Power Outage Shuts Off Water

In Sand Springs, the ice brought down limbs and lines, but it is power at the water treatment plant that has officials worried. Officials are urging people to conserve water until further notice and use water only for drinking. The News On 6's Emory Bryan reports the ice seems a little thicker in West Tulsa than it does inside Tulsa. There are generally more neighborhoods with older established trees and because of that more damage.

There's nothing pretty about the ice covered landscape in Sand Springs, where for many people the power went out on Sunday night.

"I had lights when I went to bed, but when I woke up it was gone," said Sand Springs resident Jennie Lampro.

Many of the streets are blocked and many power lines are down. Almost everyone is without power. The ice was thick enough to pull down limbs onto the lines, but for the most part, lines that were not underneath trees were holding up under the weight of the ice.

Some people tried the risky job of removing large limbs that fell into the streets.

"It's gotten worse since this morning and stuff is coming down now, hopefully nothing else comes down," said Sand Springs resident Sidney Benge.

On Main Street, trees as old as Oklahoma lost their biggest limbs. Many people said they had a sleepless night listening to the limbs breaking. The trees are loaded with ice and the ones that haven't fallen are at the breaking point and every gust of wind brings down more limbs.

For the city, restoring power is the priority and the first priority is repairing lines leading to the water treatment plant. Until power is restored, the city is asking that people do not use water for washing dishes or clothes.

"Only drinking water should be taken at this time and please limit that to what you'll actually use in the next 24 hours," said Sand Springs Assistant Police Chief Mike Carter.