HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. — People in parts of northern Mississippi are still dealing with the fallout following last week’s ice storm.
For many living in Holly Springs, Mississippi, the last six days have tested their patience after the ice storm knocked out their power.
“We be without power all the time, maybe two hours or three hours, maybe a day but the longest, that’s I’ve seen, since 1994,” Nancy Stewart said.
At the height of the storm, state officials say 48,000 residents’ utilities were impacted across Mississippi, with the majority of them in Marshall County, where Holly Springs is located.
Given the widespread outages, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency was contacted last Thursday and has begun deploying resources across the region.
“This is a district issue and I’m not satisfied and I’m not leaving,” said Stephen McCraney, director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. “You won’t see the taillights of my vehicle until the district is done.”
Heading into the storm, Holly Springs Mayor Sharon Gibson says she was confident in their plan, but now, realizes the need for improvements after most of its 12,000 customers were affected.
“I did not make the ice come, I did not bring the snow, I did not make the ground wet. I’m not that powerful,” Gibson said. “This is so much larger than us. So many people are affected by this. We just have to be prepared and we’re learning to be more — you can’t be over-prepared. I was a Girl Scout, we have to have everything we need.”
With thousands of customers still without power as of Sunday, the demand for food has increased, prompting a local church to act and give out free meals.
“We just wanted to come out and do our part and be the hands of feet of Christ and show love to the neighborhood,” said Bo Jones of Opulent Life Church.
State officials were unable to provide an exact date for when everyone’s power would be restored. Sunday night, Northcentral Electric Cooperative announced that it will assist in power restoration.
