BEAUMONT, Texas — This article contains ongoing updates on the aftermath and cleanup following Tropical Storm Laura, including closures, opening, event cancellations and more. Here are some key updates for Saturday, August 29, 2020. You can find more details by scrolling through the story, which we are updating throughout the day and night. The newest items will be at the top.
Sunday
Aug. 30, 8:30 p.m. — Jasper-Newton Electric Cooperative says Hurricane Laura left about 21,000 of its members without power. So far, JNEC crews, along with 308 contractors and 19 sister cooperatives have restored power to more than 7,798 meters according to a JNEC release. About 13,200 are still without power. Crews are still arriving to help JNEC with the restoration efforts.
Aug. 30, 4:15 p.m. — Falling stadium lights damaged school buses at Deweyville ISD during Hurricane Laura. Schools will not be open or holding remote learning classes next week while crews remove debris and make sure electrical systems are save and ready to restart air conditioning in the buildings.
Aug. 30, 2 p.m. — Entergy Texas said their workers have restored nearly 60 percent of the electrical power outages caused by Hurricane Laura. "Our workforce will continue its safe, quick work until everyone’s power is restored," the company said on their website.
Aug. 30, 10 a.m. — Port Neches ISD announced schools will be closed Monday, August 31 while the district is working on power restoration.
Aug. 30, 9 a.m. — The Jefferson County Emergency Services District #4 said they are offering free carbon monoxide testing for anyone currently living on generator power. The district said they are still receiving calls for high levels of carbon monoxide in homes. Some of these calls are about installed 'whole home' generators which are supposed to be certified for safety.
"Please take advantage of this service if you are still running any kind of generator close to your home," the district said on their Facebook page.
Anyone can send the district a private message on Facebook or leave a comment on the post. Those without Facebook can contact the dispatch center at (409) 735-2419.
Saturday
Aug. 29, 7 p.m. — Orange Mayor Larry Spears Jr. says on his personal Facebook that he has tested positive for COVID-19. He tested negative on Thursday prior to his visit with Governor Abbott, but Saturday he tested postive for the virus, so he was not able to visit with President Trump.
Aug. 29, 6:30 p.m. — Superintendent Marcia Stevens said Hurricane Laura has apparently done little or no damage to Catholic schools in the Diocese of Beaumont, but getting back in the classrooms may take a few days due to power and internet service outages. Three schools in Beaumont — Msgr. Kelly Catholic High School, St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica School and St. Anne Catholic School — will return to classes on Wednesday, Sept. 2. St. Catherine of Siena in Port Arthur and St. Mary Catholic School in Orange are expected to take longer resume classes since Orange and Port Arthur took a harder hit from the storm than Beaumont.
Aug. 29, 6 p.m. — The Coast Guard is working to repair navigational outages and reviewing channel survey of Southeast Texas waterways in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura near Lake Charles, Louisiana and Port Arthur.
About 2,108 aids to navigation assets were potentially impacted, damaged or moved off station due to Hurricane Laura. The Coast Guard oversees over 23,000 aids in this district.
Aug. 29, 10:00 a.m. — Nederland ISD announces an update regarding the start of the upcoming school year.
"We cannot start school until power has been restored across our community," Nederland ISD said in a new release. The district says teachers will return to campus no earlier than Wednesday, Sept. 2. Students will begin school no earlier than Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Friday
Aug. 28, 6:30 p.m. — A man in Beaumont died Friday afternoon due to improper use of a generator. Beaumont Police found an unresponsive man inside a garage apartment around 3 p.m. in the 700 block of North 7th Street with a running generator inside a closed garage under the apartment.
Aug. 28, 5:15 p.m. — Entergy says some residents in Orange may not have power restored until Sept 4.
During the peak of the outages, 291,000 customers were without power, primarily in Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties, Entergy said. More than 7,000 people are working in crews across the area to restore power. Last night, Entergy was able to repair the transmission lines to make the power grid more stable and restart a power plant along the Texas/Louisiana state line, ending the need for rotating power outages.
Here is Entergy's expected timeline for power restoration across Southeast Texas:
- Silsbee and Beaumont — end of Sunday, Aug. 30
- Most of Port Arthur, except part of Groves — end of Sunday, Aug. 30
- The rest of Groves should be restored by Monday, Aug. 31
- The City of Orange had the most power line damage, but most Orange residents should restored by Friday, Sept. 4. But some areas may have longer outages due to extensive transmission line damage.
Aug. 28, 5:00 p.m. — Beaumont ISD announced the school district will be closed for virtual learning 'until further notice' in a statement Friday.
"We continue to assess the condition of all campuses as it relates to reliable power in our buildings to sustain virtual learning," the district said.
Aug. 28, 4:30 p.m. — Orange County Judge John Gothia lifted the mandatory evacuation order as of 5 p.m. for all of Orange County. "Citizens that come back to the county need to be self-sufficient due to the major power outages within the county," he said in a statement. The mandatory curfew is still in effect from 9 p.m to 5 a.m.
