Storm causes widespread power outages and damage
Jan. 10—WILKES-BARRE — Thousands of people were affected by power outages across Luzerne County as a result of the winter storm on Tuesday into Wednesday.
Tuesday night, Wilkes-Barre Fire Department received 40 calls for service, 17 of which were weather related — trees down, lines down, power outages, and street level flooding issues.
The WBFD responded to a tree on fire, ignited by arcing wires, at 130 Carlisle St., near Ceder Street. Crews were able to have the power turned off and fire extinguished preventing a residential structural fire.
Two significant power outages affected approximately 1,300 residents. One outage, around Coal Street in the Heights, was mitigated during the night.
The remaining 600 residents who lost power, located between Downtown Wilkes-Barre (including B'Nai B'rth apartments) and Iron Triangle, had their power restored.
Mayor George Brown expressed his appreciation for the Police Department, Fire Department, and the Department of Public Works for the efforts they put forth in addressing the issues that this storm produced, ensuring the safety of Wilkes-Barre's residents.
Alana Roberts, spokesperson for PPL. said storms caused widespread damage and power outages across PPL's service territory Tuesday afternoon into the early morning on Wednesday.
"As of 10 a.m. (Wednesday) morning, about 13,000 of our 1.5 million customers were without power," Roberts said. "Our crews began working Tuesday morning and are continuing to safely restore power to customers who are experiencing outages."
Roberts said PPL is bringing in additional crews to supplement efforts today.
"Because of the scope of repairs, full restoration could take until Thursday for some customers, although many customers will get power restored sooner, as crews work around the clock to repair damage," Roberts said. "Continued wind could result in additional outages through this afternoon. We encourage customers to stay safe and report any outages."
—Outage reporting: report online at pplelectric.com or text "Outage" to TXTPPL (898775).
—Check the status of an outage and estimated restoration times online at — pplelectric.com/outage.
—Sign up for alerts to stay connected and receive outage updates at — pplelectric.com/alerts.
John Mason, Principal Communications Leader at UGI Utilities, Inc., said most of the outages were caused by downed power lines. He said full restoration is expected by 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Wilkes-Barre City opens
Solomon Creek flood gates
Wilkes-Barre City Mayor George C. Brown announced that the Solomon Creek flood gates at Waller Street, Regent Street, and South Franklin Street will be reopened by 12 p.m. today, Jan. 10.
Check back at timesleader.com for updates.
Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
