Tens of thousands still without power in central Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Tens of thousands of Kentuckians have spent several long nights living in the dark after storms blew across the commonwealth Friday.

Power crews have been working day and night since Friday’s historic wind event to restore power.

In the Lexington area, crews have gathered by the hundreds at Kentucky Horse Park, with some even coming from out of state to support the recovery effort.

“It’s really scary for people because you don’t know what’s going on out there but you hear it,” said Mayor Linda Gorton.

Mayor Gorton was among the hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians that lost power during Friday’s windstorm.

KU says its crews have been working 16-hour shifts. They’ve had to deal with hundreds of broken poles and more than 2,500 wires down.

“And we’re still working as hard as we can and around the clock to get everybody restored,” said KU spokesperson Daniel Lowry.

KU says its the third most significant weather event in the past 20 years, which affected 346,000 customers at its peak. That number is down to 40,000 for KU and another 40,000 for LG&E customers.

“It’s a massive effort. You’re talking 1500 additional resources. We’ve had crews around the clock working to restore power,” Lowry said.

About 25,000 of those outages are in Fayette County, and that’s led to FCPS closing for a second consecutive school day. As of Sunday, at least 21 schools have no power, internet or there is damage to the buildings.

Mayor Gorton says the storm dealt millions of dollars in damage and they’re working to declare a local state of emergency.

Gorton is urging Lexington residents to be patient because she says utility crews are working diligently to resolve a variety of issues throughout the city.

“I know that for some people we are not moving as fast as they would like. We’re all trying to be patient and do every single thing we can. We’re getting it done one day at a time,” Gorton said.

In an interview with WKYT over the weekend, Lowry acknowledged that four days is a long time to have your power shut off. He says they are working around the clock and they’re hopeful that all power will be back on by Wednesday night.

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