By Tia Lyons
Staff Writer
Tornado sirens sounded early Saturday morning in El Dorado as a powerful storm hammered the area with torrential rains, severe lightning and thunder, and high winds that triggered tornado warnings throughout the region.
City crews were called out at 2:30 a.m. and worked through the night and well into daylight hours to assist the El Dorado Fire Department in battling a large fire that destroyed the South Arkansas Community College Administration Building and to fix a failed stormwater line that left residents without water on the north side of town.
Nearly 2,100 Entergy customers in El Dorado were also left without power early Saturday morning.
Power outages peaked at 4 a.m., affecting 2,062 customers.
Chris Wasson, customer service manager for Entergy Arkansas, Inc., said the storm caused widespread damage throughout the city.
“Our local crews began working outages on the evening of (April) 13 and worked throughout the night,” Wasson said.
“We have approximately 50 additional employees and contractors coming from other service areas to aid in restoration,” he said.
Due to the extent of the damage, Wasson said it was unclear when all service was expected to be restored.
He cautioned people to stay away from downed power lines because the lines may still be energized.
Outages may be reported through Entergy’s mobile app or by calling 800-ENTERGY.
Also, view the Entergy power outage map at www.entergy.com.
Robert Edmonds, El Dorado director of public works, said the storm worsened an ongoing problem with a stormwater line in the area of 19th Street and Calion Road.
Crews from the El Dorado Water Utilities recently installed a plastic water line as a short-term repair for the stormwater problem that has disrupted water service for customers in the area for the past two weeks.
Edmonds said flood waters washed into a creek in the area, causing the banks and encasements to collapse.
“We laid that plastic line and supported it with timbers. It was a temporary fix that failed. Last night, water washed in from both sides, feeding in from North West Avenue and Calion Road,” Edmonds said.
“Something, maybe a log, struck that plastic line and separated it,” Edmonds said.
He said EWU crews have now installed an isolation valve that should eliminate such problems from re-occurring in the future.
“With the installation of that valve, that should prevent that neighborhood from losing water again,” Edmonds said.
City public works’ employees also assisted the fire department with fighting the fire on SouthArk’s west campus.
Firefighters believe lighting struck the administrative building just before midnight Friday and ignited a blaze in the attic.
The fire swept through the building and destroyed historic property, which was constructed in the early 1900s and initially served as the campus of El Dorado High School.
The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Edmonds said city crews transported diesel fuel to firefighters to help keep their equipment powered as they spent hours battling the blaze.
City street and sanitation workers also spent the night and morning clearing fallen trees, limbs and other storm-related debris from city streets.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.