From wildfires and ice storms, to hurricanes and high winds, there’s a lot happening across the U.S. that is impacting TDS services. Here are the latest updates:
Oklahoma Ice Storms, Friday, 10/30/2020:
TDS’ Cyril, Choctaw, Gracemont, Verden and Union City communities were hit with an ice storm this week. Power lines and trees are down in the communities. Power outages are wide-spread and according to the Oklahoma Gas & Electric, as of Thursday night, about 225,000 customers are still without power. OG&E has restored power to nearly 160,000 customers. Our field service technicians have more than 20 generators working, and they are continuing to rotate these generators throughout the night. In the Cyril area, service and install orders are being pushed out through Friday, Nov. 6 and for Choctaw until Nov. 3.
Estes Park, Colorado wildfires, Friday, 10/30/2020:
Mandatory evacuation orders are still in place for the western part of the TDS’ community of Estes Park. All TDS employees have relocated from the area. TDS has temporarily closed its retail office and is rescheduling all service orders and installs until Nov. 2. TDS is closely monitoring the situation. Updates will be provided as needed.
Hurricane Zeta, Updates
Monday, 11/1/2020:
Update for Georgia: Commercial power has been restored to all TDS equipment sites. The challenge remains restoring and repairing downed lines caused by tree and wind damage. Over the weekend, contractors made great strides and replaced nearly 20 poles, but there is more work to be done. Additional trees debris and broken poles must be replaced before all customers can be reconnected. Our Field Service Technicians will continue to work repair tickets where ever possible.
Friday, 10/30/2020:
Hurricane Zeta has impacted the following TDS communities in Alabama: Butler, Lisman, Needham, Pennington, Grove Hill, and Goshen; in Mississippi: Leakesville, Neely, State Line, and Sand Hill and in Georgia: Big Canoe, Marble Hill, Nelson, Blue Ridge, Lakewood and Dial.
TDS is currently assessing the damage in the area. In many cases, phone and internet services are out. Power outages and downed trees are extensive and have damaged some of our facilities. All orders and service calls are being pushed out through Nov. 11. High winds in some communities have slowed commercial power restorations. Please for your own safety, if you see a downed power line, move away from it and notify local authorities. TDS will earnestly work to restore services when power is restored.
