CAMDEN — By PATRIC FLANNIGAN and BRADLY GILL
Staff writers
Downed trees and power lines were a common site around Ouachita County as a result of Wednesday night’s storms.
Sean Clarke of the National Weather Service said, “A lot of the damage we’ve heard about has numerous trees and power lines down in and around the area. It kind of depends on the type of the tree, whether it’s a softwood or hardwood…With reports of numerous trees down, it usually takes 60- to 70-mile-an-hour winds to snap a tree.”
Instruments at Harrell Field at the Camden Airport only recorded 40-mile-an-hour winds. On Twitter, Entergy posted the following, “We have 64k customers out of power statewide at 5 a.m. That’s down from a peak of 82k overnight. In some areas, we cannot yet give a reliable estimate for restoration because damage is so widespread.”
Several areas in the county were still without power Thursday with nearly 9,000 households without power in Ouachita County.
No injuries have been reported as a result of the storm, according to Camden Police Department. But some roadways were still clogged with debris on Thursday afternoon, and city workers were in the process of clearing them.
Ouachita County Judge Robbie McAdoo issued an emergency declaration at around 11 a.m. on Thursday as the county workers were still out clearing road. The judge shared that there is a “massive” amount of damage to the county, and that there are some spots that may have been hit by more than straight-line winds.
“The damage is widespread,” McAdoo shared. “It (the storm) came in from the west and left a lot of damage in the south, central and northern parts of the county. A lot of the county was hit by straight-line winds, but there is a part of the county just south of town that we aren’t 100 percent sure it was just straight-line winds. I declared an emergency earlier (Thursday) so the county could have an opportunity to qualify for aid. If a county doesn’t declare an emergency, then it wouldn’t qualify for any.”
McAdoo said that he estimates 50-60 downed trees, and a lot of them are laying on power lines.
“We can’t do much with the trees that are in the power lines until the electric companies can cut the power off,” McAdoo explained. “But there are so many people without power, the electric companies are playing catch-up, too. So the time of getting the power back is prolonged.”
McAdoo applauded the county workers, the Arkansas Forestry Commission, electricians and Ouachita County residents for their efforts during the storm recovery.
“Everyone is just really pulling together,” McAdoo stated. “There have been individuals that have joined in helping remove trees from the roadways. The AFC is clearing roadways. There has just been a great unity and joint effort all around the county.”
McAdoo also urged for residents to contact the Office of Emergency Management at 837-2206 if there is any damage to their homes. In addition, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief has left forms at Camden City Hall and the Camden Police Station for people with property damage. Entergy spokeswoman Kerri Jackson Case spoke with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and said:
“I don’t think anyone thought these storms were going to come in this hard and fast,” Case told the ADG, adding that the utility company called in hundreds of contractors to restore power. “We’re working as quickly as possible.”
Entergy reported 4,568 customers without power as of noon on Thursday.
Workers observed a mix of wind damage, fallen trees and lightning strikes that knocked out power overnight, she said.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said on Twitter that he was monitoring the outages, noting that nearly 80,000 were in the dark at one point but that “these numbers should be reduced soon.”
The National Weather Service said official measurements showed winds peaked as high as 64 mph in Little Rock, though one trained storm spotter in central Arkansas recorded a gust of 70 mph. Large hail was also seen, including some that measured an estimated 4 inches in diameter in Vandervoort in Polk County.
The strong winds downed numerous trees, including some that fell on homes and vehicles. In Lincoln County near Avery, a pole barn was destroyed and in Florence in Drew County, a mobile home was damaged. It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was injured in the storms.
Ouachita Electric issued the following statement via its Facebook page:
“We have approximately 5,300 meters without service at this time. There are several lines down and broken poles. The damage is widespread across our service territory. Additional construction crews have arrived and more are on the way. Power is being restored as quickly as possible, but members should expect extended outage times. Some areas are not expected to be restored until Saturday. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. Please call 1-877252-4538 to report an outage. Call 911 for emergencies.”
The next forecast for the next few days call for mostly sunny skies with scattered showers and thunderstorms returning Sunday.