Ice freezes Boyle County; 5,000 without power at one point
Published 10:58 am Thursday, February 11, 2021
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.