High Winds Cause Downtown Lakeland Power Outage

By Carol A. Gasser Moore

LAKELAND, Georgia – Friday, amidst predicted severe weather from high winds, tree limbs near the South Pafford Street and West Murrell Avenue intersection.  The very large limbs off long time Live Oak trees at the intersection tore through power lines taking out electrical power for just over an hour.

Power was off from just before 2:00 p.m. until about 3:00 p.m. as school was ending for the day and traffic picked up.  According to Georgia Power there were 87 customers (households and businesses) that were affected.

Emergency Management Agency Director Tony Galardo could be seen in the area helping to secure the area with yellow “Do Not Cross Line” tape to keep passerbys and onlookers away from the area in which Georgia Power and other employees were working.  While the crews worked to restore service, no one was allowed to travel West Murrell or turn off of West Main St. onto River Street.

The City of Lakeland’s tree removal crew and truck helped remove the debris quickly.

Georgia Power teams were in the field this afternoon working to repair damage and restore power to customers following the high winds that brought down the limbs causing downed power lines and interrupting service to customers during the afternoon.

The Lanier County News has not learned of any other outages experienced in the area other than those in downtown Lakeland.

According to a Georgia Power Media representative, Georgia Power was working safely and as quickly as possible to restore service affected by the high winds. The representative indicated the company’s appreciation  for customers patience and understanding.

 

Georgia Power offers these tools that customers can use to stay informed about outages:

• Outage & Storm Center – Available at georgiapower.com/storm, customers can visit this site to sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.
• Outage Alerts – Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message.
• Outage Map – Housed within the Outage & Storm Center, Georgia Power’s interactive Outage Map provides near real-time information, allowing users to see where outages are occurring across the state and track estimated restoration times.
• Georgia Power Mobile App – Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.
• @GeorgiaPower on Twitter – Follow @GeorgiaPower on Twitter for storm tips, outage updates, customer service and more.