Storms darken parts of Lincoln County
Published 9:13 pm Monday, June 24, 2019
Late night storms on Sunday brought power outages on Monday in Lincoln County.
After thunderstorms hit Lincoln county late Sunday night, thousands of outages were reported.
“I know all three power companies are working to get power back up,” Emergency Management Director Clifford Galey said.
Southwest Electric reported 16,000 outages spread across nine counties. Only 3,180 remained without power as of Monday evening. The company has around 25,000 meters.
“It’s widespread, not just one area,” Public Relations Coordinator Deb McGee said.
According to McGee, outages may continue for the next two to three days due to crews discovering broken trees and poles.
Southwest Electric has six outside crews assisting in repairs and restoration of service. Two from MDR Power Line Construction, two from Pearl River Valley Electric out of Columbus and two from East Mississippi Electric out of Meridian.
Outages were first reported to Southwest Electric around 3:30 a.m. Monday. Crews were sent out shortly after.
“We are committed to restoring power as quick and safely as possible,” McGee said.
Magnolia Electric Power only had around 150 outages in Lincoln County as of early Monday morning. These numbers dropped as the day progressed. As of 4 p.m. Monday, only 39 meters were left without power.
“We didn’t have that many outages,” Member Services Director Lucy Shell said.
“Our linemen have been out working since four this morning and they have continued to work,” Shell said.
Around 4 a.m., Southwest Electric began sending crews out.
Southwest did have some damage to their poles in Lincoln County. A pole on Hwy. 51 near Bogue Chitto was damaged.
A shed on McCurley Lane belonging to Kirk Douglas was hit by the storm late Sunday night, Galey said. No other structural damage has been reported.
Story by Gracie Byrne