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Storm toll felt across Forsyth area
tree

FORSYTH COUNTY — The roads across Forsyth County may appear dry, but there’s no shortage of traffic hazards as trees coated in ice continue to topple this morning.

The Forsyth sheriff’s office and fire department was reporting that personnel had responded to the following calls since 4 p.m. Monday:

* 345 road obstructions (trees on the roads)

* 90 wire down calls (in addition to the tree-only calls)

* 14 motor vehicle crashes (eight injuries, including one entrapment)

* Six tree fires

* Three homes with storm damage

This does not include duplicate calls (about 600), as well as calls including alarms and non-storm related issues.

In total, authorities had received 1,206 calls.

Aggravating the situation, many residents remain without power.

According to Cumming-based Sawnee EMC, which provides power to most of Forsyth County, the utility is experiencing numerous widespread power outages throughout its service area.

The outages are caused by ice buildup on trees, which causes them to come in contact with the power lines.

At the height of the storm, according to Sawnee, there were more than 35,000 customers without power. That was down to about 21,000 as of 1 p.m.

 

This story will be updated.