Thousands still without power

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE/AP) - For many residents, the cleanup is underway.  Fort Wayne is offering three free tree branch drop off sites:

City Biosolids Facility Compost Site located at 6210 Lake Avenue from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday - Friday

Shoaff Park Christmas Tree drop off location by Conklin Pavilion during park hours

Tillman Park by the ball fields during park hours

At one point there were more than 100,000 customers without power in Allen County alone. As of 2:30 p.m. Saturday, about 59,000 Fort Wayne area customers were still without power. Some may not have power restored until Wednesday.  That's about 42% of Indiana Michigan Power's customers.

Power outages were being reported by utilities across northern Indiana.

"It's been a long time since we've seen a storm like this with so much ice and widespread damage," said I&M Spokesman, David Mayne.

Mayne says power should be fully restored to customers in Fort Wayne, Decatur, and Avilla by Wednesday.

"It's going to be several hours if not days before we're completely restored from this weather event," said Mayne.

There were numerous traffic accidents on icy roads and dozens of traffic signals were out in Fort Wayne.

The City of Fort Wayne, Allen County and the City of New Haven have all lifted their Level II weather emergency declarations. Streets and roads are passable, but drivers should use caution and watch out for any downed tree limbs, especially on residential streets. City of Fort Wayne crews are still out removing tree limbs from streets.

Most flights were canceled at Fort Wayne International Airport, and many northern Indiana schools delayed or canceled classes.

Fort Wayne residents who see downed tree limbs or high water in city streets should call 311 to report such damage. The 911/communications dispatch center is for emergency calls only.

For residents without power, they should call their respective electric company. To report a power outage for Indiana and Michigan Power, call 800-311-4634. Northeastern REMC customers can call (260) 625-3700.

Residents needing shelter should go to Memorial Coliseum at 4000 Parnell Avenue or South Side High School at 3601 Calhoun Street.

Residents coming to the shelter are encouraged to bring blankets, pillows, toiletry items, games and toys for children, and any other supplies that will make their stay more enjoyable.

- If you see a downed power line, call 911. Do not touch the downed utility wire.
- Check on the well-being of elderly neighbors and familiy members; if they are without power, encourage them to go to a shelter or a family member's house that has electricity.
- If a house has no power, turn any faucets on an outside wall on to trickle to prevent pipes from freezing.

For the latest on power outages to I&M customers, click here .

As of 10:00 a.m. Saturday, 200 Northeastern REMC members remain out of service due to the ice storm hitting the service area Friday morning. The co-op expects to have most members back in service by Saturday evening. At the height of the outages Friday afternoon nearly 4,500 members were without power.

Besides the Northeastern crews, two crews from Midwest Energy of Cassopolis, MI also assisted.

For information on what to do for those whom do not have power, use the following link to gain information: http://www.nremc.com/cn_current_news.shtml .

Contact either Northeastern REMC at 260-625-3700 or 260-244-6111 or the nearest law enforcement agency.

Northeastern REMC serves 26,750 members in parts of six Northeast Indiana Counties including Allen, Whitley, Noble, Huntington, Wabash and Kosciusko.