Ice freezes Boyle County; 5,000 without power at one point
Published 10:58 am Thursday, February 11, 2021
Ice-covered roads made for rough travel for people who had to be out in the early-morning hours Thursday. - Photo by Jeff Moreland
Branches of trees were covered with a coating of ice Thursday morning. - Photo by Jeff Moreland
Ice accumulating on limbs over night left limbs down in several areas of Danville before dawn Thursday morning. - Photo by Jeff Moreland
John Funkhouser shovels ice from the sidewalk outside Johnson Pohlmann Insurance on South Fourth Street Thursday morning. - Photo by Jeff Moreland
Tiny icicles covered the underside of a billboard. - Photo by Jeff Moreland
Andrew Losch of Louisville scrapes ice from his truck Thursday morning after finishing his shift at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center. - Photo by Jeff Moreland
Ice hangs from the tip of an American Flag at a home on Perryville Road Thursday morning. - Photo by Jeff Moreland
Steve Curtsinger spreads salt on the campus of Centre College Thursday morning. - Photo by Jeff Moreland
Ice hangs from the branches of a bush on the campus of Centre College. - Photo by Jeff Moreland
Ralph Burnside of Stanford scrapes ice off of his work vehicle at AT&T in Danville Thursday morning. - Photo by Jeff Moreland
A worker spreads salt on an icy sidewalk outside a building near the railroad in Danville. - Photo by Jeff Moreland
Slush and ice are scraped from the road last week in Danville. - Photo by Jeff Moreland
Boyle County was blanketed by ice early Thursday morning, just as the weather forecast predicted.
Roads were slick, grass was crunchy, tree limbs fell and power outages were reported throughout the county.
Emergency Management Director Mike Wilder guessed that at least a quarter of an inch of ice covered the area, and it was still accumulating at 9 a.m.
The main roads were passable because road crews worked overnight spreading salt, and no trees were reported to have blocked travel, Wilder said. However, the side roads “were slick and hazardous.” He urged drivers to, “stay off the roads if at all possible.”
And Wilder didn’t expect the ice to melt later in the day. “Temperatures are not going to be our friend. It will still be below freezing.”
Kentucky Utilities and Inter-County Energy customers were without power for a while, he added. But repair crews “Were getting a pretty good handle on it,” by 8:30 a.m.
Wilder said at one point about 5,000 customers were without electricity. By morning that number was down to about 2,000 customers, he said.
According to power outage maps, a large area along Waterworks Road and spots on Lexington and Maple avenues and sections of Hustonville Road were without power Thursday morning. There were also a few reports of electricity out in Junction City and Perryville.
The northeastern section of the state appeared to have the most severe power outages.
The Boyle County Courthouse and Danville City Hall were closed, as well as the Boyle County Public Library and Sheriff’s Office. City and county schools declared a traditional snow day, with no virtual classes in session, and many retail businesses didn’t open for the day.