Aug. 28, 3:30 p.m. — All lanes of Interstate 10 in though Southwest Louisiana have reopened and the detour in Westlake of the I-10/I-210 area has ended.
The "chemical incident" in Westlake has been contained and thE shelter-in-place has been lifted.
Aug. 28, 3:20 p.m. — The mandatory evacuation order for Orange County is still in effect. A 9 p.m. - 5 a.m curfew is also still in effect.
Residents that return to the county should expect to be self-sufficient as nearly 88% of all Entergy customers have no power. Seven out of eight major transmission lines in the county were damaged and the grid is still fragile.
So far only 5,500 customers have had their power restored.
Entergy has another 2,000 workers headed to the county to assist in restoring power to the remaining 38,500 of 44,000 customers who are without power.
Aug. 28, 2:40 p.m. —The curfew in Tyler county has been rescinded by Tyler County Judge Jacques L. Blanchette.
Aug. 28, 12:30 p.m. —The Orange County Office of Emergency Management and Orange County Disaster Rebuild is encouraging all residents in Orange County and the Southeast Texas area to self-report any damages to their homes and businesses by using this survey link.
Aug. 28, 12:30 p.m. — Kroger on Dowlen Road and Eddy’s Sausage are offering free food to customers and associates starting today and will continue throughout the weekend. Eddy’s Sausage will be giving out food Friday and Saturday starting at 11 a.m.
"While families across the Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Laura, Kroger stores across Texas and Louisiana are supporting those communities in a number of ways, including distributing food and water, deploying Kroger’s mobile pharmacy to provide much needed prescription medication to local evacuee shelters and supporting disaster relief efforts through the American Red Cross and the generous donations of customers in stores."
Aug. 28, 12:30 p.m. — Port Arthur ISD announced the district will be closed until further notice.
Aug. 28, 12:30 p.m. — Bridge City ISD will remain closed Monday Aug. 31- Friday Sept. 4, 2020 due to power outages and on going damage assessments.
Aug. 28, 12:15 p.m. — Due to widespread power outages, Vidor ISD will keep schools closed next week (August 31-September 4). Classes are set to resume on Tuesday, September 8.
Aug. 28, 9:20 a.m. — Entergy announced Friday morning that the need for rolling blackouts in Southeast Texas is over.
A “major accomplishment” was completed late Thursday at about 10:30 p.m. when a major transmission line was energized according to a release from the company.
Aug. 28, 9:15 a.m. — The U.S. Postal Service announced Friday morning that all operations have resumed within the 3-digit ZIP Codes of 775, 776 and 777 with the exception of the Sabine Pass Post Office.
All retail and P.O. Box operations for the Sabine Pass Post Office are being conducted in a Mobile Retail Unit located on the Sabine Pass Post Office parking lot. Retail Hours: M-F 9:00am-1:00pm
Mail delivery operations have been moved to the Port Arthur Post Office on Lakeshore Drive.
Aug. 28, 8:30 a.m. — The City of Port Arthur, which suffered little damage due to Hurricane Laura, announced Friday morning when some city services would resume according to a news release from the city.
Public transit will not operate on Friday. Saturday Service will be operating and available for bringing citizens back to their homes from the Civic Center. Paratransit services will operate as well.
Residential and commercial Solid Waste collections will resume regular schedules beginning Monday, August 31, 2020.
Water service utilities have operated continuously, and will continue making repairs as soon as it is safe to do so. Water Billing and Collections will resume business on Monday, August 31, 2020.
City Hall and all facilities are still closed due to COVID-19 safety guidelines .
Aug. 28, 8 a.m. — Here's some headlines from stories were working on late Thursday afternoon and evening....
Hurricane Laura ravaged the Lake Charles, La. and coastal towns nearby after 150-mile-per-hour winds, storm surge, and rain tore through the area when the Category 4 hurricane made landfall.
The violent conditions tossed boats like toys, ripped roofs off buildings, toppled trees onto homes, power lines, and streets, and shattered glass windows on the Capital One Tower and L'Auberge casino.
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Remarkable before-and-after photos show that Hurricane Laura did a number on the radar for the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
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Orange County family plans to rebuild decades-old business after Hurricane Laura demolished building
Throughout Orange County, there are several downed power lines, trees and destruction to businesses. It's forcing some to start over.
Potter's Mirror Glaze on Strickland Drive was completely demolished by Hurricane Laura. Now the Potter family is looking at 50 years of memories, now dented and destroyed. Laura was the fifth hurricane to impact the business.
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Bridge City is no stranger to devastating hurricanes. As Hurricane Laura grew stronger during her coastal approach, many folks remembered just how bad Hurricane Ike was nearly 12 years ago.
Memories of fallen trees and even worse conditions were some of the flashbacks people were having in Bridge City Thursday - all because of one storm that was a sight to see.
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The National Weather Service warned of "unsurvivable" storm surges Wednesday night.
Thursday, Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie said he's thankful Hurricane Laura "spared his city."
