No end to Kentucky power outage in sight, governor says

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- More than half a million Kentuckians remain without power three days after a devastating ice storm hit the state, and it was unclear when power would be fully restored throughout the state, the governor said.

About 545,000 people were without electricity, down from earlier figures of 700,000, Gov. Steve Beshear said.

"It's going to take some time to dig our way out of this," Beshear told CNN.

About 200,000 people were without working water systems, Beshear said, and the state was delivering water to them.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/01/31/winter.weather/index.html

---

Tree branches in Verona, Kentucky, are covered with a thick coat of ice, iReporter Tim Jensen shows.

[hedgehog]

1. Have the ice sculptures even thawed yet? I thought trees were still taking down

power lines.

[blueknight]

2. one of my good friends

lives in western ky. he said the power company told them, it may be 3 to 6 WEEKS before they get power back :scared:

[sweetladybug]

19. Most of my family live in Paducah, KY and Benton KY

Some have power now, but most do not have power or water. My sister drove to Clarksville, TN to meet me (I live north of Nashville). I loaned her a generator and gave her a chain saw. My sister said that she has never seen anything like this before. That it is a complete mess in western KY.

[GinaMaria]

52. I have family near there.

They have a gas grill in the garage and run out there to cook food. They do have a portable heater, but no lights. Their small town has a curfew now. It's a scary mess. They go to sleep when the sun goes down, no point to sitting in the dark.

[Berry Cool]

3. This is going to be fun...not.

I lived through an ice storm in Rochester, NY in '91 in which it took the local power company about two weeks, if only that, to restore power to everyone. I admit to being extremely lucky...I had just moved into an apartment with underground wiring the day before.

[Raven]

4. I have a hard wired emergency generator that runs on propane and

powers everything. It goes on automatically within 3 seconds of the power going out. When I was building this house, which is deep in the woods in NH, my builder suggested it and I almost didn't do it. This past December, we were without power for 2 weeks. Best advice I ever got! Best purchase I ever made!

[alfredo]

5. From a remaining pear tree in our complex.

It's starting to thaw a bit. Ice is falling everywhere.

[LiberalFighter]

10. Nice picture.

[alfredo]

15. thanks.

[Muttocracy]

29. wow, as depressing as ice storms can be, they do make gorgeous light effects

and you caught it.

[alfredo]

35. Thanks. The ice is pelting our roof. No sleep tonight.

[alfredo]

46. the trees are now unburdened. Glad I got the photos.

[Psephos]

6. 46 people dead (so far), 600,000 without power - where the hell is FEMA?

For that matter, where the hell is public pressure to get these people some help?

Why doesn't Obama kick some asses and order FEMA to wake up and get going?

Life after Ice Storm Dire, Getting Worse...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/winter_storm_outages

[Thothmes]

8. how many qualified power distribution electricians does FEMA

have on their payroll. Rightnow, power crews from at least a dozen different states and probably Canada are working all over the damaged areas. No matter which way you slice it, it does take time to replace thousands of damage power poles and hundreds of miles of damaged wiring.

[Psephos]

13. ??? FEMA's job is not to restore power

It's to provide emergency shelter, support and resources for people who have no heat, no power, and no running water in the dead of winter until professional utility crews can get those services restored.

[tuckessee]

50. You're wrong.

FEMA's job is to protect the gov't.

Continuity of government is their primary mission. Disaster relief is their cover.

[Psephos]

59. I go by the charter. I understand your opinion but disagree. n/t

[Captain Hilts]

16. There will be electrical employees from all over there soon.

For example, when the big ice storm that hit Quebec a few years back, electrical employees from DC and north all went up there.

[NashVegas]

23. Bunch of People Went Up From Nashville

the other day. I'm sure others will/have.

I saw a report that said it could be mid-Feb before it goes back on for some.

They're getting a taste of how their ancestors lived.

[Two Americas]

41. priorities

The power companies are interested in getting power restored quickly to get those meters running again.

Meanwhile, we have a humanitarian crisis. "They are getting power restored" doesn't address that.

Many people are in no position to appreciate "a taste of how their ancestors lived."

[biopowertoday]

45. I read that FEMA is very slow in getting generators to the areas.

took em several days just to get organized.

[Igel]

58. Of course.

If you read the large print, FEMA's mandate is simple.

They have three days before anybody should expect FEMA to be on the ground. There's no hemming and hawing about this; there's to be no expectation that they'll be there faster. Their first priority is providing materials--food, money, water. If they need to truck in shelter, that takes longer. They might be able to pre-position supplies, but that depends upon their ability to accurately predict the location and scope of a disaster--one thing they don't want is their pre-positioned supplies to be trashed by the disaster itself.

