Power still being restored in Fort Smith after Friday storms damage lines
Storms early Friday damaged property, knocked out power and left people in the Arkansas River Valley under a flash flood warning going into the weekend.
Once the sun came up Friday morning in Fort Smith, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. crews found damage to lines and utility poles. An estimate of when power would be fully restored was not known as temperatures heated up outside.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, 1,359 customers in Fort Smith remained without power. Restoration of all the power outages may take several more days.
More: Chance for more nighttime storms in Fort Smith
More than 550 workers were assigned to the restoration crews. Crews continued to find damage to equipment and power lines and poles.
"Given the damage, this will be a multi-day power restoration event, and estimated restoration times are expected to be available sometime tomorrow after full damage assessments are complete," according to an update from OG&E Friday night.
Team assessing damage from EF-1 tornado in Mansfield
The National Weather Service in Tulsa reported an EF-1 tornado on the ground near Mansfield early Friday. A team was sent to assess damage.
Flooding in Greenwood has affected the water supply to the city in southern Sebastian County. City officials asked people to conserve due to water pumps failing.
Water rescues were reported in northern parts of Sebastian County, Sebastian County Emergency Management officials reported. In southern parts of the county, flooding also hit Mansfield. Damage estimates to properties were not immediately available.
Crews were busy Friday night replacing a power pole at Euper and Horan, near S. 74th and Downing streets.
Winds up to 75 mph combined with intense lightning resulted in power outages to as many as 10,000 customers, OG&E reported.
"This morning (Friday) OG&E crews in the Fort Smith and Van Buren area in western Arkansas began visually inspecting damage that could not be seen overnight, finding extensive wind damage to power lines, as well as broken power poles, tree damage to equipment, broken cross arms and other equipment attached to utility poles that was damaged in the storm," OG&E reported in a statement Friday afternoon.
Debris cleanup in Fort Smith to go through July 28
Fort Smith officials said the city would pick up debris such as tree limbs felled by the storm through July 28.
The storm knocked out power to Fort Smith residents around 2:30 a.m. on Friday, OG&E reported. A power line was down at S. 21st Street and Dodson Avenue.
Between 2 and 5 inches of rain fell early Friday. The National Weather Service in Tulsa, Oklahoma, warned Fort Smith residents of flooding and flash flooding.
Areas of high water are expected across Fort Smith and cities in LeFlore County, Oklahoma. Those include Roland, Muldrow and Sallisaw. Arkansas cities under the watch include Alma, Charleston, Dyer, Greenwood, Hackett, Lavaca, Mulberry, Natural Dam, Van Buren and others in the area.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Power still being restored in Fort Smith after storms damage lines
