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Wlaf1450It is “ready, set, wait,”- Campbell County Road Superintendent Ron Dilbeck
CAMPBELL COUNTY, TN. (WLAF)- As a strong winter storm looms for the weekend, road and utility crews are preparing.
LAFOLLETTE UTILTIES BOARD
The first thing that is recommended is to download the LUB app.
“This is a great tool,” said LUB General Manager Regina Kennedy. Outages can be reported and tracked via the app, she said. It will also notify customers if someone else reports an outage in their area. A comment section allows customers to report other issues such as downed trees across power lines.
LUB phone lines can be busy when there are multiple outages. The app bypasses the phone getting the information to dispatch quicker instead of waiting on hold.
Crews are preparing trucks and equipment to fix outages. The water treatment plant is also filling tanks, Kennedy said.
Snow mixed with freezing rain is in the forecast, which is not a good combination. Weather like this can bring down power lines and trees. “When it gets on the lines that is never good,” she said. LUB crews will be ready to respond to the weather, Kennedy said.
Being prepared is recommended. Have a back up heat source, stock up on groceries and be safe if you are using a generator, she said.
CAMPBELL COUNTY ROADS
“We plan to be wide open, all hands on deck,” said Campbell County Road Superintendent Ron Dilbeck.
The trucks are being prepped and now it’s “ready, set, wait” situation he said. Crews have had some trial runs with snow in the higher elevations. Roads can be salted and snow scraped but ice is a “totally different situation,” according to Dilbeck.
Just an inch of ice is enough to create a dangerous situation. He advises people reduce their travel in snowy conditions and to stay home if it ice comes along with the snow.
Main roads will be cleared first with secondary roads after those.
If trees are across the road call 423-562-3404 during business hours. After people should call 911.
(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 1/23/2026-6AM)