Storms leave thousands without power

More than 3,000 households in Carroll County were still without electricity as of 4 p.m. Monday, May 27, more than 36 hours after several tornadoes tore through Northwest Arkansas and left at least eight people dead.

According to the website PowerOutage.us, 3,493 electric customers in Carroll County were without power Monday afternoon, a total that represented 18.66 percent of the electric customers in the county. That number included 2,752 Carroll Electric customers, 656 Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) customers and 85 Entergy customers.

Statewide, more than 54,500 customers were without electric power, the website reported, including more than 40,000 customers in Benton County, which appeared to bear the brunt of the damage from the powerful storms that swept through the region in the early-morning hours of Sunday, May 26.

In a statement posted on its website, Carroll Electric said it had identified more than 675 broken poles that will need to be replaced to fully restore all service locations, in addition to other damage caused by the storms.

“The number of identified broken poles continues to increase as damage assessment continues,” the cooperative said.

In addition to Carroll Electric’s internal crews, 129 outside crews including both line services and rightof- way clearance have been committed to assist with restoration.

“At this time, estimated times of restoration are still uncertain,” the cooperative’s statement said.

Statewide, more than 24,000 Carroll Electric customers were without power as of 4 p.m. Monday, PowerOutage.us said. More than 20,000 of those were in Benton County.

In a statement issued just after 3 p.m. Monday, SWEPCO said customers should prepare for extended outages while crews work as quickly and safely as possible.

“SWEPCO has mobilized a workforce of more than 600 utility professionals to aid in restoration efforts,” the company said.

SWEPCO estimated that 95 percent of customers who can receive power should have their service restored by 10 p.m. Friday, May 31.

“Now is the time for customers to determine whether their home can receive power — SWEPCO cannot connect power to a home or business if there is damage to the service entrance, which is owned by the customer,” SWEPCO’s statement said. “Customers must have a licensed electrician repair damage before power can be restored.”

SWEPCO’s statement also urged residents to stay away from downed trees, broken utility poles and downed lines.

SWEPCO had 14,587 customers without power, PowerOutage.us said, with all but four of those in Benton and Carroll counties.

STORM SURVEYS

The National Weather Service Office in Tulsa is conducting storm surveys from Carroll County west to Rogers County, Okla., the office said in a statement.

“Damage produced by this long-track supercell was extensive, including high-end straight-line wind damage from its rear flank downdraft, as well as tornado damage, some of which has already been confirmed in the strong category (EF2 and EF3),” the statement said.

The Weather Service statement said there were likely two tornadoes west of Centerton in Benton County, including one that produced EF2 damage.

“Extensive straightline wind damage occurred across Benton County, including this area, into Bentonville and across portions of Rogers into the War Eagle area,” the weather service statement said. “Tornadoes also occurred at times in those areas, to the north of where the straight-line wind damage occurred.”

STATE OF EMERGENCY Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency and allocated state funds to assist in recovery efforts. Sanders spoke at a news conference Sunday, May 26, at the Benton County Sheriff’s Office in Bentonville. Sanders confirmed that eight people died as a result of the storms in Arkansas.

CARROLL COUNTY IMPACT

According to a Facebook post by the Carroll County Office of Emergency Management, there were no reports of injuries or fatalities in the county.

Structural damage in the county appeared to be relatively minimal, although there was a significant number of downed trees, some of which landed on homes. A portion of Hailey Road was blocked because of a large tree that fell across the road. There also were social media reports of East Mountain Street, Pivot Rock Road in Eureka Springs. Mundell Road and County Road 139 being blocked by downed trees.

The Eureka Springs Public Works Department said in a Facebook post that it would open its facility behind the public works office for tree debris dropoff beginning Tuesday, May 28, from 7 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.