White Hall dodged a big bullet during last week's winter ice storm and will not be asking the federal government for help.
Last week, the National Weather Service forecast included as much as a half-inch of ice for the city, starting possibly Tuesday afternoon.
So city officials and the Police, Fire and Public Works departments spent most of Monday preparing for freezing precipitation, there were tire chains to install and backup generators to check.
After which, it was a waiting game, said White Hall Mayor Noel Foster.
Sleet and ice was expected as early as Tuesday but it was Wednesday overnight before any real precipitation started, he said.
In total, Foster said, "The city dealt with about a quarter-inch of ice."
While Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson asked that Jefferson County be declared a disaster area and will seek FEMA money to help cover cleanup and recovery, Foster said, The city dealt with significantly less storm damage than the rest of the county.
"We are not seeking any FEMA money," Foster added.
Downed trees
There were a few vehicles that needed to be rescued, but it was the 24 downed trees and the large limbs blocking city roadways that caused the most problems and concern for the city and residents, said Jeff May, the Mayor's Assistant.
The debris "filled 100 dump trucks," that the Public Works Department cleared and hauled off, May said.
Downed trees and power lines across Jefferson County caused about 1,705 Entergy customers to lose power, according to Entergy.
White Hall, with more than 5,000 residents and located in Jefferson County, about 200 lost power, May estimated.
Early Thursday morning, Foster said, "Entergy crews were already working around the city."
Most of the outages lasted between six hours to 24 hours, May said.
At the arsenal
The "Pine Bluff Arsenal received a fair amount of damage on the installation last Tuesday, which impacted our ability to operate the production areas the following two days," said Roch Byrne, PBA's Deputy to the Commander.
The Arsenal is also located in Jefferson County, and employs more than 700 people from around the region.
Roads were covered with ice across the installation. Several trees were damaged, and power outages were reported on the north end of the installation, Byrne said.
All non-essential personnel were encouraged to stay home. Essential personnel, to include our Directorate of Emergency Services (Security and Fire) and the Directorate of Public Works reported for their normal shifts.
As of yesterday, several employees that live in rural areas reported they were still without power.
Byrne said, "Fortunately, we invested time a few years ago in clearing out old debris, encroaching and damaged trees [from] around the power lines, which helped minimize the damage on the Arsenal."