to fly [Saturday] but the weather wouldn't allow us to do it," Aaron said.
Apco crews from as far away as Logan, W.Va., were helping the Christiansburg office.
The Prices Fork area from Cox's Golf Driving Range to the New River in McCoy was still without power Sunday. The helicopter pilot planned to fly over the Pilot community and Floyd County to locate downed lines there.
As Aaron patiently took a customer's complaint, the lights flickered. He continued talking, assuring the customer everything was being done to restore power.
"It's the worst that most of the linemen say they've ever seen," Aaron said.
At Pilot Mountain Grocery, Jeff Wimmer tallied purchases Sunday afternoon using a calculator as a few men warmed themselves beside a kerosene heater and watched out the window.
The Pilot area had been without power since early Friday.
"We just got a generator about an hour ago to save what we had in the freezer," Wimmer said.
About that time, a customer ducked his head in the door, saw there was no power and said dejectedly: "No hamburgers, I guess."
"I tell you, it's hard to find food right now," said Billy Rorrer, a regular at the store. Customers can usually find hot food to go.
Earlier Sunday, Wimmer hauled away a truckload of melted ice cream.
As Wimmer, Rorrer and George Hudgins tried to decide if this was the worst storm in history, they even managed to drag politics into it.
"We know one thing for sure: We didn't have weather like this when Bush was president," Wimmer said.
Area hospitals and health-care providers said they had problems but were managing.
Nancy Root, director of Home Health Plus, said the outage at her Christiansburg office made it hard to serve 350 homebound patients.
"When we lose electricity, then we lose our phones," she said. "It was difficult for us to stay in contact."
Susan Lockwood, a spokeswoman at Radford Community Hospital, said 13 elderly residents without power were admitted to the hospital so they wouldn't suffer from the cold.
Several were hooked up to an oxygen supply and all were given meals, Lockwood said, but none received medical attention.
"We just provided them a place to stay," she said.
Lockwood said quite a few patients - including at least two children - had been hit by falling tree branches and admitted to the emergency room.
Other hospitals reported similar injuries. Pulaski Community Hospital reported a couple of chain saw accidents.
The Pulaski hospital, on generators Friday, regained power Saturday, nursing supervisor Dorothy Burton said.
The hospital was back on town water Sunday, too, but had problems with low pressure.
Burton said people seemed to be coping. "It was a chance for people to panic, you know, and I think people have done really well."
Sheriff Ralph Dobbins said people with emergencies should call the Pulaski County Social Services Department at 980-7800.
Fallen trees damaged some Pulaski schools. Sections of some roofs collapsed.
People in all of Pulaski County were asked to conserve water, while some had none.
Water is available at fire stations. Power was still off at the Hiwassee and Snowville stations, but portable water tanks had been brought there.
Emergency restrooms and showers will be available from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at gyms at Pulaski County High School and Pulaski and Dublin middle schools. People should bring their own towels and soap.
Showers at Virginia Tech's War Memorial Gym were crowded with students and faculty Sunday morning. The locker room had opened two hours early for that purpose.
Salvation Army workers in Pulaski County were taking chili, coffee and cold drinks to Apco and Virginia Transportation Department crews working to re-establish electricity or remove fallen trees.
Meanwhile, a woman who had lost power at her home brought in 50 packages of hamburger to the Salvation Army on Commerce Street, where food supplies have diminished, Sgt. Tom Atkins said. Someone else brought in a freezer of deer meat.
The Salvation Army can hold up to 50 people, and authorities are prepared to open more shelters, Dobbins said. So far, it has not been necessary.
The sheriff cautioned that even people who have power should be prepared to lose it again.
Carrie Gilliam, 89, passed time at the Red Cross emergency shelter at Blacksburg Middle School by reading a Bible. Gilliam, who lives at University Trailer Park in Blacksburg, had been at the shelter since Friday morning.
"I've done real good. . . . I forgot my Bible, so I borrowed one," Gilliam said.
Pulaski County Extension Agent Richard S. White said many county dairy farmers were still without power Sunday. Some have generators and power sources so that they can save milk, he said, but some of the smaller dairies do not.
Emergency workers from the various agencies involved in assisting people have had little chance to rest.
"We've been straight at it ever since this came down," Dobbins said. "A lot of us have been without power ourselves. . . . It gets to you after a while."
Staff writers Michael Stowe, Ralph Berrier Jr., Paul Dellinger and Keith Greene contributed to this story.
by CNB