Things like generators can be hard to ship in, and not easy to set up when the roads are icy. It's like getting supplies to Houston the day after Ike--roads that weren't flooded the afternoon after Ike went through were flooded by heavy rains the following morning. Shit happens, and until FEMA can part a river with a word or mandate that clouds and temperatures follow FEMA edicts, shit will continue to happen.

Local authorities are first responders. Then the state authorities have responsibility. FEMA coordinates and does what local and state authorities ask. After Katrina the law was changed to allow the president to easily and cleanly nationalize the response and remove authority from local and state authorities; during the Katrina fiasco this was a difficult and nasty process.

National Guard is a state issue. If they need troops from other states' guard units, the governor of the requesting state asks the governor with the needed units. The US military can facilitate or impede the request, but cannot initiate or fill the request. NorthCom can provide certain kinds of personnel--reconnaissance, search and rescue, staffing supply trucks and providing first aid (which is what they did after Ike), but they cannot engage in law enforcement.

[biopowertoday]

62. Yes, I basically knew most

of your comments. I only heard this on the radio a few days ago.

[Claire Beth]

47. We live near Nashville and my hubby owns a ...

hardware store. We're only about 25 miles from the KY state line and KY folks have been calling (appx 30 calls a day) and coming down for days now trying to purchase generators or kerosene heaters. Everyone around is completely sold out. Most of them say they will just keep driving south until they can find something.

They are in in a lot of trouble up in KY and everyone is telling us the same thing you said that it might be mid February or later before they have electricity again.

All the hotels/motels around the Clarksville area and on in closer to here are completely booked too.

[LMB1]

72. Generators

I have approx. 21 generators in Kentucky for sale at this time if anyone is in need of one.
Thanks!

[LiberalFighter]

11. Last I knew FEMA was dismantled.

[Psephos]

14. It's not. n/t

[iamthebandfanman]

18. apparently people are dying from the heat too

ive been hearing that, locally in my area , misuse and misunderstandings about fuel based generators and heaters is running rampant and there have been fatalities from fumes building up in houses

[hedgehog]

21. You do know that Obama has been in charge for only a week, right?

AS a matter of fact:

Nancy L. Ward began serving as Acting Administrator for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on January 21, 2009.

http://www.fema.gov/about/bios/ward.shtm

[Psephos]

22. So what's Nancy doing, taking a sauna?

Meanwhile, all Obama has to do is pick up a phone and tell someone to bust some ass.

Which is kind of why I voted for him, you know?

[Lagomorph]

28. There are children suffering in KY....

I had hoped President Obama's people would hit the ground, running.

Seems like FEMA needs a few days to spool up any kind of response to a crisis.

[hedgehog]

31. Shelters are open and the National Guard is going door to door to

check on people.

I think we're talking a Kartrina sized disaster in terms of the number of people, but they are scattered across a good portion of the state of Kentucky.

[Princess Turandot]

34. Here you go..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8157231#8157252

The State Governor seems satisfied with the President's response. One quote from the post above:

"Federal officials are hauling truckloads of water, ready-to-eat meals and the large generators to a staging area at Fort Campbell in southwestern Kentucky, said Mary Hudak, a spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's southeast region.

The water trucks will help in some 55 water districts that don't have power. About 93,000 people statewide were without access to water by midday Thursday, said Monica French, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management.

Beshear said the federal government approved the state's request for FEMA to conduct damage assessments immediately, rather than the normal process of waiting for local officials to make the estimates first.

"It will move the federal reimbursement process along faster than it normally would," Beshear said."

Beshear is the KY governor.

[hedgehog]

25. I think the people quoted in the article may have an agenda that involves

more than repairing the damage in Grayson County:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8157231&mesg_id=8157356



What you have is a bunch of Mitch McConnell's buddies shooting their mouths off!

[Psephos]

27. Good god, there are 46 dead and 600,000 shivering

and you play "attack the messenger"?

[hedgehog]

30. I'm suggesting that the Federal response may well be better than these

gentlemen would have you believe.

It takes a lot of work to clear away the debris from an ice storm, let alone get all the power lines back up. I know this from personal experience. I, my husband and five of my kids, teenagers and adults, took the better part of two days cleaning up my Mom and Dad' yard and an uncle's yard.



Instead of pointing a finger at someone who has been in office 10 days, maybe we should be asking why public water systems in Kentucky have no back-up generators or diesel fueled pumps on -line for their water systems.

