Update: More than 220,000 area homes and businesses without power
BY Staff Reports
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
12/07/12 at 2:54 PM
Video: Watch a submitted video of some of the devastation of the ice storms throughout Tulsa.
Slide show: Watch a slide show of the ice storm.
Slide show: View a slide show of photos taken at the Red Cross shelter.
Slide show: Watch a slide show of submitted photos of the aftermath of the ice storm.
President Bush declared a state of emergency for Oklahoma on Tuesday as more than 225,000 homes and businesses in the Tulsa metro area remained without power.
Federal aid will supplement state and local response efforts to the ice storm.
Mayor Kathy Taylor said the declaration "will enable the city to better serve our citizens as we try to meet the most critical needs during this emergency."
The death toll from the storm has reached at least 15, including two in Tulsa on Monday.
American Red Cross spokeswoman Nellie Kelly said more than 1,000 people stayed at the 17 shelters that have been established in the region.
One of Tulsa's shelters at First Baptist Church in downtown has reached capacity.
Asbury United Methodist Church, 6767 S. Mingo Road, is still accepting people. A third shelter in the city may be opened for overflow.
American Electric Power-Public Service Company of Oklahoma is reporting 225,769 outages in the Tulsa metro area out of about 300,000 homes and businesses and 6,462 in Bartlesville.
"A lot of people think the storm is over, but it is not," said Preston Kissman, AEP-PSO vice president of distribution. "There's still ice falling and tree limbs falling."
Thousands of linemen have been summoned to the Tulsa area from other areas of the country to help. They are being housed at the Tulsa County fairgrounds.
"It's still going to be more than a week until we will get to everyone," Kissman said. "We will make a big impact today."
Crews are still working to bring electricity back to several high-priority locations, including the Mohawk Water Treatment Plant.
Output has been increased at the city's other water plant, A.B. Jewell, but city residents are being asked to conserve water as much as possible.
The Mohawk plant is expected to be up and running Tuesday afternoon.
Oklahoma Gas & Electric has a total of 289,058 outages, most in the Oklahoma City metro area. But the company has about 18,500 dark in Bixby, Bristow, Kellyville and Sapulpa.
Fire Capt. Larry Bowles said the city has been divided into four quadrants, with 41st Street and Yale Avenue the center point, for officials to asses the damage.
"The northwest and southwest quadrants of the city have sustained much more tree damage, much more power line involvement," he said.
"But the damage is really widespread. I don't think there's an area of the city that hasn't been affected by this."
The National Weather Service said there is a continued chance of rain on Wednesday, with temperatures reaching the mid-30s.
Thursday temperatures are expected to rise to the high 40s before falling again over the weekend.
There is a 30 percent chance of snow Friday night.
No new accumulation of ice is expected the rest of the week.
Associated Images:
Icicles hang from a parking garage downtown on Tuesday.
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