CU continues storm response after peak of 37K power outages

A citywide storm response effort continues today as City Utilities of Springfield works to restore power outages that peaked at 37,000 yesterday evening.

CU spokesperson Jamie Presley said in an email at 11:56 a.m. that fewer than 9,000 customers of the initial 37,000 remained without power.

A CU Facebook post early this morning pointed to the work that had been conducted to date and noted that power outages may continue until July 3. At least one local fatality has been reported, as noted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. 

"More than 90 line workers worked overnight, and additional mutual aid and tree crews are arriving throughout the day," CU officials said in the post. "Due to the widespread nature of the damage, customers should prepare for a multiday outage."

The latest recovery efforts follow April 29 storms that knocked out power for nearly 50,000 CU customers. Outages continued for some customers over multiple days. 

Regarding the latest storm, the Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management issued a news release this morning asking residents to report damage to structures and vehicles. A news conference to update the public is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. today.

Separately, U-Haul Co. of Missouri announced in a news release that it would offer 30 days of free self-storage and container usage at four locations in the Springfield metro area to residents impacted by the storm.