NORTH CAROLINA, USA — More than 160,000 Duke Energy customers were without power in North Carolina Saturday morning, after freezing temperatures and rain spread across the region. That number fell to 105,915 Saturday night.
Here is a county-by-county look for WFMY News 2's viewing region, last updated at 10 p.m.
Guilford County: 46,483 without power
Forsyth County: 10,345 without power
Alamance County: 4,061 without power
Rockingham County: 16,793 without power
Stokes County: 421 without power
High Point Electric: 319 without power as of 5:15 p.m. Saturday night
Several other counties are reporting a few hundred outages as well.
A Duke Energy spokesperson told WFMY News 2 that local crews were working to restore power.
"We are seeing some outages scattered around the Triad... Our local crews in those areas are assessing damage and will be making repairs. We have pre-identified crews from other regions that can be brought in to help if needed, as this was not going to be a statewide storm. So as those damage assessments are completed will be looking for what additional resources may be needed in the Triad. Right now local crews are working to restore power," the spokesperson said.
More than 600 crew members were in the field working to restore outages, officials report. A company spokesperson said they were hoping to have an update on estimated restoration times by 9 p.m. after they finish assessing damages.
Duke Energy's Jeff Brooks said the company plans to post the times online and that Duke Energy will send a push notification to customers to let them know the estimated restoration time. There was a possibility Duke Energy would not have an update, in which case customers will get a notification on when the next update will be sent out.
Many crew members will spend the night at the Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel in Greensboro. Brooks said it was unsafe for them to work during the overnight hours but will resume first thing in the morning.
Many were relieved to have their power on before the sun went down.
Sasha Campbell woke up from a nap to the sound of her heating system kicking back on.
She and her two young daughters had snuggled in their High Point home while the power was out for several hours.
"<Navigating this pandemic is sticky as it is and I didn't want to pack everybody up and go to the store or something and tried to stay home as much as possible," Campbell said.
In Brown Summit, Baylee May sat in the dark alone.
"It's been just me and the dogs all day. It's been interesting trying to keep ourselves busy and not use all the power and data on the phone," May said.
Her husband left early Saturday morning for his shift as a Greensboro Firefighter.
"As soon as he got in he was on a truck on a call. There's a lot of downed trees, and then people, car accidents and things like that," May said.
Brooks said this was one of the worst ice storms to hit Greensboro in recent years. Into the night, roads were closed and buildings were left in the dark.
"We do think this is going to be, you know, a long restoration in the sense that it will be all day today," Brooks said, "But it's reasonable to assume some of those restorations are going to take more than a day."
Campbell and May ask for patience as first responders and linemen work.
"I know you're probably worried but there are people out there away from their families, out in the cold trying to restore it," Campbell said.
"It just sucks when the ice melts away and everything's fine again (people forget) and I just hope that they remember how important (first responders) are and how much they do for us," May said.
Duke Energy provides information on how you can report a power outage:
"If you see a fallen power line or safety hazard involving our equipment, call Duke Energy at 800.POWERON (800.769.3766), or contact your local emergency services immediately. Do not touch a power line or anything in contact with it, and keep others away until help arrives."
For the Duke Energy outages map, visit this website.
