By BOB GIBBINS
TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — Dense freezing fog moved into Cherokee County Thursday evening, but it was not expected to hang around long as the thawing process continues today.
Temperatures are expected to top out around 50 degrees today and climb even higher during the weekend. The thaw is welcome news for county residents who have been in a deep freeze for much of the week.
The vestiges of the ice storm are still being felt, as 6,800 Lake Region Electric Cooperative members were still without power Thursday evening. Two main feeder lines were still out of service.
LREC CEO Hamid Vahdatipour warned that more customers may lose power as ice melts off trees and power lines.
“[Wednesday] the icy roads caused major delays in the restoration process,” he said. “We’re estimating restoration efforts may last through the middle of next week.”
The cooperative initially had 14 main feeders without service but was able to restore nine of them Thursday.
The Oklahoma Emergency Management Web site was reporting Thursday night that Municipal Electrical Systems of Oklahoma had 750 outages in Tahlequah. Ice accumulations of more than an inch were reported on trees and power lines. LREC initially received notification of power outages at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, and service has been interrupted for more than 12,500 members.
Schools across the county remained closed today. Cherokee County offices opened late Thursday, but were expected to operate under normal hours today, as were Cherokee Nation tribal offices. The United Keetoowah Band offices were expected to remain closed Friday because their Web site indicates they close on days Tahlequah Public Schools close for inclement weather.
Northeastern State University classes resumed at noon Thursday, and maintenance crews were busy clearing sidewalks of ice and removing tree limbs from campus.
Scott Pettus, public information officer for Tahlequah-Cherokee County Emergency Management, said an American Red Cross shelter continues to house residents at the First United Methodist Church Activities Building. Other shelters have been set up at Cookson and Tailholt.
Pettus said generators are operational at the Chicken Creek Rural Water Co. Generators have also been sought for Welling Rural Water District.
Emergency service officials are telling people in the rural districts who have been without water that they should boil their water for the next several days to make certain the systems have been stabilized.
City and county road crews are continuing to clear roadways of brush and ice. Street Commissioner Mike Corn said City Cemetery Supervisor Richard Smith and his employees have assisted the Street Department.
District 3 Commissioner Mike Ballard has offered thanks to rural fire departments as the job of clearing debris continues. District 1 Commissioner Doug Hubbard said much of the damage in his district is east of State Highway 82 and along the Illinois River. He said all three districts have logged many man-hours since the storm hit the county.
Baptist Disaster Relief chainsaw crews are scheduled to arrive in the area tomorrow to begin cleanup.
Crews will stage at the First Baptist Church in Tahlequah.
Cleanup will be classified in three levels, with Level 1 being trees on houses or power lines; Level 2, trees blocking driveways and other areas; and Level 3, miscellaneous tree removal.
Pettus said those wanting to be placed on a list to be contacted by the disaster relief crews may call 2-1-1 or the Tahlequah-Cherokee County Emergency Management Agency at 456-2894.
