While the precipitation may have moved out of Louisiana, those of you in the northern part of the state should still use extreme caution when venturing out onto the roadways. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
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More than 100-thousand people are without power as a result this historic ice storm. Joe Gallinaro has the story…
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The precipitation has moved out of Louisiana, and none is expected for the next several days. But Rodney Mallett with DOTD says those of you especially in North Louisiana still need to use extreme caution when venturing out onto the roadways.
Cut 3 (07) “…dangerous driving conditions.”
Nowhere is that more evident than on westbound I-20, where stalled 18-wheelers had caused massive backups today. Mallett says this is despite DOTD crews working around the clock to keep roadways as passable as they possibly can.
Mallett says DOTD crews had prepared for this ice storm well in advance.
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More than 110-thousand people are without power because of the deadly ice storm. Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell who represents all of North Louisiana says Monroe is the hardest hit area of the state as more than 45-thousand customers in the parish do not have electricity. Campbell says the buildup of ice on tree limbs has led to many of the outages…
Campbell says there are many cases where one area gets its power restored, but another area loses it…
Campbell says while no one likes living without power, the public understands Mother Nature has produced a difficult situation for Entergy, SWEPCO, Cleco and all of the power companies working around the clock to get the power restored…
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Thousands of residents in north Louisiana are stuck in their home due to power outages and icy roads. Greg Hilburn, a reporter for the USA Today Network, has no power, but is able to stay warm with a fireplace in his house. He says at least it looks pretty outside….
Hilburn says most people are taking the advice of state and local officials, staying home….
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The Louisiana Department of Health has reported a third winter-storm related death. An 86-year-old man in DeSoto Parish died due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The death was confirmed by the parish coroner as winter-storm related. DeSoto Parish Sheriff Jayson Richardson says his deputies have been busy conducting welfare checks…
Nearly ten-thousand customers are without power in DeSoto Parish and we are looking at another night with low temperatures in the teens. Richardson says people who do not have an adequate way to warm their homes should find shelter
Cut 12 (09) “…life-threatening temperatures”
The state health department says the other two winter-storm related deaths happened in Caddo Parish as two men died due to hypothermia. Governor Landry says they are also investigating three more fatalities that are possibly tied to the winter storm.
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If you have some extra time on your hands, the Red Cross could use your help. Kenneth St. Charles, the regional CEO of the American Red Cross Louisiana Region, is putting out a statewide call for volunteers.
The Red Cross is already supporting shelters and warming centers, but they need more people because they may need to open more of them.
If you don’t know where to start, St. Charles says that’s no problem – training only takes about two hours, and you can do it from the comfort of your own home.