For North Mississippi, a return to normal still weeks away after historic ice storm

Ripley, Mississippi — A large white generator on a flatbed tow truck was a beacon of hope Thursday for the volunteer fire department in the small northern Mississippi community of Gravestown, which has been without power and running water for five days following an ice storm the likes of which the state hasn't seen in more than 30 years.

"We're very grateful for them," Gravestown Fire Chief Kenny Childs told CBS News of the dozens of generators that have been distributed statewide by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the wake of the storm. "We had no water, no power, no nothing. So, you know, it is great."

Childs said he's been informed by the leadership of his local electric company that it will be another seven to 15 days before his community gets power restored, so the generator will be a crucial item for the near future.

"That's a lot with no power," Childs said.

FEMA has sent 90 generators to Mississippi since last weekend's storm. Subcontractors hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are installing them at critical agencies and businesses, like long-term care facilities, hospitals, water districts and fire departments.

Childs said the generator at his fire house will not only help his team respond to emergencies, but it will also provide a warm shelter for Gravestown residents to come stay and charge their electronic items, such as cell phones.

"It will help the community, and it will help us, it's wonderful," Childs said.

Senior electrician Kenny Jones, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been traveling the Southeast for several days to help install the generators in hard-hit areas.

"It's amazing," Jones said. "Actually, you see the smile on people's faces when you actually bring power to them, and they get hot water again and able to take showers. Just a cozy feeling on the inside."

About an hour south, in Oxford, Mississippi, hundreds of power crews from several neighboring states have arrived to help repair miles of downed power lines the storm left in its wake.

Keith Hayward, CEO of the Northeast Mississippi Power Association, said the ice accumulation was overwhelming, despite an updated, more reinforced system in place.

"We believe we had an inch-and-a-quarter (of) ice over most of our system, which is basically a record for anything around this area," Hayward said. "We've had tree damage that is unbelievable... and by the time the ice loading gets to that kind of loading, with an inch of ice on either side, those poles are holding up nearly 10,000 pounds of extra weight. And, so, you can just imagine when a tree falls and they have that extra weight, what it does to the power systems."

He added, "We haven't lost a ton of poles, but we have got a lot of wire on the ground. A lot of tree damage, a lot of vegetation damage. A lot of people have trees on their houses. They can't get out of their driveways, and it is system wide. We cover 2,200 miles of primary line that we have over about a 75-mile radius, and it was from one side to the other."

While he believes most customers will get power back on within the next three days, he says it could still be another week for some of his more rural customers.

That could spell out serious danger with another round of severe cold temperatures expected this weekend for the East Coast.

"It is very, very, disheartening for me... I grew up in this community. I've lived here my entire life," Hayward said. "I feel for them, they have to go through these conditions and, you know, the loss that they're suffering, not only from not having power, but the damage that they've had on their homes and things."

For Oxford residents like Jerrica Pryor, a teacher at a local middle school, relief can't come soon enough. With no power and no running water, she has been living off snack food, and spending time in her car to warm up periodically.

She uses a small space heater sparingly to warm up at night.

"It has been difficult," Pryor said. "Lots of blankets, lots and lots of blankets."

With tears in her eyes, she said she was most worried about her students and how they're faring in the dark and cold.

"I do miss them, I just hope they're well," she said. "It hurts a little bit, because they are on a different side, and I'm able to stay warm, and I just hope they are as well."

Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill said the city is doing everything possible to restore basic services to residents. She likened the storm to something more like a tornado.

Due to a water pressure issue, the city had to turn off water supplies to several neighborhoods to ensure the city's hospital had enough water to care for patients. Tannehill believes the water pressure issue may have been caused by burst pipes that froze during the storm, or by heightened water demands from so many residents dripping pipes to prevent them from freezing and breaking.

Lafayette County Emergency Management has set up several new ready-to-eat meal and water distribution sites for residents in dire straights. The National Guard arrived in Oxford on Wednesday to help deliver those supplies to people in need.

Lafayette County, which includes the city of Oxford, has set a distribution limit of three days' worth of supplies per person "to help ensure supplies reach as many residents as possible," Lafayette County spokesperson Bo Moore said.

As of Thursday evening, Moore said nearly half of Lafayette County was still without power.

Moore also told CBS News the county is using the National Guard's helicopter for medical transports to Memphis, Tennessee, because the roads are still too hazardous for ambulances to drive through safely.

"It's going to be a long road to recovery," Tannehill responded when asked when things may get back to normal. "It's hard to even get our minds to that right now when we still have people without power and without water."