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Approximately 1,200 reported without power

 

POLK COUNTY—Heavy winds on Sunday, December 10, led to multiple power outages spanning across Polk County and the Upstate, with many outages continuing into Monday. 

First reported on Sunday at 7:44 p.m, the outages were caused by fallen trees and limbs damaging equipment. Multiple trees were reported down in the area, including a large tree that fell on church property off Laurel Ave. in Tryon and another across Lakeshore Dr. at Lake Lanier.

As of this writing, there are over 1,000 households in the area without power, with repairs expected to be complete and power restored between 2 p.m. to 5 p.m today.

There are roughly 180 households in Tryon without power, with power expected to be restored by 6 p.m, and 70 are affected in the Lynn and Columbus area with power expected to be restored by midnight. 

There were only six homes without power in Saluda, with power expected to be restored by 6 p.m. Saluda Elementary school was closed on Monday, December 11, due to the outage. All other Polk County Schools are on a regular schedule. 

“What I’m seeing is about 1,200 customers without power. When we have a high wind event, it’s the trees and the branches and that’s what takes down the power lines. There are a bunch of what we call scattered outages,” said Logan Kureczka, spokesperson for Duke Energy Carolinas. 

Kureczka explained that a contracted company removes the vegetation for Duke Energy. “They have to physically go out and remove the trees before our crews can restore power,” she said. 

“There are a number of different sites, but the current estimated time of restoration ranges from from 5 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.,” Kureczka said. “But these are estimated times of restoration. In some cases, we get it done faster. In some cases, it takes a bit longer.”