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EMA: Winter Storm Fern left about 34,000 Sumner County residents without power at peak
Summary
Sumner County EMA Director Ken Weidner told the County Commission that agencies prepared beginning Jan. 18 and that the ECC dispatched 5,875 calls between Jan. 24–30; 14 structure fires were reported, an assisted‑living facility was evacuated, and preliminary damage assessments are being compiled.
Sumner County Emergency Management Agency Director Ken Weidner briefed the Board of County Commissioners on the county’s response to Winter Storm Fern during the Feb. 2 meeting.
Weidner said agencies began coordinating the week of Jan. 18 in anticipation of the storm. Between Jan. 24 and Jan. 30 the county’s Emergency Communications Center dispatched 5,875 calls. He reported 14 structure fires occurred across the cities and county and that an assisted-living facility on Hogans Branch Road was evacuated. At the storm’s peak approximately 34,000 Sumner County residents were without power. Preliminary damage assessments are being compiled to evaluate eligibility for potential public assistance.
Chairman Jerry Becker said he would send a letter to NES about the outages from his chair seat, but he clarified that the letter would come from him as chairman and not on behalf of the full Commission.
Why it matters: The scale of outages and the number of emergency calls highlight strains on emergency response during the event and inform the county’s decisions about resource requests and potential public assistance. EMA said road clearing and prolonged response times were among the operational challenges during the storm.
Next steps: EMA staff are finalizing damage assessments and related documentation for any state or federal assistance processes.
