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As Oklahoma's power woes ease, fog causes accidents

 
BY DARLA SLIPKE | Published: February 4, 2010    Comment on this article Leave a comment

Utility companies reported Wednesday that power has been returned to about 24,000 customers in southwest Oklahoma just as freezing fog earlier in the day caused large chain-reaction accidents on highways in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas.

photo - Electrical crews from Texas replace power poles on the outskirts of Hobart along U.S. 183. See the story on the back page of the State section. PHOTO BY RON JACKSON, THE OKLAHOMAN
Electrical crews from Texas replace power poles on the outskirts of Hobart along U.S. 183. See the story on the back page of the State section. PHOTO BY RON JACKSON, THE OKLAHOMAN

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Snow, rain expected
A storm system moved into northwest Oklahoma and areas of the Panhandle had as much as 3 inches of snow by 8 p.m. Wednesday. Areas north of Interstate 40 are expected to see rain turning to snow this afternoon, while mainly rain will fall south of I-40. Another storm system is expected to arrive Sunday, the weather service predicted.

Temperatures are not forecast to drop below freezing in central and southwest Oklahoma tonight.

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Electrical workers decreased the number of customers without power by about a third Tuesday night and Wednesday, the state Emergency Management Department reported. About 46,000 customers remained without power, down from about 71,000 a day earlier and down from the 180,000 reported Friday.

Communities where power was restored Wednesday started the process of cleanup and recovery.

In the Jackson County town of Eldorado, most businesses and services were up and running within an hour after power was restored.

"It was like the whole town had one big smile,” Eldorado Mayor Tommy Spradlin said.

Still, officials warned it will be several days or more before everyone is back online.

An icy Canadian River bridge and heavy fog was blamed for an early- morning, 42-vehicle pileup on Interstate 44 in southwest Oklahoma City. Similar conditions existed west of Tulsa on U.S. 412, where at least 19 cars were involved in chain-reaction accidents.

Police said 22 of the crashed vehicles in Oklahoma City had to be towed, but paramedics only took five patients to hospitals with apparent minor injuries, Emergency Medical Services Authority spokeswoman Lara O’Leary said. Fifteen others refused to go to the hospital.

The Tulsa-area crashes near 177 West Ave. caused "three to four injuries,” an Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokesman said.

"Could be as much as twice that many.”

Medics took three people to hospitals, but their injuries weren’t considered life-threatening, EMSA spokeswoman Tina Wells said.

Joe Sellers, a meteorologist at the Tulsa office of the National Weather Service, said freezing fog is regular fog that occurs during freezing temperatures.

More aid sought
The governor’s office said Oklahoma officials are working with bordering states to speed the flow of power repair supplies and other provisions to communities.

Gov. Brad Henry declared a state of emergency for the entire state before last week’s storm arrived. The order suspended highway size and weight restrictions so utility crews could move in trucks and materials without going through a lengthy permit process.

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