By KERA News Staff
Dallas, TX – Oncor says it has called in extra crews to restore power to more than 13,000 homes and business in the Dallas- Fort Worth area. Cristi Ramon with Oncor says ice and high winds have caused outages across North Texas. They're asking customers to be patient. Ramon: We are asking our customers to continue reporting their outages that's number one so we do have record of it and we can make sure to get crews out there. And we are calling on our customers to be good neighbors and check in on the elderly and ailing neighbors they have to make sure if their power is out they can make alternative plans. If you see a downed power line call 911. If your power goes out call Oncor's emergency number: 1-888-313-4747
Roads Still Treacherous
The Texas Department of Transportation has some 400 trucks across Dallas and Fort Worth putting down everything from sand to liquid de-icers. TxDot's Mark Pettit urges motorists to stay off the roads if possible. Pettit says TxDot has imported more than 50 plows to help clear roads, something it typically does not do. Triple-A-Texas says its 25 towing contractors are on the job today and busy rescuing cars and drivers involved in accidents. Triple-A's Dan Ronan says North Texas drivers need to slow down. Ronan: Speed is one of the critical factors when you're driving on ice. You have to be much more deliberate about how you're going to approach an intersection; how you're going to approach a bridge; how you're going to approach a stoplight. Ronan also says take time to thoroughly de-ice the windshield, side and rear windows, for visibility. This "winter driving lesson" will likely last until Friday.
Flights Cancelled At DFW And Love Field
By mid-morning, American Airlines had cancelled hundreds of flights because of the winter storm Ed Martelle/ American Airlines: System wide, we're looking at something north of 1,350 cancellations. We have, right now, 800 flights into and out of Dallas-Fort Worth cancelled. I mean that's basically our schedule for the day. Martelle says even if it gets better at DFW, that doesn't mean flights will resume. The winter storm is moving east and will continue to snarl air travel. Southwest Airlines cancelled all Dallas Love Field flights that were scheduled before 11:30am. Some 700 flights were cancelled, system wide. As of noon, Dallas city officials say Love Field remains closed as crews work to clear the runway. DFW was closed for part of the morning. Airport officials say travelers need to CALL AHEAD.
Weather Affecting Garbage, Recycling Services
Because of treacherous side-streets, garbage trucks in Dallas and Fort Worth are not running pick-up routes as usual. Recycling in Dallas will NOT be picked up this week. Today's garbage collection will be spread over two days. Thursday and Friday collection will be pushed back by a day. It's the same situation in Fort Worth. Look for regular garbage collection to run a day behind.
Today's Super Bowl Events Cancelled
All Super Bowl community events are cancelled today because of the winter storm. That includes the NFL Play 60 Challenge at an Arlington elementary school and the Welcome Home a Hero event at DFW Airport.