WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Hundreds of thousands still in the dark after Kentuckiana ice storm

Hundreds of thousands still in the dark after Kentuckiana ice storm

Posted by Charles Gazaway - email

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Since the winter storm that hit Kentuckiana Tuesday and Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of people remain without power and that number continues to change.

During an afternoon press briefing at Metro Hall, Chris Hermann, LG&E's senior vice president for energy delivery, reported that 193,000 of the utility's customers are still in the dark. That number is up nearly 10,000 from the figure given at a morning briefing on Thursday. To restore power, workers have to replace 9,300 power lines that are down.

Hermann says that crews are getting power restored to customers that have been out, but as those are being restored, others are losing power due to falling ice-coated tree limbs. At the peak, LG&E reported that 205,000 were without power in the Metro service area.

"We are making progress, one street at a time, one neighborhood at a time," said Mayor Jerry Abramson. "But, unfortunately, we are still seeing areas of the city lose power because of the severity of the ice."

City officials say the number of people without power seeking shelter from the cold is increasing. The American Red Cross shelter at Walnut Street Baptist Church is housing 300 people who have no power in their homes. Because more people are expected to seek warmth and food, the Red Cross and the city say that a larger shelter may be opened.

Because some people without power are staying in their homes and trying to keep warm with alternate heat sources, fire department officials say they are seeing more reports of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Thursday, a spokesperson for Jewish Hospital in Louisville reported they have treated eight people during a 24 hour period for CO poisoning. All were either using a generator placed improperly in their home or some burning other type of fuel (gas, oil, kerosene, charcoal or wood) to stay warm. Six of the victims have been released after treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. The remaining two are still undergoing treatment.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is a result of breathing too much carbon monoxide, a gas which is produced by burning any type of fuel - gas, oil, kerosene, charcoal or wood. The danger of carbon monoxide is that it replaces the oxygen in your blood, and without that oxygen, cells die, which can lead to organ failure.

People are reminded to not keep generators in their homes and to keep the generators away from open windows that would the gases to seep inside homes.

Also during Thursday afternoon's briefing, Mayor Abramson announced that the Dare to Care food bank and the Community Action Partnership are offering packages of food to people who need it. If you need to request food, call MetroCall by dialing 311.