And another thing: I know for a fact the utility companies were lying about the number of people still without power. During the second week, I was able to get my truck out, so I had some access to information through the radio. A spokesperson for Kentucky Utilities said at one point that 1,400 people were still without power in Crittenden County, and there wasn't a single light to be seen anywhere in Marion or the surrounding area. Marion alone is over 3,000 people.
A day or two later, most of Marion lit up and this spokesperson changed her story to 1,200 people still without power.
At this writing, I'm sure we still have more than 1,400 people still without power in the rural areas, and they won't see lights for at least a couple more weeks. On some roads, miles of poles are down and it takes some time to replace them all and then re-string the wires.
At the time this spokesperson said 1,400 people were still without power, some of the major towers running from the TVA main generating station at Kentucky Dam were twisted and bent and down, and some of them were in areas that were hard to reach with heavy equipment, so entire power grids were still out.
That's probably the most amazing thing about the destructive power of this ice storm. These towers are huge, built of heavy steel, and this ice was so thick and heavy, it twisted and broke them like tinker toys, so you can image what it did to trees.
Parts of this area will not look the same for decades.