THOMASVILLE, Ga. — The City of Thomasville reports that fewer than 4,400 customers are without power from Thomasville Utilities, as of Sunday afternoon.

About 68 percent of customers have had their power restored. At one point, 90 percent of Thomasville Utilities customers, or 14,000, were without power.

City officials also reminded people that if they encounter barricades across streets or roads to not enter those streets. The barricades are in place because of downed power lines and drivers are asked not to move the barricades or drive around them. 

The largest outage area remains the west side of Thomasville, including Stewart Road, Highway 84 West, Highway 3, Pine Park and the Old Albany Road/Carroll Hill area. Crews are working in the area but the outage may last a few more days.

Thomasville Utilities and its crews are working on smaller outage areas in the system. There are multiple outages affecting small numbers of customers, according to the city. 

In the area around Archbold Medical Center, there many downed wire and broken poles, and restoring power to that area took 20 hours. Crews have been workiing in the Glenwood/MacIntyre Park/Ridgecrest area for four days but the severity of the damage has made restoration difficult.

If your service lines from the pole to your home are down, this issue must be addressed by an electrician first before power can be restored.

Pickup of yard debris has begun, and debris cannot be longer than six feet. The city asks residents not to include construction materials, household waste or appliances with vegetation to be picked up. Also, debris should not be placed in the way of sewer drains or in roads, if possible. 

City of Thomasville’s Public Works Department is removing fallen trees and other debris to assist with power restoration efforts. The larger trees from Jackson and Glenwood near MacIntyre Park Middle School have been removed. Crews are removing large trees and limbs only. The Solid Waste Department will collect smaller debris.

Additional large capacity street sweepers, capable of removing larger debris, are expected Monday.

The Salvation Army is supporting the American Red Cross shelter at New Covenant Church. Meals are being provided to those who are in need. If you wish to donate food, water or money, contact the Salvation Army at 226-3772.

Individuals who qualify for assistance through the Department of Family and Children Services are eligible for SNAP benefits to replace food items lost through Hurricane Michael. 

Also, some traffic signals are still not working and drivers are reminded to treat an inoperable traffic signal as a four-way stop.