Thousands in the Hill Country still without power after winter storm

Residents in the Texas Hill Country are still without power following last week's winter storm, which knocked out thousands of power lines.

HARPER, Texas - Many cities in the Texas Hill Country continue to struggle with a lack of power following last week's winter storms. Right now it’s not certain when power will return to these areas.

Due to the limited resources out there, FOX 7 Austin has been able to contact residence via email or short phone calls. One resident from Harper says that a lot of her neighboring family is staying at their house and sharing a generator while they wait for power to finally be restored.

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"It’s unprecedented, I’ve opened meetings saying this is the worst ice storm this place has taken since electricity has been invented and that’s just a fact," said Bob Loth, general manager of the Central Texas Electric Cooperative.

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Loth said their crews are currently working to restore power to more than 4,000 homes in the Gillespie County area, specifically around Harper. Roughly 2,000 utility poles took a major hit during the winter storms last week.

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Those in small Central Texas towns like Granger are struggling due to a lack of power, water, and even damage to their homes and businesses.

"It looks like a tornado went through there. All the tree limbs and tree stutter down, we’ve got several downed poles, we’ve got lots and lots of cross arms that are broken wire on the ground," said Loth.

When asked, when everyone in the area would have power again, Loth said they are working as fast as they can. "We’re out there trying, we’re working 16 hours a day. We don’t like them being without power. My people are dedicated, I told you some goals earlier, we will not quit, we will not let up until every last one of them is on," said Loth.

Loth said they expect to have most people in the area with power by Monday but the remaining ones will still take some time.

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Loth said the biggest challenge that the crews are facing it’s just how many downed trees there are in the area. They’re having to clear many of them just to get to the utility poles.