This history-making winter weather has been responsible for at least two deaths in Louisiana so far. Governor John Bel Edwards says both fatalities took place in Lafayette Parish.
The other death occurred in the city of Lafayette. Lafayette Police Sergeant Wayne Griffin says 74-year-old Mary Guillory died after leaving a residence at around 1 AM this morning…
Cut 7 (11) “…extreme weather condition.”
Guillory may have suffered from dementia.
Edwards also urged residents to practice generator safety to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. During the 2020 Hurricane season several fatalities occurred due to being overcome by carbon monoxide.
Entergy has been directed by the Mid-Continent System Operator to initiative rolling power outages for some customers in southwest Louisiana.
Entergy spokesperson John Hawkins says the blackouts are due to this historic winter storm and freeze.
MISO is in charge of the power grid for the region.
Roads and bridges across much of the state are still shut down as Louisiana settles in for a week-long deep freeze. Department of Transportation Spokesperson Rodney Mallet says in the Shreveport-Bossier and Monroe areas Mallet says the consistently cold temperatures produced a different set of problems.
And crews are out and about in the Baton Rouge area trying to open crucial routes.