More Than 161,000 North Texans Remain Without Power
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A lot of North Texans were still without electricity Friday night. And that means no heat for residents as temperatures continue getting colder.
According to the CBS 11 Storm team, Friday night will be the coldest in North Texas since the 2011 storm the week of the Super Bowl.
As of 10 p.m. Friday there were still some 161,000 Oncor customers without power -- most of them in Dallas, Collin and Rockwall counties. Tarrant County customers saw fewer outages.
In a neighborhood just north of 635 in Dallas everything was pitch black. It was tough seeing a few feet in front of you, and the area is like dozens of other neighborhoods that are still without power.
Roasting marshmallows might have been a little enjoyable for the Montoya family if the hadn't been a necessity. Their east Dallas neighborhood has been without power since 3 a.m. Friday.
In the Montoya house, candles are their only lights and fire is their only heat. Tara Montoya isn't comfortable with the open flames. "Basically just being here is dangerous," she said. "We are looking at leaving and going to family or friend's house."
At one point the ice storm had knocked out power to nearly a quarter of a million customers in the area. Oncor crews have been working around the clock. But for some residents it could be Saturday night or later before their power is restored.
Brett Rygwalski plans to take in a late movie at the Alamo Drafthouse. "[It's] not too good for us with it being so cold," he said. The longer he's ways from his Plano home the warmer he will be. "My brother-in-law came in and said we are out of power and it is not coming on until 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night."
While heat is the biggest concern for most, there are few people who said the worst part of being without power is not having the internet.
If you lose power, plumbers suggest you drip as many faucets as possible. Pipes are more likely to freeze if it gets cold in your home. You should also open cabinet doors, to let the air circulate. And just in case -- it's always a good idea to know where your water shutoff valve is.
(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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