Caution urged as area faces a bitterly cold week

Winter weather brought sporadic power outages and hazardous road conditions to Southeast Missouri over the weekend, with thousands of residents temporarily losing power. However, Poplar Bluff seems to have fared better than neighboring counties.

Ozark Border Electric Cooperative reported over 400 customers without power across Wayne, Carter, and Bollinger counties early Sunday evening. Crews worked through the night to restore service, reducing that number to less than 50 by 4 a.m. Monday, with a handful of outages remaining in Butler County. As of 6 a.m., only five customers in Carter County were still affected.

However, Citizens Electric Corporation reported a significant outage in Perry County, with 6,456 customers without power as of 8 a.m. Monday.

“Areas to the north, such as Wayne County, were hit with winter weather that caused power outages and hazardous road conditions,” said Robbie Myers, Butler County Emergency Management Agency director.

To assist those affected by the cold weather, daytime warming centers have been opened at the Poplar Bluff Public Library and the Butler County Health Department.

The Bread Shed in Poplar Bluff operates an overnight warming center from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. whenever the forecast predicts temperatures of 20 degrees or lower. The center, staffed by volunteers from several organizations including the Family Counseling Center, will announce its opening 24 hours in advance. The Bread Shed is also accepting donations of new blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags, as well as monetary donations to help those in need.

Make a plan

In light of such a cold forecast, some people will likely do anything to stay warm. But doing so does require some extra caution.

The Poplar Bluff Fire Department reminds residents to test the batteries on their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and to ensure space heaters are properly plugged directly into a wall outlet and not an extension cord. They caution against using extension cords or leaving space heaters unattended for prolonged periods and advise keeping them away from flammable materials. Space heaters should only be used for supplemental heat.

“It’s a common thing to see structure fires being started by space heaters,” PBFD Chief Mike Moffitt remarked. “We see that every year. Some people like to sleep on their couch or in their chair, and they turn on a space heater and put it too close to their furniture or curtains.”

Moffitt also explained that cooking devices shouldn’t be used to keep warm.

“Your stove or any other cooking device is not a recommended source of heat,” he remarked. “Your cooking devices should only be used for cooking and nothing else.”

Moffitt went on to say it’s important to have a plan during hazardous weather.

“You should try to keep your vehicle’s gas tank full and keep your phone charged,” he noted. “If you get stuck out somewhere you will need to stay warm and be able to contact someone. And you should also let someone know where you are going, just to be safe.”