32 Deaths Blamed On Oklahomaâ€™s Winter Blast

Monday, January 22nd 2007, 8:07 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Ice turned into slush and muck throughout Oklahoma Monday as the state slowly emerged from a paralyzing winter storm that killed more than 30 people and knocked out power to 125,000 homes and businesses.

Gov. Brad Henry announced Monday he would ask the Legislature for $15 million to help pay costs tied to the brutal storms and officially forwarded his request for a major disaster declaration for eastern Oklahoma to President Bush.

About 12,574 customers remained without power Monday afternoon, mostly in eastern Oklahoma, as crews took advantage of dry weather to restore electricity. For some rural customers, it could be at least another week to nine days until the power is back on.

Rose resident Donna Tow, 50, was among the lucky ones. She had power turned on Monday morning after going 10 days without it.

"After about the first four days of camping out with a family of eight in the house, it was quite nerve-racking to say the least," said Tow, a homemaker.

Public Service Company of Oklahoma, which provides power to 514,000 customers in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma, reported about 50 customers without power Monday, all in the hard-hit McAlester area. At one point, about 16,000 people there were without electricity there.

"For the most part, we're about to button this thing up," said PSO spokesman Stan Whiteford.

Up to 32 deaths have been attributed to the storm since wintry weather first inundated the state on Jan. 12, authorities said. Highway collisions took 19 lives, eight people died of hypothermia, two from smoke inhalation and three from falls.

The latest victims include a 60-year-old man from Allen who fell on ice, a 31-year-old man involved in a car wreck in Payne County and a 22-year-old Oklahoma City woman who was riding a sled being pulled by an all-terrain vehicle when it collided with a pole, according to the state Medical Examiner's office.

Snow melt and rainfall has lifted the levels of major rivers in the state, including the Arkansas, Illinois, Kiamichi and Poteau rivers, but all are forecast to remain well below flood stage.

Runoff from melting ice and snow also caused some streams to spill from their banks.

A pickup truck carrying radioactive materials used in pipeline scanning equipment was swept from a bridge Sunday and disappeared in swollen Coal Creek in Pittsburg County.

It was located Monday about a quarter of a mile downstream, and officials were waiting for waters to recede to fish it out, said Undersheriff Richard Sexton.

"It doesn't appear to be any hazard whatsoever to the public," Sexton said, noting that the material was in a container secured to the truck.

Forecasters said the state will be dry for the next few days with highs in the 40s and 50s, which will accelerate the ice and snow melt.

The melting slush was a stark contrast to last year's outbreak of wildfires, which charred more than 600,000 acres and destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes and businesses. The winter storms have helped put a dent in the state's drought, forecasters said.

"It's better than it has been, but it's not totally over," said meteorologist Mark Abbas with The National Weather Service in Tulsa. Abbas noted that some areas to the north and west have received less precipitation than other parts of Oklahoma.

Troopers reported nearly 500 collisions on Oklahoma roads since Jan. 12, and 3,656 people have been treated at Oklahoma hospitals for various injuries related to the weather, according to the Oklahoma Department of Health.

Authorities in Pittsburg and McIntosh counties implemented a nighttime curfew following reports of break-ins and the theft of generators that powered railroad crossing guards.

Emergency agencies have delivered more than 125 generators to keep water treatment plants on line and shelter and hospital doors open, emergency officials said.