Icy trees take down power for thousands across state

By ArkansasOnline

About 7,000 Entergy customers are still without power Tuesday morning after frozen rain put weight on trees and power lines, according to an Entergy spokesman.

James Thompson, spokesman for Entergy, said late Monday night up to 11,500 customers were without power. Crews working overnight reduced that number to 6,900 before customers started flipping their light switches Tuesday morning.

Many of those customers are just south of Little Rock in the Baseline area with 2,800 powerless and near Sheridan where 2,000 were without power Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., according to Thomason.

The rest of the outages are scattered around the state, he said. The hardest hit were rural areas where trees fell on lines.

Entergy's powerlines are expected to hold up to a half-inch of ice, but many trees topple with much lighter loads.

Thomason said power for most customers should be restored later Tuesday.

Temperatures are expected to rise through the day, decreasing the risk for more problems.

Come back to Arkansas Online for more information on this story as it develops.