Bitter Cold Suspected in Power Outage in Rural Atlanta, McLean and Heyworth

Emergency Response Teams Lose Battle to Blaze

[January 24, 2008]  Cold, cold, cold... Rural areas of Atlanta, Heyworth and McLean are feeling it today more than their neighbors that have heat. Power has been out in the area since about 5 a.m.

The cold doesn't stop emergency crews from working. Power is expected to be restored between 1 and 2 p.m.

A number of power lines were observed to have snapped and were down in the Atlanta area near a substation. The low temperatures and high winds are suspected to have caused the breaks.

Warming centers are open at the Atlanta Fire Department and Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital.

Dan Fulscher from the Logan County Emergency Management Agency said that if there are any individuals who cannot get out on their own, they can call EMA. A mobile command unit will come get them and take them to a warming center. Call 217-732-9491.

Fulscher spoke to LDN late Thursday morning from the site of a Beason home fire. Numerous fire departments went out to the Tony Barr residence to battle the blaze. Firefighters were not only fighting the fire, but the frigid temperatures as well. Despite their heroic efforts in the miserable cold, the battle was lost around 11:30 a.m. when the roof collapsed.

No one was home when the fire broke out at midmorning. The one living thing in the house, the family dog, was rescued.

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