(Pine Bluff, AR) – On Sunday, April 12, severe weather impacted several communities across the state including Pine Bluff and Jefferson County. During this time, extreme winds uprooted hundreds of trees throughout our community. Many transmission power lines and Entergy substations sustained heavy damage, which resulted in Entergy losing power. More than 33,000 customers in Pine Bluff and Jefferson County were affected by this outage.
Entergy continues to work to restore power to all customers. As of this morning, April 16, there are approximately 10,948 customers in Pine Bluff without power. Restoring power has required several days of work due to the safety precautions related to COVID-19, the scale of the damage, and the extensive labor required. Extra crews were called in to Arkansas from surrounding states to provide the additional support. During the restoration process, Entergy has worked to restore and stabilize power to critical care facilities that include nursing homes and Jefferson Regional Medical Center.
Pine Bluff Wastewater Utility reports that 24 of its substations were affected by the storms. However, services continued without major interruptions due to an alternate power source. As these facilities and substations are restored, power lines serving residential communities are steadily regaining power.
Over the next few weeks, the City of Pine Bluff will be working with the Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to assess and repair the damages in our community. County Judge Gerald Robinson has verbally declared a state of emergency, which will allow the city to access critical resources as we work to recover.
As a part of the recovery process, the Pine Bluff Street Department will be clearing fallen trees and limbs from roadways only and other public spaces in the city. The clearing of trees and debris on private property will be the property owner’s responsibility.
The Red Cross has recently announced that families with major structural damage may call 1-800-Red Cross (1-800-733-2767) and choose option 4 for assistance. All major damage requests should be submitted before Friday, April 17, 2020.
Entergy Shares Helpful Safety Tips
As with any weather event, please be mindful of the following safety tips:
- Live wires can be deadly. Stay away from downed power lines. Call 1-800-9OUTAGE or 1-800-968-8243 to report downed or dangling power lines, poles or other damaged equipment.
- Do not trim trees or remove debris on or near downed power lines. Only power company crews or their contractors should remove trees or limbs touching power lines.
- Keep away from the immediate areas where crews are working. There is always the danger of moving equipment and the possibility of construction materials or limbs or overhead wires falling to the ground.
- If you plan on using a generator for temporary power, get a licensed electrician and disconnect from the utility electric system before hooking up to your main electric panel.
- Do not run a generator in a confined space without adequate ventilation.
- Turn off any electrical appliances that can easily be turned to the off position until power is restored.
We want to keep you informed and in control. The best way to get information about outages is via Entergy’s View Outage application on www.entergy.com:
- Download our app for your smartphone at entergy.com/app or visit entergystormcenter.com to stay informed on our restoration progress.
- Sign up for text alerts. From your cellphone, text R E G to 368374, or visit entergytext.com.
