There are still more than 300,000 power outages following a severe ice storm that passed through Oklahoma this week. Between restoring power and debris cleanup, recovery could take a long time.
Sean Trotsky, the CEO of Oklahoma Gas and Electric, says they have 3,000 additional employees working on returning power to the state, but some areas will take longer to restore than others. He said cities like Enid and Woodward could get power as soon as the weekend, but for Oklahoma City, it could be later next week until everyone gets power.
“We understand a lot of people don't have electricity,” Trotsky said. “We're working really, really hard to restore that service as quickly as possible.”
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management director Matt Gower says the department is working with FEMA and is preparing a presidential disaster request to aid homeowners, renters and business owners with storm damage.
Craig Freeman, the city manager for Oklahoma City, estimates all the cleanup around the city for debris will cost about $7 million.
“I will point out that this is something that's going to take a very long time. This is a massive event,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said. “We are very grateful as well to our city employees who are clearing our roadways right now and doing a follow up on this for many weeks and months probably to come.”
---
Support this vital local reporting with a donation to KOSU. Click here to give.
