Ice puts Marlow area in dark

Ice-covered limbs crackled in the distance, much like the fireworks of Independence Day.
But, it was far from the heat of a July summer in Oklahoma. Rather, sounds of crashing branches signalled the severe damage taking place across the city of Marlow. The debilitating ice storm caused the area to be deemed one of the hardest hit in the state.
The second blast of winter’s chill arrived mid-day Thursday, bringing heavy downpours of rain as arctic air mixed in with disasterous results.
Ice began to cover trees and power poles, as the devastation took electricity from Marlow area residents beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday and continuing into  late afternoon.
The main cause of power loss was attributed to a Public Service of Oklahoma (PSO) transmission line near Scott Road – about two miles east of Marlow. Electical lines lay across State Highway 29 after several poles were snapped under the increasing weight of accumulating ice.
During an emergency meeting of the Marlow Municipal Authority Monday, city administrator Janice Cain said PSO’s indication for power restoration was noon Friday, but that target seemed more hopeful than certain.
“There are over nine miles of line down north of Marlow,” Cain noted following the meeting. “Three-and-a-half miles of that is the transmission line that feeds our substation, and PSO told me that they have not started as of Monday.”
In addition to the transmission line, Cain said that 70 power poles inside the city limits were either damaged or leaning as a result of this storm.
PSO officials indicated that a switch near Rush Springs took priority because such repairs would provide quicker recovery for several communities.
“Without power, and the communication that comes with that, it is easy to feel isolated,” Cain said. “Truth is, there are several communities in the same boat as we are. Mangum and Hobart are a couple of examples.”
During the outage, Cain said water levels can still be considered critical, but generators are keeping pumps going. Pressure returned to near normal levels over the weekend after rationing was considered on Saturday. Residents should conserve water during the remainder of  the outage, Cain said.
Around Marlow, Cotton Electric Cooperative Crews said that restoration of power could take until the weekend because of the number of damaged poles in the area.
On Monday night, 21 electrical workers from five cities around the state were in Marlow, working 12 and 14-hour days to get the city’s power grid ready for reestablishment.
“We’ve had crews from Duncan in town, but they have returned to work on their own city,” Cain said. “There are also crews from Ponca City, Skiatook, Sallisaw and Claremore.
 “The city is taking all steps to ensure a timely recovery of electric service,” Cain said. “When PSO returns power to the Marlow substation (located near Redbud Park), we will begin the process of restoring electrical power to the homes and businesses in Marlow.”
Crewmembers slept and ate in the council chambers until hotels rooms became available in Duncan. Cots lined the chamber floors, while donated food and drink littered the bench area where the council regularly makes the decisions that affect the city each month.
Expenses from the storm are also adding up. Costs for the crews are borne by the city, although federal disaster money could offset some of those expenses.
“The blizzard on Christmas Eve cost the city around $8,000,” Cain said. “The cost to reinstall power internally is very costly. We will be applying for disaster assistance funds, but this will be a far more expensive storm when it is done.”
Marlow’s First Baptist Church opened its Life Center to those in need on Sunday night after renting a semi-trailer sized generator from Dallas.
During the shelter’s first full day of service on Monday, 45 meals were served at lunch, 149 meals at dinner, and approximately 25 people stayed the night.
“This shelter is providing three meals daily, and will remain open 24 hours a day until the electrical power is restored,” said Joe Ligon, pastor of the church.
Another group met early Monday afternoon to distribute information about the school, city and shelter.
About 50 volunteers gathered at the Marlow Gymnasium with the goal of getting information to each household in Marlow.
“We just wanted everyone to have correct information, when there really isn’t another way to distribute it,” said Rep. Corey Holland.
On Sunday, superintendent George Coffman said that Marlow schools would not return to session until at least Thursday, but that power would dictate further days being cancelled.
A group of volunteers gathered on Tuesday morning at the high school campus to begin the cleanup effort with several trees sustaining damage there.
A downed power pole took out a small portion of the fence at Outlaw Stadium near the fieldhouse, and a power pole was severed near the wrestling room.
There was no significant damage reported from Central High or Bray-Doyle, but both schools noted that classes would be at the mercy of power being restored.