Governor declares state of emergency

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in South Carolina, where slick and icy roads meant continued dangerous driving conditions and more than 250,000 customers remained without power.

"Whether you're in the Upstate, the Midlands or even parts of the Lowcountry, this is a serious storm and the temperatures we're going to see tonight will make our roads even more dangerous than they are right now," Sanford said Tuesday. "Our purpose in declaring this state of emergency is two-fold, protecting people from the ill-effects of this storm and working to help ensure that folks who have lost power get back online as soon as possible."

Under the governor's order, the South Carolina Emergency Operations Plan was placed into effect, waiving size and weight regulations for out-of-state utility vehicles coming to South Carolina to assist in restoring power to residents. The South Carolina National Guard also was placed on standby status.

The Upstate was pelted with sleet and snow starting Sunday. Up to two inches of sleet was reported in Lancaster County and as much as one inch of ice accumulation and sleet was reported in Oconee County.

Less than an inch of ice accumulated in most parts of central area of South Carolina mostly from freezing rain.

The ice storm is likely the worst the state has seen since December 2002, when roughly 300,000 customers in the Upstate were left without power, said Jeff Linton, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Some freezing rain reached inland parts of the coast Monday afternoon and evening, but counties along the coast reported little accumulation of ice.

All the ice forced heavy tree limbs onto frozen power lines, sending residents across the state in search of warmth at hotels or makeshift shelters. Crews were working to restore power, but some worried that a burst of strong winds could slow progress.

Winds were predicted to reach 10 to 15 miles per hour in most parts of the state Wednesday.

"If the wind starts blowing that could cause them (trees) to snap and come back across the lines," said Eddie Richardson, spokesman for Mid-Electric Cooperative, which had 2,800 Midlands customers without power as of Tuesday afternoon.

South Carolina Electric and Gas still had 120,000 customers without power Tuesday and Progress Energy reported 70,000 customers in the dark. The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina said 57,000 homes were without power. Duke Power, which mostly serves the Upstate, reported 6,200 customers without power but were expecting lights back on by midnight.

Tuesday afternoon sunshine was a welcome sight for Blanche Bajer of Columbia whose power had been off since Monday. "The sun!" Bajer gasped, her hands clasped over her lips. "Oh, that's the most beautiful thing."

Bajer, 70, said she slept Monday night fully clothed, wearing a furry black cap and under piles of afghans knitted by her daughter. On Tuesday, she double-knitted a rabbit-fur scarf around her neck, wore layers of sweaters and sweat shirts, and rarely left a chair beside her gas fireplace. She had no plans to search for shelter Tuesday night.

"I thought about getting a motel, but I've got a dog and a cat," she said. "So we'll just wait it out and see what happens."

In Gaffney, Alice Parker said this year's ice beats last year's storm when she was in the dark for two to three days. Parker had power Tuesday and stayed inside to avoid slippery sidewalks.

"Hadn't even been to the mailbox," said Parker, 52. "I don't want to break anything."

Slippery roads caused several collisions.

The Highway Patrol had responded to more than 2,500 accidents by Tuesday morning, mostly in the Upstate and in the Midlands. Six people died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Highway Patrol said.

In Union, the National Guard was deployed to help emergency personnel after the county's rescue squad and firefighters were hampered by icy conditions, The Union Daily times reported.

A 911 official reported to the National Weather Service that road conditions were "the worst ... ever seen in this county." At least one sand truck overturned and at least a half-dozen ambulances were stranded, some with patients still inside.

State trucks were down to 160 tons of sand for Union County roads after spreading more than 400 tons since Sunday.

"When that's gone ... I don't know when we'll get more," said Ronnie Spencer, resident maintenance engineer with the state Transportation Department. "The problem is, it keeps freezing over what we have done."

The department had more than 900 employees working to clear roads and bridges Tuesday morning. Workers had used nearly 7,000 tons of sand, nearly 6,000 tons of salt and thousands of gallons of calcium chloride and salt brine on the roads, spokesman Pete Poore said.