Power outages close some public service

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Power outages caused by Friday’s severe weather damage have forced closures of some public services.

All branches of the Allen County Public Library were closed Saturday.

Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control was without power and air conditioning for its animals.  The shelter was put on emergency operation status.

Animals available for adoption were sent to other locations with power to allow staff time to concentrate on caring for stray animals and keeping them cool, Peggy Bender said.

Citizens have been asked to not relinquish pets to the shelter through the weekend unless absolutely necessary.  Stray animals would be accepted at the shelter depository.

The U.S. Postal Service’s postmaster in Fort Wayne reported that all mail was sent out for delivery Saturday morning.  However, a few of its service stations would not provide retail business.

The Northwood and Waynedale post offices would not offer window retail Saturday.  Residents were still allowed to access P.O. boxes.

The Centennial, Diplomat, Hazelwood and downtown locations were open for regular operations.

The City of Fort Wayne temporarily suspended the use of live operators through its 311 call center.  The service experienced a backlog of nearly 3,000 calls Friday and operators were busy Saturday returning those calls.

Residents were still encouraged to call 311 to leave a message about any reports of downed trees, limbs and cable lines.

Reports of power lines down or other emergencies should be communicated to police.