Athens Fire and Rescue works to clear a tree at a residence near the intersection of Grace Avenue and First Street. Around 6,000 Athens Utilities customers were without power Monday evening due to downed power lines.

When the winter weather event forecast by meteorologists struck Limestone County, it brought several issues with it.

Trees were downed in areas around the county, and with those trees came power lines in several spots.

According to Athens Electric Department Manager Blair Davis, about 6,000 Athens Utilities customers were without power due to the weather Monday night. That number decreased to around 2,300 customers by Tuesday morning.

However, Holly Hollman with the City of Athens said that figure could rise once again as new issues arise from the ongoing weather event.

“For some of these customers, power could remain out through (Tuesday), as there are areas that must be cleared of trees before crews can get there to make repairs,” Hollman said in a statement for the city. “Pockets of outages as well as isolated outages are scattered throughout Limestone County. Crews continue to work to restore power.”

“Trees and limbs continue to fall, hindering our efforts,” Davis said.

Just before noon Tuesday, Hollman told The News Courier that the number of customers without power had dropped to 1,900. She said getting workers to the downed power lines continued to be an issue due to the icy conditions on roadways.

“We are not sure how many lines have been downed,” she said. “We know some rural areas, like Pettusville, were hit bad. We have random trees and limbs down throughout the city and county.”

Hollman said it could take until Wednesday to get every customer’s power restored. She said Athens Utilities was hoping to have a better idea of how many lines were down by Tuesday evening.

The electric department had received “several calls” asking when power would be restored, according to Hollman. Temperatures have dropped below freezing, and the power outages are leaving some residents without heat.

“We know people are frustrated,” she said. “But we ask everyone to be patient. Our linemen are working as quickly and safely as they can.”

Helping hands

Hollman said Scottsboro, which did not get hit like Limestone County, was sending a pair of two-man linemen crews to help out where needed.

“Most of the utility departments in the area are part of a collaboration,” Hollman said. “They can be called upon to help out in several places. They said they had two crews they could spare.”

“We appreciate Scottsboro extending a helping hand to our utility crews who are exhausted,” said Mayor Ronnie Marks.

In response to many residents being without heat, Central Church of Christ opened a warming station Tuesday. The church is at 320 U.S. 31 North, near the Athens High School football stadium.

“The church will monitor conditions to determine how long to remain open,” said Hollman in a post for the City of Athens. “Snacks will be available. If you know of family, friends or neighbors without power who cannot drive and you are able to offer rides, please take them to the church.”