Blanket of ice covers Jefferson Davis County
Published 11:06 am Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Holley Cochran / The Prentiss Headlight—Ice covered Columbia Avenue Monday morning following the winter storm that came through the area. Many residents are still without power and governmental offices and schools remain closed. Roads are still dangerous and authorities have asked that travel be kept to the minimum.
The Prentiss Headlight—Aubrey and Owen Sherman making the most of their “ice day” in Whitesand.
Holley Cochran / The Prentiss Headlight—Ice covered the trees in Prentiss after a winter storm came through the area Monday morning.
The Prentiss Headlight—Crews from District 4 work to clear Clem Road Tuesday afternoon.
The Prentiss Headlight–A tree is down across Old Hwy 13 South in Prentiss.
An ice storm hit Jefferson Davis County Monday morning and wreaked havoc throughout the entire area.
All county offices were closed for days as supervisors and town crews tried to keep the roads clear and power companies worked tirelessly to restore everyone’s power.
There are still many in the county without power.
Travel is still dangerous and will possibly be throughout the end of the week due to low temps and additional precipitation that will continue.
All Jefferson Davis County government offices were closed through Wednesday and the decision to reopen will be made on a daily basis.
Prentiss City Hall was closed Tuesday and opened Wednesday with limited staff.
Bassfield City Hall continues to be closed.
All Jefferson Davis County Schools and Prentiss Christian School were closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to the weather.
An announcement has not been made regarding schools on Thursday as of press time.
Both schools, and all offices, were already scheduled to be closed Monday to observe President’s Day.
All garbage pick-up in the county and Town of Prentiss has been delayed until conditions are safer.
Another round of severe weather is expected in the area Wednesday into Thursday.
Southern Pine Electric had 18,140 members without power as of 4 p.m. Monday.
Crews are actively working on restoration efforts, but due to the icy conditions, it is slow, dangerous work and may take longer than typical outages.
As conditions allow, crews will remain diligent in restoration efforts. Southern Pine Electric anticipates mutual aid assistance tomorrow if outside crews can make it safely into the area.
With over 10,500 miles of line in 11 counties, including Jefferson Davis County, the outages are scattered across a wide geographical area.
Members may report outages by calling the automated system at 1-800-231-5240 or by using their MyPower account. For more information, or to view Southern Pine’s outage map, visit www.southernpine.coop.
Entergy Mississippi customers are being asked to voluntarily reduce their electricity usage.
The request is due to the demand for electricity “potentially exceeding the available generation due to the extreme cold and weather conditions currently impacting” the utility’s service territory.
“This is a proactive means to keep us from having to do periods of where people go without power,” said Entergy spokeswoman Mara Hartmann. “There is a massive demand right now across the southern U.S. Everyone is trying to stay warm and is using electricity.”
The company says that if the power supply cannot meet the demand, then “periodic outages would be needed to prevent an extensive power outage that could last an extended period.”
It was unclear how long the conservation measures were to be in place.
The request does not apply to the elderly or those with health concerns.
