WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. — Blue Ridge Energy crews are working to restore electricity to thousands of residents in Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany counties after freezing rain and ice brought down tree limbs causing widespread outages.
“Just a lot of ice and it’s slick and trees are down, and it’s really foggy out here too,” said James Sloan from Blue Ridge Energy.
Crews have reported encountering up to half an inch of ice on trees, making restoration efforts challenging.
A few areas in the mountains were still without power Thursday, according to Blue Ridge Energy.
Outages at 5 p.m. in the Channel 9 coverage area:
- Ashe County: 2,903
- Watauga County: 1,306
Channel 9′s Jonathan Lowe was in Blowing Rock this week where temperatures hovered around the freezing mark.
Rain cleared out for the area Thursday morning but winds are expected to be blustery as night falls and temperatures drop into the teens.
The next chance of freezing rain for that area of Watauga County will be Friday night into Saturday morning.
Channel 9′s Dave Faherty spoke with Blue Ridge Energy’s James Sloan earlier in the day.
“Just a lot of ice and it’s slick and trees are down, and it’s really foggy out here too,” said Sloan.
As crews work to restore power, residents expressed gratitude for their efforts.
“You gotta applaud these guys for being out here in this kind of weather. It’s awesome they’re out here,” said Watauga County resident Billy Barker.
“They’re gonna be my heroes when I get my power back on,” added Lori Inman.
Blue Ridge Energy has reached out to other cooperatives to bring in additional crews to assist with the restoration efforts. The utility had warned residents about the potential for outages due to the ice storm.
VIDEO: Team coverage: Winter weather alerts in NC mountains
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