Utilities, tree companies ready to deploy for weather event

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Power and tree companies staged across North Georgia on Saturday ready to handle power lines that fall and tree limbs.

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Channel 2 Action News Cory James spoke with a general foreman for a tree company that traveled all the way from Florida. He says they have 174 crews in Atlanta and are prepared for a couple of weeks if the storm worsens.

“We help all the lineman if there’s a tree or anything that might impede them to bring the power back up and clean it up for them and make sure area is safe,” Alain Lopez said.

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Georgia Power says safety is the priority, and the utility company says it has about 10,000 people staffed to tackle the ice storm.

Some are from the metro Atlanta area, while others traveled far.

“We want to make sure that the roads are safe, and while we do have snow chains like that, we want to make sure our crews are not putting themselves in danger,” said Matthew Kent with Georgia Power.

As crews prepare for the worst, people nearby are hoping for the best.

“I’m hoping for a great weekend where we don’t have any serious issues, and I’m talking about ice on powerlines, I’m talking about ice on houses, I’m talking about power out for three to four days,” said Stephen Frazier, who lives in Tucker.

“I have a lot of wood; we have a lot of food. We have a dog that likes to cuddle. We’ll be fine. We’re going to make it Atlanta, I promise,” said Kyle Stapleton, who also lives in Tucker.

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