It could take at least seven days to restore power to the more than 30,600 Lakeland Electric customers who remained without power as of 4 p.m., the utility reports.
The figure represents 22% of the utility’s 138,664 customers whose power is out because of extensive wind and flood damage from Hurricane Milton. Power has been restored to almost two-thirds of the nearly 87,000 customers who lost power during the storm.
“So far, we have reported 62 broken poles, 35 damaged transformers and nearly 300 downed wires. These numbers will continue to grow as we continue power restoration,” Lakeland Electric spokeswoman Cathryn Lacy said in a 4 p.m. update.
Flooding: Houses and buildings where there is flooding will likely see power restored later than those without flooding. The west side of Lakeland Electric’s service area seems to be most affected by flooding, the utility said.
Today’s focus will be repairing seven mainline circuits, the utility said.
“(These) are large and difficult jobs, but they will restore power to large numbers of customers as they are completed,” Lakeland Electric spokeswoman Cathryn Lacy said in a news release.
RELATED
Lakeland Electric has more than 600 people in the field, including 500 lineworkers, tree crews and damage assessors from utilities in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and other parts of Florida. That represents more than five times Lakeland Electric’s normal field operations.
Reporting emergencies: Residents can report emergencies and downed lines at (863)834-9535, which is currently being monitored around the clock. Lakeland Electric’s smart meter system automatically reports power outages to the utility.
Check on current outages at Lakeland Electric’s online outage map.
Lakeland Electric recently published a web page explaining the process for restoring power.
In a news conference this morning, Polk Emergency Operations Director Paul Womble urged people to call their utility, not his agency, to report power outages and said Polk Emergency Operations phone staff are not equipped to tell people when their power will be restored.
Debris: Womble urged residents to stack tree limbs and other vegetative debris by the road side, but not in the roadway or on top of access boxes for electric, phone or Internet utilities; those can be damaged when the debris is picked up by trucks with large hooks.
Furniture, fences and other debris needs to be separated from vegetative debris in order to be picked up more quickly, he said.
Questions about debris management in Polk County can be answered 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 833-843-1920, he said.
County crews will focus on assessing damage and safety measures, he said.
Shelters: Most of the emergency shelters in Polk have been closed. People at the remaining special-needs shelters will be transferred today to a consolidated shelter in Bartow. By the end of the day, no Polk public schools will be used as shelters, he said.
Womble plans another briefing at 4:30 p.m. today. It can be viewed online on Facebook, YouTube and PGTV.
Kathleen hole
Womble acknowledged that the hurricane is presumed to be the cause of a large hole that opened up on Willow Wisp Drive East in Kathleen on Thursday. Portions of two houses slid into the hole, and a yellow pickup truck is also in it.
Residents of both houses were inside when it opened but escaped safely, Fox 13 News reported.
Part of the garage of one house collapsed with the owner’s SUV inside, and the sidewalk at another house caved in, the station reported. Willow Wisp Drive East is near the intersection of Kathleen Road and Duff Road.
Also
Volunteers wanted: United Way of Central Florida is looking for volunteers to hand out water and other essentials at Sleepy Hill Elementary. A distribution point is being set up there by noon today in partnership with Polk County, Polk County Public Schools, Church for the One, Freedom Tours to serve the northwest area of Polk County.
Boil water alerts are currently in effect for Lakeland utility customers at the following addresses:
- 411-483 Garden Drive.
- 486-615 Garden Drive North.
- 509 and 481-614 Garden Drive South.
- All of Dogwood Lane.
- 729 Penny Lane.
- 5375-5399 North Socrum Loop.
- 708-739 Angelina Lane.
- 1315-1325 Rolling Woods Lane.
- 3815 Emerald Terrace.
- 5602-5630 and 1102-1249 Lake Point Drive.
- 5020-5030 Elon Crest Drive.
- 4500-5181 Williamstown Blvd.
- 2210-2240 Hollingsworth Hills Ave.
For more information, go to lakelandgov.net/boilwaternotices.
Lakeland debris pickup: City solid waste crews are concentrating on removing debris from main roads and focusing on the northwest and southeast quadrants of Lakeland today, according to city spokesman Kevin Cook.
The city’s contract debris haulers are being mobilized today. Cook said they are adhering to FEMA rules, which are:
- Place debris in piles that are no larger than 6 ft by 4 ft by 4 ft.
- Keep debris away from trees, poles, structures, fire hydrants, and meters.
- Do not block the roadway with debris
Curbside debris needs to be separated into these categories:
- Construction debris includes building materials, drywall, carpet, furniture
- Vegetation debris including tree branches, leaves, logs and plants
- Hazardous waste including oil, batteries, paint, cleaning supplies
- Large appliances including refrigerators, washer/dryers, dishwashers
- Electronics including televisions, computers, phones
Food safety: At an afternoon update, Womble noted that many people had had the power off for 36 hours or more, so you want to make sure the food is safe to eat that has been in your refrigerator.
“If you’re not sure that food has stayed at a proper temperature, you need to dispose of it, otherwise you can get sick,” Womble said.
Generator safety: Womble emphasized generator safety. Unless you have had the proper switch installed by an electrician, do not plug your entire house into your generator.
“It can backfeed into the electrical system and injure or kill a lineman working to restore your power,” he said.
Volunteering to help: People looking to help others can call Volunteer Polk’s hotline at 863-519-7411 or register online.
latest news
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.