UPDATE
J. Paul Brewster, customer service manager for Entergy Arkansas, says the utility expects to have power back on by late this evening to all of its customers who can take service following Tuesday night's severe weather.
Seven additional contract crews were brought in to Garland County Wednesday morning to assist with the restoration effort, along with Entergy crews from Magnolia and El Dorado, which were not affected by the severe weather in central Arkansas, Brewster said.
"We're making a lot of progress," he said.
At its peak, Brewster said a little over 3,500 sustained outages were reported. Entergy's online outage site at one point listed over 5,000 outages, but Brewster said that number can include momentary outages that are not counted as sustained losses of power.
As of noon Wednesday, there were 513 sustained outages remaining, but Brewster said "those numbers are quickly dwindling." The remaining outages are "really scattered all over the county," he said.
Some customers will not be able to take service because of storm damage to their homes, Brewster said, such as lines being pulled out of their connections to a structure by fallen tree limbs.
Brewster said Entergy apologizes to its customers for the loss of service, adding that he was "really proud of our folks for getting resources here as quickly as they did."
He noted the crews were able to restore around 3,000 customers roughly overnight during a widespread weather event.
"I think that's a pretty good accomplishment," he said.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Severe thunderstorms that moved through the area Tuesday night caused power outages and downed trees, reportedly damaging at least one home.
Around 5,000 Entergy Arkansas customers were without power Tuesday night after severe thunderstorms moved through the area.
By Wednesday morning, the number of outages had been reduced to around 1,200, according to Entergy’s online outage website. Most of the remaining outages were eastward of Central Avenue.
Much of the damage, mainly caused by high winds and fallen trees, was being reported on the east side of Garland County.
One large tree fell across Malvern Avenue, blocking several lanes of traffic, near Jose's Mexican Grill & Cantina, 2215 Malvern.
There was also damage to a home in the Perch Lane area off Catherine Heights Road.
"A thunderstorm has moved through your area causing numerous outages. Our crews are working to restore power as quickly as possible. The estimated time of restoration could change as all damage assessments are completed or if new thunderstorms move into the area," according to a message posted on Entergy's outage website.
As of 9:30 p.m., 5,045 outages were being reported in Garland County.