Last Updated on February 25, 2016 5:56 pm
Linemen have restored all power outages caused by damage to the electric system from severe winds and heavy rain across the service area of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation.
From Wednesday through Thursday, a total of 3,376 members were affected at various times throughout that period. The last of the outages were restored at 4:45 p.m. Thursday. Extremely high winds caused trees and limbs to fall, tearing down power lines and breaking power poles in some locations.
Damage was most significant in Caldwell County where 1,335 members were affected starting at 11:13 a.m. Wednesday. The southern end of Caldwell County experienced the heaviest damage, primarily in the Dry Ponds, Hudson, and Grace Chapel areas although Lenoir and Patterson and Kings Creek communities were also affected.
Ashe County also experienced heavy damage as 1,088 members were affected beginning at 5:43 a.m. Wednesday. Most outages occurred in the Beaver Creek, Warrensville, Baldwin, Shatley Springs, Smethport, Obids Sheet’s Gap, Jefferson and Low Gap areas.
Alleghany County outages began at 9:12 a.m. Wednesday and a total of 545 members were affected in the communities of Glade Valley, Ellis and Sparta.
In Watauga County, 408 members were affected beginning at 9:18 a.m. Wednesday. Most were located in the Sherwood, Hound Ears, Boone and Deep Gap communities.
Members should report outages at any time by calling the cooperative’s PowerLine at 1-800-448-2383.
Blue Ridge Electric members can check outage numbers, locations, and expected time of restoration by clicking the Outage Map tab at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com. During widespread outages, the cooperative also provides information on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/blueridgeemc and Twitter: www.twitter.com/blueridgeemc. For storm safety tips, visit the News Tab/Storm Room at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com.
