Recharged Lake Area cleaning up after weekend storms
Last Modified: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 11:51 AM
By Natalie Stewart / American Press
Entergy officials said power was restored to all homes and businesses in Southwest Louisiana who were affected by last Friday’s severe storms, including more than 500 customers who were without electricity over the weekend.
Clyde Mitchell, Entergy’s customer service manager, said the storms initially caused power outages to about 16,000 customers, and that nearly 543 of those were without electricity through Monday. Widespread damage and debris from downed trees and power lines made it difficult to restore electricity, he said.
“This was a challenging weekend for our customers and our employees, but our crews are committed to working around the clock to get everyone back on line,” he said. “It took a while to get the (debris) cleared and (the) lines fixed. We also had a lot of poles down or damaged that had to be repaired before power could be restored.”
Mitchell said the lengthy power outages were spread across Lake Charles and Sulphur, and additional restoration workers were brought in over the weekend to help. He said crews spent most of Monday to restore power in all areas affected by the storm.
Trash pickup
Public works officials with Calcasieu Parish and the city of Lake Charles said they are working to quickly pick up downed trees and any other debris left behind by the storms.
“We are going to be working overtime and on scheduled days off,” said Zach Johnson, maintenance superintendent for the city’s solid waste department.
Johnson said homeowners should trim any branches as much as possible and put them curbside so they can be picked up.
Allen Wainwright, the parish’s public works director, said both of their trash collection companies are working to pick up debris. Solid waste department employees will collect any items those companies cannot pick up. Waste Management LLC collects trash in Wards 2-8. Waste Management and JimBill Disposal share trash collection in Ward 1.
Wainwright said people should separate piles of vegetative and non-vegetative debris, and that vegetative piles cannot be longer than 6 feet. Tree limbs should not measure more than 4 inches in diameter.
Wainwright encouraged homeowners to use the parish’s two solid waste collection centers. The east maintenance facility is located at 5500 B Swift Plant Rd. in Lake Charles, and the west facility is located at 2915 Post Oak Rd. in Sulphur. The centers will not accept commercial or industrial debris.
For more information, call the parish Public Works office at 721-3700.
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American Press Staff Writer John Guidroz contributed to this report.
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