[Psephos]

32. No one said it doesn't take a lot of work and time to clean up after an ice storm

That's not the point at all. WHILE the clean-up and restoration proceeds over the coming weeks and months, RIGHT NOW hundreds of thousands of people without power and water need shelter, potable water, generators, emergency services, medicines and medical care, loans, and all the other emergency services FEMA is mandated to provide.

Are you actually arguing that we shouldn't be demanding this bungled response finally gets the attention from the top it needs? So, did you feel the same way about Katrina? Why hasn't Obama visited this disaster area? Or hell, even MENTIONED it in an address to those affected? I read the other day he likes to keep the heat up high in the Oval Office "because he's from Hawaii," according to Axelrod. Bet that goes over well with the ice storm people.

I just spent eight years pointing the finger at a buffoon who couldn't run things, and I'm not going to give the guy who promised deep and lasting change a pass either just because he's a little behind on his On-the-Job Training.

Freezing people don't have the luxury of waiting for the government to get around to taking care of its responsibilities. They have a way of, umm, dying.

Like 46 have done so far.

This is NOT a partisan issue.

[Two Americas]

44. this is not about Obama

Are we all supposed to be unpaid public relations agents for the man, and temper everything we say by that?

Our job is to advocate for the needs of the people, not the fortunes of the politicians. If Obama is a good politician, he will respond to that. Promoting him at every turn as though he were some sort of celebrity betrays the people, the principles and ideals of the party, and ultimately will harm the new administration as well.

Let him do his job. The hero worship is interfering with that. His job right now is to do everything possible to save the people in Kentucky. I don't care how long he has been on the job, or what public relations crap the officials have out out. Of he is doing everything he can, great, but our job is still to advocate for the people who are suffering and raise a clamor, not worry about which Obama fan's feelings might get hurt.

The election is over, Promoting candidates is of absolutely no value. The reason we work for and elect Democrats is in the hope that they will be responsive and listen to us, not because they are demi-gods. They can't very well listen to us and respond if we aren't saying anything because a few among us see everything we say as some sort of criticism if their hero and attack anyone who dares to express anything other than uncritical adulation.

The needs of the people take precedence over the careers of politicians. A good politician knows that - by definition.

[Psephos]

57. Well said n/t

[theHandpuppet]

36. I've been wondering the same thing.

I'm very disappointed that Prez Obama seems so disconnected from the terrible suffering of the people of Kentucky. I was hoping for much, much better.

[TommyO]

53. FEMA has been active, don't buy the right-wing crap

even better, don't spread the crap here.

[Psephos]

56. As noted in previous post, this isn't a partisan issue

People are either freezing and waterless, or they're not.

You choose to believe differently because of your politics? Then you're part of the problem.

[TommyO]

64. Your right, it shouldn't be a partisan issue

but at least the Obama administration is doing something about it, Bush would have gone skiing with Mary Bono.

[Psephos]

65. on that we agree n/t

[backwoodsbob]

7. My company has two plants in Kentucky

we are told one may be down for up to 7 weeks

[LiberalFighter]

9. We had an ice storm just before Christmas taking out about 110,000

It took about a week to get everyone power.

[TXDemGal]

12. Anybody have link for map of affected areas?

We have friends in eastern KY, though several members of the family are traveling in China right now.

[iamthebandfanman]

17. im part of the lucky

only lost power for 4-5 hours.

[NJCher]

20. horrible

I really feel for them. A transformer next to my house blew the other night and I was without power for four hours and without internet and cable for two.

What can they do to keep pipes from freezing?



Cher

[Roland99]

24. Got my power back last night. Still large parts of town w/o it.

Sad driving around town and seeing so many trees down or having branches broken off. This is much worse than the aftermath of Ike. I had no power for 5 days then, though.

[AnnieBW]

26. Wasn't it Kentucky that just voted to put God in charge of disaster recovery?

Am I remembering this correctly? Some southern state - I'm pretty sure that it was Kentucky - had a law stating that God would be the head of their disaster relief. I feel bad for the people in KY who are freezing because they have no power and heat. I hope those idiot legislators are praying really hard right now.

[tuckessee]

49. You're correct, it was Kentucky.

Apparently God got his disaster relief training from FEMA.

[quidam56]

33. Hey what about that, Mitch McConnell is against a bill to rebuild

our power grid. * suckers ! * http://www.wisecountyissues.com

[orleans]

40. obama & msm needs to point this out--and also to show people that

we NEED TO REBUILD these failing structures--we get wind/we get ice/we get snow/we get heat--it's time we fix up our infrastructure

[Two Americas]

43. this is a humanitarian crisis

We should not be thinking of how to gain partisan political advantage out of it.

You want the new administration to succeed? Pressure them to respond to the desperate and growing needs of the people, don't look for ways that this could hurt the Republicans or give the administration partisan advantage.

