Icy Weather Results In Power Outages: 'I Didn't Have Internet, I Just Watched Trees Fall All Day'
STEPHENVILLE, Texas (CBS11) - West of Dallas-Fort Worth, icy weather has prompted the opening of an emergency shelter.
Major power outages left as many as 1,400 without power and heat in Stephenville, although power had been restored to all but 900 by 10:00 p.m. Thursday.
The power outages were caused by trees buckling under the weight of ice. The snapping limbs brought down power lines.
Oncor crews have been working around the clock for the last day and a half to restore power to cold residents, some who are facing his second night without power.
"What I did yesterday is I just watched... I didn't have internet or anything to do or no cell phone service so I just watched trees fall all day," said Kaleb Schmidt. "Just tried to stay warm."
Schmidt is going to ride out the power outage at house, but one grandma told us one night of freezing cold was too much for her and her grandchildren.
"They were all snuggled with me in my room," said Sheila Filio. "We tried to find a place this morning, but all the motels were full."
She and her grand babies are among the guests keeping warm at the Red Cross shelter set up at the Stephenville Senior Citizens Center.
"There are people who haven't had power in roughly 36 hours, something like that," said Stephenville Fire Chief Jimmy Chew.
The fire chief says it's the first time the city has opened a shelter for weather for something not tornado-related. He believes it could be Sunday or even Monday before power is fully restored to the area.
