MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Across Memphis Friday, from the Local 24 News drone camera above to our camera on the ground, we saw the restoration work continue to get lights and heat back on following Thursday's ice storm.
"Crews are basically seeing downed power lines. We have poles that are down. We have trees that are down everywhere," Gale Jones Carson with MLGW said.
Carson said nearly 70 MLGW electrical and tree trimming crews - along with 11 crews outside the area - chipped in line by line as needed.
The outage numbers fluctuated Friday as additional customers temporarily lost power from fallen limbs or repairs nearby.
"Those crews will not be dismantled until we are certain all of our customers are restored," Carson said.
As crews crisscrossed Shelby County Friday, those with MLGW also focused closely on the upcoming forecast, where winter precipitation and below freezing temperatures could strain the system further.
"Should new outages occur because of projected storms that may hit us, they will still be here to work through any outages that we may have," Carson said.
That's why Carson reminded customers to begin planning for another round of outages and repairs.
"As we project other storms to come, make sure their phones are charged, make sure that they have batteries for flashlights, make sure they have blankets," Carson said.
Friday, MLGW and out of region crews focused on larger outages first and then focused on smaller range outages.
Customers are reminded to not assume the utility knows about specific outages and to call the MLGW outage hotline at 901-544-6500.
