Storm Cleanup Continues in WNC; Thousands Still Without Power

Tuesday 2:00 p.m.
Power crews continue to work to restore power to thousands in western North Carolina. Progress Energy reported at noon Tuesday 95% of their customers had power restored. They expectd to have 98% of their customers back online by late Tuesday night. During the day they were getting to more remote or harder to reach areas along with single customer outages. To check current Progress Energy outages click here

North Carolina Department of Transportation still reported problems with icy spots on secondary roads in Buncombe, Henderson, and Haywood counties. To check on current conditions click here
Monday night
Power crews and emergency personnel continue to work around the clock to restore power and clean up damage that resulted from Friday's winter storm that struck the North Carolina mountains and upstate South Carolina.

Buncombe County was the hardest hit area in the western North Carolina mountains.

As of early late Monday evening, just over 11,000 Progress Energy customers were without power in western North Carolina, with 9,775 customers in Buncombe County still without power. Duke Energy has restored all but a handful of outages to its customers.

Progress Energy spokesman Drew Elliot told News Channel 7 Saturday, that power crews have been battling hazardous conditions that prevent them from being able to reach access points needed to restore power. In many cases, road conditions and fallen trees have not allowed power crews access to areas in need of restoration due to the extent of the damage. Sunday was no different, but Progress Energy made plenty of progress throughout Sunday night and Monday morning when they had restored power to nearly 135,000 customers.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol reported on weather related fataility, when 52-year old Joseph Anthony Pipitone, from Waynesville, died Friday after his car slid off a private road and went down an embankment. He was ejected from the vehicle.

On Monday night, a firefighter from Asheville was out attending to another accident on Interstate 40, near Interstate 240, when he was struck by another vehicle. Authorities tell News Channel 7 that the firefighter sustained non-life threatening injuries.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol has responded to close to 1000 accident and stranded motorist calls sonce Friday.

While the traffic accident and damage caused by the storm has been significant, the cleanup has already began. And for some, it is a painstaking and frustrating process.

"With each shovel, I see a little progress," said Eddie Shipman, who was cleaning up snow from around his front door. 'I want my sidewalk back. Nothing personal with the snow, I just want my sidewalk back so people can come and go."

Black ice is prevalent on city and county roadways, primarily due to overnight freezing of melting snow. Residents are encouraged to exercise caution while driving, noting bridges and overpasses are especially susceptible to freezing.

For many though, the road problems meant staying home or in some cases, walking to nearby places to get necessities.

"My roommate had to walk and get bread and milk the past three days," said Shannon Ross. "They've kinda made more of a mess in a way, cause everybody parked their cars, and they got blocked because of the plows. So, it's a mess."

Primary streets are open and secondary and tertiary streets continue to be plowed. Residents on roads awaiting service who are in need of prescription medications or medical supplies and services may call 252-1110 for assistance. Please dial 9-1-1 for all emergencies.

North Carolina Highway Patrol and Department of Transportation officials say they are expecting road condition to remain treacherous, with the chances of black ice developing on roadways and melting snow freezing.

For up to the minute power outage information from Duke Energy, click here: http://www.duke-energy.com/outages/stats/
For up to the minute power outages from Progress Energy, click here: http://progress-energy.com/shared/outages/car/default.aspx