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By Dawn Burleigh

Over 2,500 homes are without power as Hurricane Laura makes landfall in Cameron, Louisiana at midnight, Thursday. By 1 a.m. the number grew to over 6,000 homes without power throughout the county.

More outages are anticipated as the storm continues to move inland.

As soon as the storm has passed Entergy crews will begin assessing damage. Given the severe impacts of the storm, Entergy is be unable to provide estimated restoration times until it is able to fully assess the damage to the system, according to messages at its official website.

Given the intensity of this storm and the additional need for repair crews to follow COVID-19 precautionary measures, hardest hit areas may experience outages for weeks.

Entergy expects to have a storm team of approximately 9,000 workers coming from 20 states to quickly and safely respond to any impacts from Laura in Texas and Louisiana. In addition, crews have moved resources from low-lying and at-risk areas to safer ground and flood protections are in place for equipment in other areas that could see high water. High-water vehicles, drones, helicopters and air boats have also been secured to assist in restoration efforts.

For the safety of our crews, please stay away from their work zones. If you need to report a problem with your service or get bill payment help, call 1-800-ENTERGY.

As with any weather event, please be mindful of the following safety tips:

• Live wires can be deadly. Stay away from downed power lines. Call 1 800 9OUTAGE or1 800 968 8243 to report downed or dangling power lines, poles or other damaged equipment.
• Do not trim trees or remove debris on or near downed power lines. Only power company crews or their contractors should remove trees or limbs touching power lines.
• Keep away from the immediate areas where crews are working. There is always the danger of moving equipment and the possibility of construction materials or limbs or overhead wires falling to the ground.
• If you plan on using a generator for temporary power, get a licensed electrician and disconnect from the utility electric system before hooking up to your home main electric panel.
• Do not run a generator in a confined space without adequate ventilation.
• Avoid using candles or other flammable devices to warm your home.
• Check on seniors, who can be particularly susceptible to extreme temperatures.
• Try to stay off the roads in affected areas. More traffic in bad weather leads to more accidents, including more injuries and fatalities as well as accidents that can damage electrical poles and other equipment, creating outages and impeding the ability of crews to access and repair damage and slowing restoration.