Jessica Vaughn and her kids were getting ready to turn in Wednesday night at their home 10 miles north of Eatonton, when the lights flickered once, twice, then died.
She called everyone to the living room, where she lit the propane gas logs. They spent the night on the floor, the gas-fed flames casting a dancing glow. It wasn’t the most comfortable sleep, but they were warm.
An estimated 16,000 households and businesses were without power in Putnam and surrounding counties.
Thursday morning found Vaughn in her car, checking on her dad and hoping power crews would come by.
“It wasn’t too bad,” she said, “but I’ll have to pay for that (propane) gas.”
David Brittain expected it. When the power in his home north of Eatonton failed, early Thursday morning, he didn’t hesitate.
“I threw some more wood in the fireplace,” said Brittain, who had a ready supply: He cuts and sells wood for a living. “I knew something was going to happen.”
It happened across Putnam County, in isolated pockets and subdivisions that rely on a handful of transformers or an electrical substation. Brittain awoke early Thursday, cut more wood, and waited.
“It’s been steady,” said Brittain, loading 18-inch lengths of red oak in a wheelbarrow. Behind him, a plume of smoke billowed from his home’s chimney. “Folks have to stay warm.”
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