By Lance Coleman
Knoxville News-Sentinel
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK — Two days after a thunderstorm toppled trees that killed two and injured several others in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and knocked out power to 56,000 Knoxville Utilities Board customers, crews are making progress in restoring power in Knoxville and clearing roads in the national park. About 1,000 KUB customers remained without power as of late Saturday afternoon, KUB officials said.
According to a KUB news release, as of 4:30 p.m., approximately 1,000 customers were still without power from the severe storm that hit the area early Thursday evening. KUB anticipated that most customers will have power by late today, but some restoration work may extend into Monday. KUB encourages customers to plan accordingly, officials said.
KUB and contract crews continue to work 16-hour rotating shifts to restore power to all customers. The crews are working as quickly as they safely can, given the extremely high temperatures and the hazards of downed lines and trees that can conduct electricity, officials said.
According to the utility, more than 85 percent of the remaining jobs, which are scattered throughout KUB’s service area, are service lines and transformers. Most will restore power to only one or two customers at a time.
In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where two died and others were injured when the storm toppled trees, park officials said several areas and roads would be reopened Saturday evening. Cades Cove, the Cades Cove Loop, Laurel Creek Road into Cades Cove and the Little River Road from Elkmont to Metcalf Bottoms picnic area and the Cades Cove campground were set to reopen, officials said.
According to a release from the national park, crews are still assessing damage and clearing other roads. The storm left damage from Metcalf Bottoms across Cades Cove to Abrams Creek.
Park spokeswoman Melissa Cobern said National Park Service personnel have been using heavy equipment to clear the tangled mass of hundreds of downed trees - covering several roads in the west end of the park.
“Crews are making excellent progress, but it has been a challenge to get the work done,” she said. “Clearing one tree might bring down several others at the same time.”
Cobern said Saturday that park staff began assessing damage to backcountry trails and said initial indications show several trails received significant damage, including Chestnut Top Trail. A two-mile section of that trail has essentially been lost, she said.
According to the release, the magnitude of the storm damage will most likely result in the closure of all or portions of several backcountry trails in the area.
Officials said roads remained closed because of storm damage, including Little River Road between Metcalf Bottoms and the Townsend Wye, the Rich Mountain Road, Parson’s Branch Road and Abrams Creek access road, as well as Abrams Creek campground.
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