It took a while for winter to come to Highlands, but near record low temperatures ushered in the Christmas holiday.
Many residents found themselves stuck at home on Friday morning following a period of freezing rain late Thursday that was covered by a dusting of snow. Highlands Mayor Patrick Taylor warned motorists to stay off the roads and be wary of the conditions.
“With temperatures in the single digits and many of our area roads covered in ice, I recommend everyone stay home,” Taylor said. “Also, because we are seeing freezing cold combined with wind gusts of 40-50 miles per hour, there is a high probability that we will see trees down leading to power outages.”
Taylor reminded citizens not to call 9-1-1 when there is a power outage, but rather inform the town or Duke Energy directly. As of 11 a.m. on Friday, Duke Energy was showing approximately 2,500 customers without power in Macon County.
Local first responders were busy with a variety of calls ranging from medical emergencies to motor vehicle accidents, and trees down. Friday’s temperatures never reached double digits and the wind chill made it feel as low as negative-20 degrees.
“We have been in contact with the NCDOT and there are several spots where the roads are very slick,” Highlands Fire Chief Ryan Gearhart said. “Especially the secondary roads. Because the temperatures are not supposed to make it past freezing today or (Saturday) we expect road conditions to remain hazardous throughout the weekend.”
Macon County EMS Director Warren Cabe issued a statement reminding residents to stay in touch with their friends and family to make sure everyone was staying warm.
“Check on family, friends and neighbors as conditions remain frigid throughout the weekend. Also, use extreme caution with any alternative heat sources,” Cabe said. “To sign up for emergency updates and weather warnings, go to www.maconnc.org under the Emergency Services tab and click on the CodeRed link.”
Saturday brought temperatures in the upper teens, but no new precipitation, and the winds began to die down. By Sunday more seasonable weather returned with a high in the 30’s.
A second bulletin from Macon County EMS on Sunday noted that utility crews had restored power to almost all of the customers in the county.
“Temperatures will begin to rise over the next 48 hours as Macon County slowly recovers from some possibly record-breaking low temperatures,” Cabe said. “Utility crews have made significant progress in restoring power with the majority of outages expected to be restored today. There have been many reports of frozen and burst pipes. Use extreme caution if you are attempting to thaw frozen pipes to not cause a fire. Several structure fires were reported over the last 24 hours with varying levels of damage and at least one was weather-related.”
On Tuesday, Taylor took to local media outlets asking citizens to help identify potential water leaks at vacant properties and summer homes.
“We are having a hard time keeping the water tanks filled and we believe that is due to several unreported leaks in Highlands,” Taylor said. “We are asking everyone to check on their neighbors, and any nearby homes that may be unoccupied. If you see water coming out of any doors or from under the foundation please call and let the town know so we can send a crew to shut the water off at the meter.”