Paris working to restore power after storm; mayor urges water conservation

Mayor urges water conservation

Copperhill has issued water conservation, boil advisories.
Copperhill has issued water conservation, boil advisories.

PARIS -- A Logan County mayor is asking residents to conserve water after a storm that hit late Sunday night caused a water treatment plant to lose power.

Mayor Daniel Rogers said Monday afternoon an estimated 20-30 electrical poles in the city were broken or damaged due to the storm, although the city was still assessing damages. The city's water treatment plant was among the facilities that lost power, which led to one of its water tanks becoming empty and the water level of the other falling to just 5 feet.

Rogers said the treatment plant was rendered operational again with the help of contracted electrical crews about 11:30 a.m. Monday. However, the water level in the tanks was still below normal. He urged residents to just use water for necessities until the tanks are sufficiently restored. The treatment plant currently doesn't have backup power capabilities.

Rogers said he assumed the storm damage, which also included damage to trees and vehicles in the city, was the result of straight-line wind, microbursts or something of that nature. No one was injured, to his knowledge.

"We didn't get the feeling that it was tornadic or anything, and we weren't under any tornado warnings," Rogers said. "I had heard there's a chance we possibly got up to 80 to 90 mph winds though, which caused the damage."

The National Weather Service office in North Little Rock received damage reports from several counties in the wake of overnight storms and strong wind, according to meteorologist Justin Condry on Monday. This included Logan, White, Independence and Pope counties, with Pulaski County and Arkansas County also getting hit.

Ray Sondag, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa, Okla., said the Altus area of Franklin County also had wind damage, with fallen tree limbs and a damaged chicken house and barn roof being reported on top of a half-inch to an inch of rain.

Rogers said Paris provides electrical service to customers. About 80% of the city and an estimated 800 homes were without power as of Monday afternoon. Outside crews will work with the city to restore service going forward.

A post on the city's Facebook page Monday morning asks residents to prepare to be without electricity for at least two days.

Rogers said the Paris High School cafeteria, which has power, will serve as a cooling station for those looking to escape the intense summer heat in the meantime.

Jim Loyd, superintendent of the Paris School District, said Monday the district opened the cafeteria to residents about 7:30 a.m. Monday and would keep it open until 9 p.m. The district will open the cafeteria at 7:30 a.m. today and decide about noon how long to continue this practice based on how many residents are still without power and using the facility, among other factors.

Population

Paris had a population of 3,176 as of April 1, 2020.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

 


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