Thousands Spend Thursday Night without Power
By: Marci Manley, KARK 4 News
Updated: December 20, 2012
"I think that now that we have a plan it's kind of fun," Marty Smith said, having just slid a mattress in front of the fire.
His pallet made of mattresses and pillows will be headquarters for the family's camp-in.
"The fire place is our sole source of heat right now. So we'll camp out in the living room," he said.
With his infant son and four-year-old Ruby to entertain, Marty and his wife tried to make the most of living a night without lights in freezing temperatures.
"We'll do camping for one night and then we'll figure out a plan from there," he said. "We're blocking off the door, because it kind of has a draft. Otherwise, it's staying pretty warm."
The Smiths are among thousands of Entergy customers without power on Thursday night after gusting winds tore through the state.
"Fast as we can get 'em, we try to get the lights on as quick as possible," said crewman Rodrick Hardwell.
Entergy crews have been at work since the early morning hours.
"All day just cutting trees down back and forth," Hardwell said. "It can get hectic. But we're happy to do the job for people."
But each job finished, is a drop in the bucket with all the calls coming in, keeping them busy throughout the night.
"The customers are happy to see us. Most of them have been out for a couple of hours. A lot of them are elderly. We're rushing to get the jobs done because we know it's going to get colder as the night wears on," Hardwell said.
The City of Little Rock Public Works Department had workers trying to get stop lights operating by hooking them to generators. They monitored some areas for improvement, while others had to be shut down, like two blocks of the busy Kavanaugh thoroughfare.
"That section right there, we've been here since that tree fell at two o'clock this afternoon," one worker told us."Entergy came out, but left three hours ago and haven't been back. It's after dark and most of us have been on the job since three this morning. Those are live wires and we can't touch them. We just have to block it off."
Customers in Hillcrest say they've received notifications that it could be Sunday before Entergy has their power back up and running. Meaning the Smiths might be on safari in their living room for a longer stay than expected.
"I hope it's not four days. We'll have to stick it out, but I hope it's not Sunday," Smith said.
His pallet made of mattresses and pillows will be headquarters for the family's camp-in.
"The fire place is our sole source of heat right now. So we'll camp out in the living room," he said.
With his infant son and four-year-old Ruby to entertain, Marty and his wife tried to make the most of living a night without lights in freezing temperatures.
"We'll do camping for one night and then we'll figure out a plan from there," he said. "We're blocking off the door, because it kind of has a draft. Otherwise, it's staying pretty warm."
The Smiths are among thousands of Entergy customers without power on Thursday night after gusting winds tore through the state.
"Fast as we can get 'em, we try to get the lights on as quick as possible," said crewman Rodrick Hardwell.
Entergy crews have been at work since the early morning hours.
"All day just cutting trees down back and forth," Hardwell said. "It can get hectic. But we're happy to do the job for people."
But each job finished, is a drop in the bucket with all the calls coming in, keeping them busy throughout the night.
"The customers are happy to see us. Most of them have been out for a couple of hours. A lot of them are elderly. We're rushing to get the jobs done because we know it's going to get colder as the night wears on," Hardwell said.
The City of Little Rock Public Works Department had workers trying to get stop lights operating by hooking them to generators. They monitored some areas for improvement, while others had to be shut down, like two blocks of the busy Kavanaugh thoroughfare.
"That section right there, we've been here since that tree fell at two o'clock this afternoon," one worker told us."Entergy came out, but left three hours ago and haven't been back. It's after dark and most of us have been on the job since three this morning. Those are live wires and we can't touch them. We just have to block it off."
Customers in Hillcrest say they've received notifications that it could be Sunday before Entergy has their power back up and running. Meaning the Smiths might be on safari in their living room for a longer stay than expected.
"I hope it's not four days. We'll have to stick it out, but I hope it's not Sunday," Smith said.
