OTTUMWA —
Line crews worked through the night, eventually restoring power to nearly every resident and business in town.
At its worst, the weekend storm had knocked out power to three-quarters of the people in Wapello County, Alliant spokesman Ryan Stensland estimated. By 6 p.m. Monday, 98 percent of the customers had been “restored.”
Other providers were taking the opportunity to show off their customer service abilities, too. For example, one resident told the Courier the cable company was at his home within 30 minutes of him calling them about damage.
Additionally, that company, Mediacom, wanted customers to know that the “switch to digital” has been delayed until July.
One group of professionals that may have trouble reacting quickly today? Repair people are in high demand, especially, said Stensland, electricians, who “are going to be very busy for a couple days, but they know how to fix such problems quickly and safely.”
The problems are at homes or businesses that have damage to their own electrical systems, which is everything from the meter into the house — not counting the meter.
From the meter out is Alliant’s responsibility.
At one point Saturday, Wapello County saw a peak outage with 11,000 of the 15,000 total customers lose power. Sunday morning, that had been reduced to 5,000 households without power. Monday, Stensland said, the day started with about 1,200 customers without power.
“And we expect to have most of those restored. We’ll knock out the majority of those yet today (Monday),” he said.
They did. By 6 p.m. Monday, the number of houses that needed to have power restored was down to 200.
Be smart when you’re power does come back, said Barb Anderson, a family nutrition and health program specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
“One of the problems we’re seeing is that [powerless] freezers may have allowed food to thaw out, to sit there [for hours], then, the power comes back on and by the time [people] look in the freezer, everything looks frozen.”
Don’t be fooled, she said. Meat that has thawed, sat around, then been refrozen can make people very sick, she said.
“How long has it been out of the [correct] temperature zone? You just don’t know. Some things, like pickles, can still be used, but milk and juice and meat, you do not want to take a chance.”
If you have to throw away a lot of food, keep a list for insurance; some policies offer assistance.
“I can’t tell people what to do,” Anderson said, “but if somebody got seriously ill, the cost is going to be a lot more than $50 worth of steaks. The bottom line is when in doubt, throw it out.”
She said if Iowans want some information that’s much more specific, there’s an Answer Line, 800-262-3804, open through ISU during the school day.
Of course, many Ottumwans may be busy still cleaning debris out of their yards or trying to make repairs to their homes. One man said he spent most of Father’s Day and Monday cleaning up.
He’d already made five trips to the tree dump area at 550 Gateway Drive (the former Alliant Energy Shop).
The city says the disposal site will be open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. this week for tree debris — not other trash. They remind you to secure your load before transport; tie it down well or cover it.
And as these hot days roll in, don’t overexert yourself, they said.
On Monday, the Red Cross opened a cooling center for people without power.
But Brandon Holstrum of the Southern Prairie Chapter of the American Red Cross said cooling centers aren’t always fun places to sit around.
He recommended public, air-conditioned places like a mall or library as being just as cool — and a lot more interesting.
Local News
Related Photos
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The city opened a property on Gateway Drive as a tree dropoff point. At one point Monday, a citizen vehicle loaded with logs, limbs and branches entered the lot every 30 seconds; one man said he was on his fifth trip. Mark Newman/The Courier
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