For a few thousand others, the wait could be longer.

"We certainly hope that's not the case, but with the weather like this it's really hard to say," said Steve Chalker, a spokesman for Jefferson Energy Cooperative, which estimated 13,000 of its customers in the Augusta area were left without power Monday from downed tree limbs. "It could continue on and just keep escalating."

Mr. Chalker said his company hopes to have power restored to many of its customers by this afternoon, but a few thousand in parts of McDuffie, south Richmond, Columbia, Jefferson, Warren and Glasscock counties could still be without power for one to two more days.

Jefferson Energy initiated its disaster recovery and response plan Monday, bringing in additional crews from south Georgia to help restore power in the Augusta area.

At one point, the storm also knocked out power to more than 78,000 Georgia Power customers in the Augusta area. By 4:30 p.m., 50,000 customers were still without power. A total restoration wasn't expected to occur for a day or two.

"We're not talking hours, we're talking days," said Linn Wallace, a spokeswoman for Georgia Power,noting that her company had called in additional help from sister companies out of state.

South Carolina Electric and Gas and Aiken Electric each reported 10,000 customers without power Monday. The companies said they would work hard to restore service as soon as possible, but the weather would determine a lot.

Officials said a repeat today of Monday's problems could pose a similar problem - downed tree limbs that caused power outages and one fatality in Lincoln County.

Roy Clark Rumsey, 69, of the 3000 block of Biscayne Drive in Lincolnton, was fatally injured at about 9:50 a.m. Monday, when an ice-laden tree limb crashed through his car windshield while he was driving on Georgia Highway 47, according to the Georgia State Patrol.

Mr. Rumsey and his wife, Ilene Rumsey, 68, were taken to Medical College of Georgia Hospital, where Mr. Rumsey later died in surgery, Sgt. 1st Class Donnie Smith said.

Mrs. Rumsey was listed in good condition, a hospital spokeswoman said late Monday.

Sgt. 1st Class Smith said it was a case of bad luck.

"If he had been a minute earlier or a minute later, he probably would have lived," he said.

Mike Cammarata, of the National Weather Service in West Columbia, S.C., said freezing rain was expected to continue early this morning, with the heaviest rainfall ending by 2 a.m. and slight drizzle at times lasting until daybreak. An additional one-eighth to one-half an inch of ice accumulation was expected for the area overnight on trees, overpasses and roads.

"You may still see ice in the trees through the afternoon Tuesday," he said.

The low Monday night was predicted at 32, but Mr. Cammarata said that if the low hit about 30, roads could again ice over in low-lying areas and overpasses until about 10 a.m., when temperatures are supposed to rise above freezing. He said today will be mostly cloudy, but the sun could peek through at about 2 p.m., helping melt any leftover ice.

"Let's just hope that happens," he said, noting that the high today will be 40 and that ice would probably remain on trees until about 2 p.m.

Howard Willis, Richmond County's Emergency Management Agency chief, said Monday's ice storm was the worst to hit the area in 10 years. He said he would have a road crew ready again this morning to spread sand and salt on roads and overpasses.

"It may warm up," he said. "I hope it does, but you just can't tell because this (Monday's icing) was not predicted."

The county's emergency operations center also was activated Monday and will stay active through this morning. Emergency workers responded to several transformer fires and fallen trees that knocked power lines down. Chief Willis said he was proud of his department's response.

"The interaction between all the services has been really good," he said. "We've been inundated with a lot of calls."

Augusta officials are advising residents to call a tree-clearing company if a tree falls down on private property. If a tree falls on public property or onto a road, residents are asked to call 911 so a city crew can assist.

For trees that hit power lines, residents should call their power company, said Peggy Seigler, assistant to Augusta's city administrator.

Mr. Cammarata estimated the Augusta area received a half-inch of ice accumulation from freezing rain Monday.

Pam Tucker, Columbia County's Emergency Services Division director, said power and phone outages were the biggest problems in her county. Her office lost power at about 10 a.m.

"It would have been a lot better for us if it snowed," she said. "This ice is the worst case for us."

She said a power surge early Monday zapped Columbia County's telephone system, knocking out communications with all county offices - including the Emergency Service Division, which had to coordinate storm response with cell phones.

"Something blew when the power went out," Ms. Tucker said.

Although technicians worked Monday to repair the system, callers were advised to dial 312-6056 for help or to call 911.

In Columbia County, all off-duty deputies were called in Monday. Firefighters also assisted special needs patients, supplying them with power.

The weather caused many closings, including Fort Gordon, which decided to send nonessential personnel home at 3 p.m. Monday. Richmond and Columbia County schools canceled classes around lunchtime. Schools in both counties will be closed today because of the enormity of Monday's power outages, school officials said.

All Aiken County schools also will be closed today. Schools in the district started classes two hours late Monday and let students go home two hours early. Eight schools were closed throughout the day because they lacked power.

In Aiken County, emergency officials said the main concern was clearing roads.

"Several thousand are without power and we are working to get the roads cleared of debris first, then we will worry about everything else," said David Ruth, Aiken County Emergency Management Agency coordinator. "The Hammond Hill area was hit pretty hard, but it's taking the whole village to get this thing cleaned up."

Ms. Seigler called Augusta's power outage "just huge."

She said that between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday, Augusta's fire department responded to 220 storm-related calls while Richmond County police were sent out on 668 calls.

Maj. Larry Vinson, of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office, said he drove through south Augusta on Monday afternoon and was surprised at how many areas were affected by downed trees. He said Richmond County Board of Education police and Richmond County Marshals assisted sheriff's deputies with traffic control.

"It's probably impossible (to estimate the number of downed trees) unless you had a helicopter and could go up," he said.

Monday's weather caused US Airways and Atlantic Southeast Airlines to ask Augusta Regional Airport customers to reschedule their Monday flights for today. Five shelters were established in Richmond County to provide heat for those without power.

Then there were those who had their homes hit by falling trees. At about 10:45 a.m. Monday, Martinez firefighters were called to Albert Tankersley's home on Tallman Drive in Martinez after a tree limb fell through a power line onto the roof, sparking a brief fire.

Mr. Tankersley was not at home at the time, but a neighbor called him, and he came home almost immediately.

From a block away he stood with members of the fire department and watched another tree limb fall through the house at about 11 a.m.

"I've planted about 30 pine trees around my house over the years," Mr. Tankersley said, blaming himself for the falling limbs.

Staff Writers Dena Levitz, Greg Rickabaugh, Melissa Hall, Peter G. Gilchrist, Jeremy Craig and Timothy Cox contributed to this article.

Reach Preston Sparks at (706) 828-3904 or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/012704/met_124-8154.shtml