If the Democrats take a stand for the people, especially the least fortunate and most vulnerable among us and the working people, and fight for us, the Republicans will not get near power for a generation or more. Play it safe, go cautiously, and play little partisan games, and the Republicans will be back so fast we won't know what happened.

[orleans]

60. my point was that those pricks have voted against fixing up our

infrastructure--and these are the prices we pay for their "voting up their ass" moves.

[Two Americas]

61. of course

The Republicans consistently and reliably represent the interests of the wealthy and powerful few, and always have. Nothing new or shocking there.

Do not blame the people for the failure of the Democratic party and the modern Left - such as it is - to fight on behalf of the people.

Chortling over the misfortune of people because they voted Republican is symptomatic of a condescending and contemptuous attitude from far too many liberals and progressives toward the people, and that attitude is at least as much to blame for the right wing nightmare in which we have been living as anything that could be blamed on the everyday people.

To hold this up as an example of what is wrong with Republicans is to betray a naivete about politics and the goals and program of the right wing, and if we are going to be that naive and weak and confused and petty, how can we possibly blame the people for not understanding this?

This is our failure, not a failure by the people nor the Republicans, and people are dying as a result.

Time to grow up and take some responsibility, and to stop playing childish partisan games.

[orleans]

70. i certainly am not "chortling"

but since you mentioned it--i wish these people who vote republika and have been harmed by the republika agenda would GET A FUCKING CLUE

[Two Americas]

71. good

Glad to hear that.

I think they would sooner get a clue if we were a little more clued in ourselves.

The people have been harmed by a bi-partisan agenda. They resent the pandering and the condescension from Democrats.

[Two Americas]

42. suckers?

Does that include all of the people who voted Democratic, the children? They are suffering. We are Democrats.

[4dsc]

37. Is this effecting truck stops??

I'll be driving thru KY next week and wonder how many truck stops are being effected by this storn and power outages.. I'll be travelling thru Paducah..

[pmorlan1]

38. I live in Louisville, KY

Thankfully we only lost our power for about 1 1/2 hours on the first night of the storm. But we have been plagued by the ice on the trees. We've had all kinds of tree branches go down. One large branch crashed through the fence of our next door neighbors on one side and another large branch hit the roof of the neighbors house on the other side. Our front, back and side yards are littered with fallen tree branches. We've been sleeping on the floor in the basement all week because we are afraid one of the big trees might crash through the roof. It's really been quite scary. Now that the temperature is above freezing we now have falling ice and falling branches. Everytime I hear a sound I jump.

There have been several people who have died due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Our Mayor was on TV yesterday lecturing people that they need to listen to the Fire Dept. and start using generators properly. He then found out that some of the people who had died were hispanic and the good old mayor hadn't bothered to make sure that instructions were given in spanish. I bet he felt like a jerk as he should have. He's a Democrat but we can't stand him.

[RushIsRot]

39. There's no end to the power outages in Arkansas either. We got

hit first.

DRAT!

Brrrrrrr!

[ohio2007]

48. imagine how bad it would have been if global warming was a myth

George Carlin

rip

[Captain Hilts]

51. It's the inability of power vehicles to get to where they were needed in the Quebec ice storm...

that got the US and Canada to agree to permit each other's military forces to cross borders, because a lot of the equipment that could have gotten through to Quebec was sitting at Ft. Drum, NY, where the Canadian forces also train. But the US Army had the equipment needed and no permission to take it there. Kind of like the USS Iwo Jima off New Orleans.

[mcollier]

54. Imagine if we had solar panels on many of the roofs in Kentucky

we would be having less challenges.... Change must come now...

[WriteDown]

55. They would be covered with 2 or 3 inches of ice

and completely ineffective.

[jsamuel]

63. We had the same storm here in Arkansas

Just got power back in my house on Saturday night and warm weather came through on Friday. Most if not all the ice on roofs were gone by Saturday, but somewhere between 1/2 and 1/4 of the people still don't have power.

[WriteDown]

66. Yep....

I'm in Dallas and we got a bit of it. Not fun. Used to live in Danville, VA. We used to get major ice storms every winter. They were a nightmare.

[alfredo]

67. For a day or two they wouldn't have worked.

[WriteDown]

68. Day or two?

So Kentucky winters are particularly sunny? Things have changed since I've been there. Also, never mind the damage a 20K solar panel would take in this type of storm.

[alfredo]

69. the ice left the roofs after two days. That's what I meant. We've had sun

here for a couple days. That's helped the thawing. Falling ice and branches would be the only danger, but who puts a solar collector under a tree?