Deep freeze: Metro Atlantans coping with outages, gas leaks, frozen pipes

“A lot of the problems are coming from transformers, mechanical issues,” spokeswoman Carol Boatright told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We certainly expect (service) will be restored before the end of the day.”

And two blocks of Moreland Avenue between Front Page News and the Vortex Bar & Grill were temporarily shut down due to high gas readings in the sewer system. All businesses in the area were evacuated.

“According to our information, there is a significant odor of gasoline,” Atlanta Fire Rescue Department spokeswoman Janet Ward said. “The cause is a gasoline spill at a gas station last night, some of which apparently overflowed into the sewer.”

Ward said the road reopened Tuesday night, but most of the businesses remained closed because of the late hour.

Earlier in the day, frozen pipes caused plumbing issues at the Cartersville, Reidsville and Athens Department of Driver Services locations and prompted officials to close the customer service centers, agency spokeswoman Susan Sports said. Customers near the department’s Atlanta, Blue Ridge, Dalton and Decatur locations were urged to find alternate centers because there was no heat.

“DDS is hoping to maintain office hours utilizing space heaters,” she said.

Frozen pipes also caused a problem in Marietta early Tuesday when the pipes of an abandoned apartment building burst on Powder Springs at Gramling streets, police spokesman Officer David Baldwin said.

An officer spotted the problem early and prevented a dangerous situation, he said.

An inch of ice developed in the roadway before the water could be turned off and crews could clear the scene, according to police.

Natural gas customers in Lawrenceville spent hours without heat as unusually high demand took its toll on the city’s system, which serves customers in Gwinnett, Rockdale and Walton counties.

Crews with Lawrenceville’s gas department were working to restore pressure to homes, Mayor Judy Jordan Johnson said.

“The pressure should start to be restored soon and the gas department can start to re-light those who lost pressure,” she told Channel 2 Action News in an emailed statement. “All re-lights will be done at no cost to the customer and they will work all night to get them back on if necessary.”

Residents such as Ashlee Breeland of Loganville were among those affected.

Breeland said she and her two children, a 3-month-old son and a 4-year-old daughter, were using two space heaters until service could be restored.

Her sister, who lives nearby, had no heat or hot water.

“Her house,” Breeland said, “is 59 degrees inside.”

Customers who haven’t reported outages were asked to call 770-963-3332, Lawrenceville’s mayor said.

Breeland said she did just that.

“I called them for an hour and sent them an email,” she said. “I got no response.”

The day was also difficult for metro area drivers.

Chris Slaughter with Able Towing Company in Marietta said the company had seen a large spike in calls due to the extreme cold.

“We probably are going to be setting a record today,” he said.

He said the most common problems were car battery issues, overheating and tire failures.

“We definitely are in the process of helping the people that need the help right now,” he said.

Wednesday may not get any better for some metro Atlantans.

MARTA announced late Tuesday afternoon that rail service may experience disruptions Wednesday because of potential weather-related technical difficulties.

“Customers are highly advised to allow extra time for their trips on Jan. 8,” MARTA spokesman Lyle V. Harris said.

— Fran Jeffries, John Spink and Angel K. Brooks contributed to this article.

Related links