FC residents lose power during severe weather

More than 2,500 customers were without electric power in the northwest section of Greenbrier and into Wooster Thursday night as a powerful storm sped through Arkansas.

By morning, all but 130 customers were restored. Emergency Entergy crews were brought in from Lonoke and Jacksonville on Friday morning to help with the replacement of poles and power restoration because the Conway crews were exhausted from working all through the night. During the night, crews managed to reroute some lines to restore power by 5 a.m. to all of Wooster; but 130 customers in Greenbrier are still waiting. They predicted an all-day job for Friday and possibly into Friday night.

Seven electrical poles were snapped in half between 4th Street and Jennifer Street around 10 p.m. when the storm struck.

Jennifer Verkler, who lives at 30 Thomas Circle, said she knew the storm was coming and was caring for her vacationing neighbor's dogs. She decided to go next door to get the dogs inside. While crossing the yard, she saw lightning hit one of the distant poles and heard a loud "kaboom." She said, "It shook the earth. I saw the whole sky turn orange and thought the neighbor's house on the corner was on fire. I started screaming and ran inside." She told her three children and husband to get in the hallway and get a mattress. They were not well prepared for the storm and only had one candle and a small flashlight. They scrambled in the dark using their two cell phone lights to find those items. She said she and her husband, Jason, entertained their three kids by doing shadows on the walls and staring at the candle until they felt it was safe to look outside. "We have sure learned a lesson about being prepared for a storm now," she said.

Another neighbor, Lora Taylor, 37 Thomas Circle, said she got a call from Entergy Friday morning explaining the problem and telling her that her power would likely be off all day. She said, "Peanut butter and jelly and cereal will be the menu for the day." She asked her husband to pick up carry-out food on his way home from work Friday evening. The Verkler family plans to use their outdoor grill Friday for lunch to use up some of the meat from their refrigerator. They will take their family to a motel with a pool Friday afternoon for some rest and relaxation. They also plan to pick up some much needed emergency supplies for future storms.

Residents are advised to keep their freezers closed in the case of power outages to preserve food for up to 48 hours. Refrigerated items should be consumed within 24 hours.