Three Fort Wright streets remain closed after a derecho struck Aug. 11, toppling trees onto power lines across the city. Officials are urging residents still without electricity to consider finding alternate shelter.
Vidot Court, W. Crittenden and Battery Hooper Park are all shut down until further notice due to downed trees and electrical wires, according to a city storm update posted Wednesday, Aug. 12, by Nyoka Johnson on the city's website. Battery Hooper Park includes a city park with shelters and a playground, making that closure especially relevant for families.
All three closures are indefinite.
City crews are clearing streets, public rights-of-way and public properties while responding to emergency calls. The city said cleanup will take time given the extent of the storm damage, and that crews are prioritizing locations based on public safety and community needs.
Thousands still without power
As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, roughly 22,000 Duke Energy customers in Kentucky remained without power. Crews had already restored about 19,000 customer outages statewide. Across Duke Energy's combined Kentucky and Ohio service territories, about 125,000 customers were still waiting for power, while 141,000 had been restored.
The derecho created more than 4,400 individual outage events for Duke Energy, with over 2,600 still requiring repairs Wednesday morning. The utility is bringing in additional crews from other states and using self-healing technology to reroute power around damaged equipment.
As we reported Wednesday, roughly 26,000 Northern Kentucky customers lost power in the storm.
Safety warnings for residents
Fort Wright officials stressed that downed trees and limbs can conceal or be in contact with energized power lines. Residents should treat every downed line as live and stay clear.
The city also advised:
- Operate generators outside, away from buildings and garages.
- If a power line falls on your vehicle, stay inside unless there is an immediate life-threatening emergency such as fire.
- Households with elderly residents or individuals with special medical needs should consider alternate shelter if the outage continues.
Residents can call Fort Wright's administrative offices at 859-331-1700 or dial 911 for emergencies. Duke Energy's outage map and mobile app are available for tracking restoration times.
