Emergency crews from multiple agencies worked throughout the weekend after violent storms hit the county on Friday evening. Emergency Management Director Richard Kee said the heavy rain was the least of problems that occurred, it was the more than 65 m.p.h. winds that wreaked havoc in the area. “The massive wind gusts cause tree limbs to become hazards that caused damage throughout the county including interfering with our 9-1-1 system. In addition,” Kee added, “our back-up generator had issues causing us to reach out to neighboring counties to assist with emergency calls.”
Road Superintendent Buck Carter and the Benton County Highway Department worked until 3 a.m. on Saturday and resumed work early in the day to clear roadways until all were passable.
Benton County Electric System crews worked nearly 24 hours straight, from Friday evening until Saturday around 7 p.m. BCES Assistant General Manager Scott Owens said, “We had a fast-moving storm that dumped heavy rain and 50-65+mph wind gusts for about 15-20 minutes across all of Benton County. As our team was watching the approaching storm on radar, all of our customer service and linemen were activated for storm restoration.”
Owens continued, “Upon initial assessment, which in big events like this, can take approximately 30 minutes to an hour; we had multiple main line circuits offline, from the tips of Big Sandy peninsula to the most southern end of Holladay and Sugar Tree.”
There were an estimated 5,500 people out of power during the event with BCES receiving more than 8,900 phone calls. Owens said, “We also post information on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bcestn or also on our website at www.bcestn.org on the main page. Typically, WRJB and/or WBBJ 7 will read some of these announcements on the air depending on time. During any outage event, we work from the start to end of the line from the substation out to the individual consumers. This ensures we restore power to the greatest number of people and utilizes our time efficiently.” Owens further explained, “This is why sometimes customers report they see our trucks go by and do not stop, as we our assessing lines to restore a main line circuit and at that point can’t restore one individual, when our current efforts will restore 1,500-2,500 customers. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we work this proven process. It is very important that when situations like this arise, that our customers prepare as well. We have storm tips on our website www.bcestn.org.”
Owens said the second set of storms that hit on Sunday were less violent and there were fewer outages. However, additional crews worked 10 hours. He said, “The overall system fared well during this extreme storm. If BCES had not been working their strategic planned upgrades, we were looking at one week or more of restoration work based on our experience from previous events. We contribute the reliability and time restored to the expertise of our staff and the newer heavy wire and stronger poles we have been replacing all over Benton County. Also, relocating of our lines out to the roadways is a great benefit we have been working through as well. Most of the problems were tree related. Really tall trees falling through the line breaking the wire. Also, tree top and limbs broke out of the tree, carried by the wind, and were resting on lines causing a direct short.”
Owens finished with, “We truly appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding. We receive a lot of comments through Facebook and phone calls, and the majority were very respectful and thanking our staff for their dedication. To those that wrote or called in, it is our honor to serve and you’re welcome. We always like to remind everyone, that at the worst possible time, there are men and women, leaving their homes in some of the most dangerous conditions to restore power for the citizens of Benton County. It is hard physical work, and takes years of training. General Manager Raymond Barnes and I are honored to work with some of the most professional, talented, and dedicated people that serve Benton County Electric. Our main goal is to restore power safely and efficiently to our customers, while ensuring the safety of our men and women so they return home to their families when the call of duty is over.”
Local fire departments, 9-1-1 dispatch, the Camden Police Department and Sheriff’s Office also worked tirelessly to secure the safety and well-being of local citizens.
