DISPUTANTA, Ky. (LEX 18) — Deep in rural Rockcastle County, Myrtle Thomas has been without electricity for 15 days.
Thomas lost electricity during the first wave of arctic weather the state experienced on February 6th.
“We always lose power here when there’s a storm,” Thomas said. “Maybe by Friday, we’ll have electricity.”
Thomas said the longest she’s been without electricity before is 18 days. Though inconvenient, she said her experience with this kind of weather has taught her to be prepared for the worst.
“Each time you have a storm you get better, more prepared, more apt to it, and you learn from your mistakes,” she said. “So, we’re making it. We’re not freezing to death.”
Thomas has a generator and wood fireplace running to keep her family warm. She said at night when the temperature drops to below freezing, they just pile on more blankets and put on more sweaters.
“Whatever it takes, you just do what you have to do to survive and God’s with us,“ she said.
Rockcastle County falls within the jurisdiction of Jackson Energy Cooperative. On Facebook, the company announced multiple crews have been working non-stop across their eight-county region to restore electricity to thousands of households affected by the winter storm.
Some families told LEX 18 News they are grateful for linemen and road crews working to return them to normal, but they are frustrated after days without electricity.
Rockcastle County Judge-Executive Howell Holbrook said he’d been in constant contact with Jackson Energy since the outages began. He said he has not been told when all outages should be resolved, but that crews are seeing severe damage which is slowing down progress in some areas, including entire utility poles being knocked down by fallen trees.
Thomas said she understands crews are working as quickly as they can, and she’s prepared to go several more days without electricity.
“You just look up and thank God that you got another day to get out and do what you need to do to survive,” Thomas said.
