The season's first winter storm really packed a whollop across North Carolina. Freezing rain started falling in Apex around 3pm on Wednesday, 4 December. Within a few hours it turned to snow. Unfortunately, a short time later it turned back into freezing rain and stayed that way for the rest of the afternoon. By nightfall we were getting a steady downpour, but with air temps in the 20F range, it was freezing on all surfaces including trees and power lines. We could hear transformers blowing out and tree limbs crashing to the ground throughout the night as the ice accumulated. The calls started coming in late Wednesday evening, and some of our trucks and personnel stayed out all night and well into Thursday morning handling emergency calls.

By daybreak Thursday, the entire town of Apex was without electricity. Fire department members worked throughout the day and night removing trees from the roadways, babysitting transformer fires and downed power lines, and responding to a number of other incidents. The Firebelles once again came through and kept the hot food and coffee coming. They not only provided for the fire department - but also every other emergency response crew working for the Town of Apex!

Click the thumbnails to view a larger photo