Raw Home Video; Tranformer Explodes During Ice Storm

This was recorded January 27,2009 in northwest Arkansas. The nation is gripped by a massive ice storm stetching southwest to the northeast causing millions to be without power. USA Today; Cold, dark nights ahead in wake of deadly ice storm More than a million people remained without power Thursday in the wake of the winter storm and could face a lengthy wait for electricity even as federal help was promised to the two states hit hardest, Kentucky and Arkansas. POWER FAILURES CAUSED BY THE ICE STORM The latest figures from utility companies on the number of homes and businesses without power in the nine states hit hardest by an ice storm that stretched from the Southern Plains to Appalachia: Arkansas: 352,000 Illinois: 6,500 Indiana: 89,000 Kentucky: 542,000 Missouri: 120,000 Ohio: 128,000 Oklahoma: 20,000 Tennessee: 10,000 West Virginia: 31,000 TOTAL: 1.30 million From staff and wire reports More than a million households remain without power after snow and ice slammed the country from Texas to Maine, disrupting hundreds of flights and forcing Kentucky state troopers to use four-wheelers to find stranded residents. Warmer weather Thursday was proving to be both a blessing and a curse, as sections of eastern Oklahoma and northern Arkansas began the grueling process of recovering from the latest ice storm. Sid Sperry, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives, said warmer conditions will help crews accelerate the restoration process but the warmth could also lead to more outages. 'It's a double-edged sword,' he said. 'Anytime the weather warms up above freezing and the ice melts off power lines, it causes them to bounce, so you may have a few more outages. 'Another downside is that as the roads begin to thaw, rural roads are not paved, so they become difficult to drive through. Warmer temperatures have a negative and positive effect.' There were about 20,000 households without power in Oklahoma as of Thursday morning. The numbers soared into the hundreds of thousands from northern Arkansas through Kentucky, where as much as 1 to 2 inches of ice burdened trees and power lines. In Arkansas ' northwest, Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale got more than an inch of ice. At Wal-Mart Stores headquarters, work continued, but a lot of employees had to take Wednesday off. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department said most north Arkansas highways still had ice and travel was slow in many places. All major routes were open by Thursday morning. Kyle Brashears and his family fled their home in Mountain Home at 3 p.m. Tuesday because he was afraid of sagging branches from the oak trees that surround his house. Brashears, 33, returned that night to find his fears confirmed. The trunk of a thick oak split down the middle, sending half of the ice-heavy timber crashing onto his roof. 'It caved the roof in and ripped the gutter off, although it didn't penetrate inside,' he said. 'I was walking around outside until about 1 a.m., and it was just a non-stop medley of tree limbs cracking off.' Brashears and the family headed to his father-in-law's house where there is a gas fireplace to keep them warm. They used butane burners to cook their food and bundled up to stay warm in the house. In Kentucky, the snapping of utility lines cut off phone service and even e-mail, said Kentucky State Police Sgt. David Jude, commander of media relations. Even cellphone service was being disrupted, Jude said. More than a half-million customers in Kentucky remained in the dark. Many of the people had no heat and no working phone service to call for help. 'We have places across the state where even state police can't get their cruisers working and they're out in their own four-wheel-drive vehicles,' Jude said. It could take a week or more for utility operators in Kentucky and Arkansas to restore power to everyone. Late Wednesday, President Obama signed requests from Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe for federal emergency declarations. Crews, even the National Guard in Kentucky, worked around the clock to resurrect power lines downed by thick ice in both states. Officials in states from Oklahoma to West Virginia fought to do the same. Kentucky added two to the weather-related death toll, bringing the total to 23. A woman died while an ambulance on the way to her was blocked by impassable roads, and a woman fell on her basement stairs while she was retrieving a kerosene heater.