PROSPERITY, S.C. -- Nearly 600 residents in one South Carolina town who were without power for several hours have had electricity restored, maps show. But town and Duke Energy officials say a stopped train greatly slowed repairs.
The town of Prosperity announced the outage around 7 p.m. on Friday amidst a winter storm that brought freezing temperatures and wet weather through the region. The town said on social media that Duke Energy crews found a line down on a tree on Friday night but couldn't gain access because a train was blocking it.
On Saturday morning, the town shared an update that the train company, CSX, had yet to move the train and, as a result, residents remained without power throughout the night.
News19's Shannon Taylor visited the scene on Saturday morning and spoke with town officials and a representative from Duke Energy.
"We received word that the train was going to be moved at a certain time, and that didn't come through, and, as you can see, it's 11 o'clock now, and the train is still in location," Mayor Derek Underwood said.
The mayor said that the repairs could have occurred on Friday night if the train had been moved.
A Duke Energy representative said the utility dispatched technicians to the scene on Friday night to fix an electrical issue. Then, they found another problem: the tree on a line near the railroad tracks.
"It has been frustrating," he said. "Our employees have been here since before 11 o'clock last night; here we are at 11 o'clock this morning."
In the comments of one of the update posts on Facebook, the organization Able South Carolina, a disability-led non-profit, also shared its concerns.
"People with disabilities who rely on power for medical needs that sustain life should not have to wait on a rail service for such extended periods during a state of emergency," the organization wrote, adding that it had contacted the South Carolina Emergency Management Division and other local officials.
The organization also encouraged people with disabilities who needed assistance to call the South Carolina Department of Public Health care line at 1-855-472-3432.
The Duke representative later shared a positive development in the situation. Line crews were using specialized equipment to access the downed tree in another way, which he said would hopefully lead to power restoration soon.
At around 12:34, Prosperity shared a photo online of the tree being cleared with the message: "Praying it won't be too much longer."
At 1:30 p.m., Duke Energy outage maps showed no outages in the Prosperity area.
News19 has requested information from CSX regarding the issue. A spokesperson said a statement is forthcoming.