By Samantha Swindler
The Times-Tribune
CORBIN, Ky. — “It’s indescribable really,” said Corbin firefighter Jack Partin days after returning from ice storm cleanup and fire-fighting duties in Western Kentucky.
Corbin firefighters Alex Onkst and Partin, West Knox volunteer firefighter Ricky Ludsford and Keavy volunteer and Nicholasville firefighter Mike Bales spent a week providing mutual aid in McCracken County, where many residents are still without power weeks after the Jan. 27 ice storm.
Scores of pictures taken by the men show the ice long melted, but its destruction evident — tree tops sheared and branches bent from the weight of the ice that covered them weeks ago.
“Every tree in a seven-county area looks like that — it looks like you went over top of it with a weed-eater,” Partin said.
The trees took down power lines when they fell, and Partin said it could be another month before all electricity is restored. People there have been living with generators and portable heaters — which in themselves have kept fire departments busy. Areas hit by the storm have seen an increase in fires as damaged power lines are reactivated, and residents attempt to warm themselves with indoor heaters.
“Friday night when we got there, we went and delivered some generators to some houses that had medical problems,” Partin said. “The fire department had about 75 generators they were giving out to people.”
The local men also helped cut fallen trees to clear roadways — some of which were cleared for the first time weeks after the storm.
While Corbinites were complaining about losing power for several hours following Wednesday’s high winds, Partin said a woman from McCracken County joked, “‘Well I’ve been without it for 14 days,’ and she acted like it wasn’t no big deal.”
The mutual aid firefighters slept at the McCracken County emergency management center during their stay. Since President Obama declared Kentucky a major disaster area, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse communities for their aid efforts and pay salaries for the firefighters sent to help.
Copyright 2009 The Times-Tribune (Corbin, Kentucky)