October 11, 2026 Storm Update 1:30 PM
We are down to around 3,100 meters out in 189 separate locations. Since our last update, we have also received mutual aid assistance from Habersham EMC, bringing our total of additional individuals working to 135.
Our support personnel have also been working hard. It’s all hands on deck, and we are making steps in the right direction.
Please remember to report outages and downed trees and power lines by calling one of our outage hotline numbers. Thank you!
October 11, 2026 Storm Update 9:00 AM
Good morning! We continued to make progress last night before crews turned in for some much needed rest. We are currently down to roughly 4,700 meters without power in 233 separate locations. Our broken pole count has increased from 14 to 24.
We are grateful for the mutual aid assistance from an additional 123 individuals from Colquitt EMC, Edisto Electric (South Carolina), Horry Electric (South Carolina), North Georgia EMC, Pike, Excelsior EMC, Central Georgia EMC, Satilla EMC, Coweta-Fayette EMC, Washington EMC and Mas-Tech. With a few others possibly on the way, we expect to make significant progress today in our restoration efforts.
Lastly, thank you to our members for hanging in there with us! We appreciate your support and ensure we will work as quickly and safely as possibly to get the lights back on.
October 10, 2026 Storm Update 7:00 PM
We are down to 256 outages affecting 6,564 meters.
Our crews have been working tirelessly and will continue working through the night to restore power. The severity of this storm, combined with the challenging terrain across our service area no doubt presents some significant obstacles.
We understand how difficult and inconvenient it is to be without power, especially for members who rely on electricity for essential medical needs. While we do not yet have an exact estimated time of restoration, we anticipate it will take multiple days to fully restore power across our service area.
We sincerely appreciate your patience, understanding, and continued thoughts and prayers for our crews and the crews from our sister EMCs who are helping with restoration efforts. Our dispatchers and support personnel are also working around the clock to coordinate these efforts.
Please know that we are committed to restoring power to our communities as quickly and safely as possible. As a reminder, do not go near downed power lines and always assume they are energized. Report outages through the online member portal, AEMC app or through one of our outage hotlines. Stay safe!
October 10, 2026 Storm Update 2:30 PM
We would like to note the AEMC outage viewer does not reflect that we have crews on site at the Bent Tree outage, but that is incorrect. We are working from two different sides to get this outage back up.
We have made progress reducing the number of meters out from a peak of around 11,000 this morning to under 8,000 currently. However, the number of outages has increased to over 275+. This is expected as larger outages are restored and broken down into smaller, individual outages. Our crews are continuing to work through some of the hardest-hit areas of our system. With that said, the sustained high winds have continued to cause new outages throughout the morning and afternoon, making restoration efforts challenging.
Our broken pole count has increased from 4 to 14:
- Single-phase pole on Hickory Cove
- Single-phase pole on Pleasant Valley Rd
- Three broke single phase poles on Ponderosa Ln in Lake Arrowhead Subdivision
- Three-phase pole on Old Grandview Rd
*There is a three-phase feeder exit pole broken coming out of our Briar Patch substation in Cherokee County. The full extent of the damage has not been confirmed at this time.
- Three-phase pole on Turniptown. (Our line is still energized but phone lines are blocking Turniptown at this location. Use Ray Mtn Rd or Greenfield Rd as an alternate route.)
- Single-phase pole on Fall Circle
- Three-phase pole on Cleve Wright Rd
- Single-phase pole on Miller Calhoun Rd
- Three-phase pole on HWY 19
*There is an additional broken pole somewhere near Turner’s Corner that has yet to be confirmed by our personnel.
We would like to say a huge thank you to the crews that have come in from sister EMCs to help us with restoration efforts:
Colquitt Electric Membership Corporation
Horry Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Central Georgia Electric Membership Corporation
Plus additional Pike contract crews
Thank you for your continued patience and support! Please remember our Facebook page is not monitored 24/7. Report outages and downed power lines to the following numbers: 706-253-0359, 706-276-0359 OR 706-864-0359.
October 10, 2026 Storm Update 9:30 AM
We currently have close to 10,000 meters out with nearly 200 outages. All crews are here and working to restore power. With that said, working conditions will still be challenging due to the sustained strong winds and rain.
As of now we know of 4 broken poles in the following locations:
- One single-phase pole on Hickory Cove Rd
- One three-phase pole on Turniptown
- One three-phase pole on Cleve Wright Rd
- One single-phase pole on Miller Calhoun Rd
The number of broken poles will likely increase as crews continue to assess damage throughout the service area.
All of Bent Tree community is currently without power due to multiple spans of wire being torn down on Cove Rd. Crews are working to restore this as quickly and safely as possible.
Remember, if you are experiencing an outage or need to report a downed power line please do so by calling one of the outage hotlines: 706-253-0359, 706-276-0359 OR 706-864-0359
October 10, 2026 Storm Update 7:00 AM
Late last night and early this morning, strong winds coupled with rain have impacted our service area. Outages have reached roughly 6,000 across our territory. Crews are working as quickly as safely possible to restore power.
We remain in a High Wind Warning until 5 AM Sunday, with a threat of 15-25 mph and wind gusts up to 50 mph. To view outages in real time you can visit our outage map here: https://outages.amicalolaemc.com/
If you encounter a downed powerline, please stay back to stay safe. Do no go near it or drive over it. To report an outage, please use your online member portal, the AEMC app or call: 706-253-0359, 706-276-0359 OR 706-864-0359
Thank you for your understanding as our crews work to get the lights back on in this weather!