Power Restored After Long, Hot Afternoon in Fort Smith

Thousands of people in Fort Smith were without electricity Tuesday after a tree fell on a power line.

“When the power went off, I think they were cutting some trees down, clearing an easement, and heard a crash and power was off,” said William Jones.

In the heat of the day, OG&E worked to restore electricity to more than 2,000 customers waiting patiently for power. Some say they went three hours in the sweltering heat without an air conditioned home.

According to Fort Smith Police, a tree fell on a power line on 66th Street. A portion of the road was blocked off for several hours as crews fixed the problem.

“I believe it’d be hotter if I opened anything up right now,” said Terry Loggains. “Even the refrigerator is still cool.”

While most people opted to stay indoors, some say they had a challenge getting outside. Ben Treece said he had to manually pull up his electric garage door.

“Apparently you have to unhook the garage door with this little pole string then lift it up,” said Ben Treece. “I’ve never had to do it before because I’ve always had a little clicker thingy to do it.”

OG&E worked throughout the hot summer day. Power was restored to all customers by 4 p.m.