For Many in North Texas, It's Still Lights Out (Possibly Until Saturday)

The good news is that more than half of the 650,000 customers without power after Tuesday morning’s hurricane-force winds now have power. The bad news is obvious: hundreds of thousands of people still do not. The number of affected Oncor customers is now 261,000 in total, 179,000 of whom are located in Dallas County.

That would include the Erickson household, where things are getting a little surly. We’re trying to maintain perspective by remembering all we’ll have to do is throw away dodgy perishables and sweat. Many more are coordinating with insurance adjusters, hiring tree trimmers, and tarping roofs.

Wednesday morning Oncor said that teams are working 16-hour shifts to restore power and have called in nearly 5,000 more personnel from other states. The electricity provider says that it expects that most people will have power by Friday evening, but some may not get relief before Saturday.

On social media, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said there are 25 feeders that “must be repaired before they can be powered from the substation.” Twenty of those 25 are in Dallas County, which likely explains the disparity with neighboring counties.

Flooding yesterday, combined with fallen trees and other debris, has slowed progress. “In heavily damaged areas, wide swaths of power lines and distribution equipment are not only being repaired but must also be reconstructed,” Oncor said in a statement Wednesday morning. “In these areas, Oncor teams are facing complex repairs like removing uprooted trees and debris and replacing damaged utility poles and transformers before we can install new power lines.”

City of Dallas officials offered a quick update last night and have another press conferenced scheduled for 1:30 p.m. The city has opened respite centers where residents can seek shelter and air conditioning. Downed limbs or trees in the roadway can be reported via 311, either online, through the app, or by phone. Downed power lines should be reported through 911. 

In an email to the City Council Wednesday, Dallas Office of Emergency Management Director Travis Houston said that Dallas has ordered a debris removal team to clear roads ahead of Oncor’s trucks. Those crews are dispatched by 311 operators.

“The debris collection team includes 34 so-called ‘saw crews’ and crews from Streets and Sanitation,” Houston said. “Using mapping tools, data from those 311 calls are identifying where crews should focus efforts.”

Garbage and recycling collection will be delayed by one day. The city has also suspended the rules on setting out bulk trash early, and all residents will be able to put out up to 20-cubic yards of debris for the next 15 days. 

Houston also said there are 182 traffic signals out and 139 are flashing. Temporary stop signs will be placed at some intersections.

When signal lights are flashing or are out, the rules for an all-way stop apply: the vehicle that arrives first has the right-of-way, and each vehicle then takes its turn through the intersection by order of arrival. If it’s unclear who came first, the driver (or drivers) on the left should yield to the driver on the right. The car furthest to the right has the right of way. If one car intends to turn and another intends to go straight, the driver going straight goes first. If one plans on turning left and the other plans on turning right, the vehicle on the right has the right-of-way.

The city’s 1:30 p.m. update should deliver more details, including how it plans to deal with potential storms in the forecast for Wednesday night, Thursday, and Friday. Included in that press conference will be Houston, Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, and representatives from Dallas Fire-Rescue, Public Works, Sanitation, Transportation, and Oncor.

We’ll update this post after.