MORNING UPDATE: Crews work to restore power across region

City, county, state and utility crews across the two Virginias are mobilizing this morning in an attempt to clean up and restore power after heavy snow hit the region.

Dispatchers with Mercer County 911 reported widespread power outages and downed trees across the county. According to Appalachian Power, more than 16,000 Mercer County residents were without power — approximately 45 percent of the county — at 10 a.m. Monday. A spokesperson with the Bluefield Police Department reported a tree had been downed on Orange Street during the storm but city crews were working to clear it.

In McDowell County, 911 dispatchers said a large concentration of power outages has been reported in the Anawalt area with trees downed in the Berwind area as well as near the McDowell-Wyoming County line.

A spokesperson with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office reported APCO crews were on the scene working to restore power in the Hurley and Conaway areas of the county. The spokesperson said power had been out in the Slate Creek area of the county earlier this morning, but has since been restored.

Officials with the Bland County Sheriff’s Office reported power outages mainly concentrated on the northern end of the county bordering the Bluefield area. According to APCO, approximately 32 percent of Bland County residents are without power.

A spokesperson with the West Virginia State Police Union detachment said much of Monroe County is also without power, with outages concentrated in the Lindside and Peterstown areas of the county. APCO reported roughly 30 percent of Monroe County was without power as of 10 a.m. Monday

For more on this story and other news, see Tuesday’s Daily Telegraph