North Temple residents are coping with the aftermath of a storm that roared through Central Texas early Wednesday morning, leaving about 12,000 homes and businesses in the dark. Thursday morning, about 500 Temple customers had been without electricity for more than 24 hours.
“We couldn’t play dominoes, so we just talked,” 92-year-old James Akin said. “We got to thinking it’ll be on any time, especially when you see lights on across the street.”
Akin’s wife, Tavie, said she managed to sign a relative’s birthday card by candlelight. But they ate sandwiches for dinner instead of the chicken that had spoiled. The Akins have lived on Monticello Road for more than 30 years. They can’t remember going without electricity this long. The Akins said they didn’t want to open their refrigerator or freezer because cold air would escape.
Also on Monticello Road, Karen and Jimmy Jenkins said almost all the groceries they bought the day before had gone bad. Ms. Jenkins said she had called Oncor Electric a half-dozen times. She got a recorded message each time. Like their neighbors, the Jenkins found it frustrating that windows were lit up in nearby homes, while they were still using candles and flashlights.
“It’s almost like we’re in a bubble. No one can tell us when,” said Ms. Jenkins, regarding the 24-hour blackout.
Over on Fannin Loop, one block away, workers in bucket trucks and on the ground stretched new line from pole to pole. A repairman wearing a hard hat and tool belt said he and others came down from Arlington to spell local crews. He pointed to a large hackberry tree, split at the trunk about 4 feet above the ground, and said that was the culprit.
John Toone, area manager for Oncor Electric Delivery, said they had come a long way in restoring power to their customers. He expected the Temple 500 would have power sometime Thursday afternoon.
“We’ve been working on the big chunks, we’ve still got those last few,” said Toone. “We’ve got guys working around the clock. Sometimes they (customers) don’t understand how massive the damage is.”
Some of that “massive damage” happened in rural areas that are hard to access. Toone said replacing transformers that were blown by lightning proves difficult when drivers can’t get their bucket trucks close. Repairmen have to hoist by hand and pulley the heavy transformers, which are full of oil, and secure them to the poles with a metal mounting bracket.
“We have to hand-carry, sometimes, poles to remote spots,” said Toone, a 34-year veteran of the electric utility business. “It’s been quite a challenge.”
