Wlaf1450By Charlotte Underwood
LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – LaFollette Utility Board crews responded to sporadic power outages around the county beginning shortly after midnight Monday due to the winter storm. According to LUB General Manager Kenny Baird, the largest outage occurred in the Stinking Creek area around 5 am.
“We had a breaker out in the mountains Monday morning that affected over 800 customers. It took a few hours to locate and repair all of the issues,” Baird said.
Heavy wet snow, ice and fallen trees contributed to the issues.
Other than the one large outage in the mountains, other outages were sporadic, affecting just a few customers at a time.
At 2:30 pm on Monday, Baird said there was just one customer still out of power in the Habersham area. That customer was back online before the day was out.
“Even though the snow and wind caused some outages and extra work, it sure was a beautiful snow,” said LUB Lineman Wes Caldwell.
The utility in Newport asked for a crew to help them, but due to how sporadic outages were in Campbell County and the possibility of additional problems, LaFollette couldn’t spare anyone.
“We couldn’t afford to turn one loose in case we have anything else. We like to help our neighbors but have to take care of the home folks first,” Baird said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 01/04/2022-6AM)