Wiring cited in power outage near Lake Saracen

A problem with underground wiring in the area south of Lake Saracen in Pine Bluff resulted in a large outage over the weekend that continued into Monday, closing the Jefferson County Courthouse.

The outage caused at least two intersections along Martha Mitchell Expressway to remain without power to the streetlights and stoplights as of Monday afternoon. Entergy spokesperson Heather Kendrick said issues with the underground wiring caused the outage around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, although the lights along the streets just south of the lake were visibly dark earlier in the evening. Drivers have had to exercise extra caution in making sure to stop at the intersection and see that no other vehicles were crossing before continuing.

As of 2:53 p.m. Monday, about 59 Entergy customers were still without power, Kendrick said. She added about 193 were without power at the start of the outage.

“Entergy Arkansas has assembled a specially skilled underground team from Little Rock and restoration is underway,” Kendrick said. “Crews hope to have all customers restored by 9 p.m. this evening.”

The Jefferson County Courthouse remained closed Monday and is expected to reopen at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Legislative clerk LaCreshia Henry said in an email at 7:44 a.m. Tuesday the Entergy system was not yet online, thus the Courthouse would treat the event as “inclement weather.”

“If the status changes we will update everyone as soon as possible,” Henry said.

County Judge Gerald Robinson said Monday he had his “fingers crossed” for restoration of power by 9 p.m., as county officials had hoped to take care of a lot of business Monday. The courthouse has not been open since Wednesday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

“I believe we will be open (Tuesday),” said Robinson.

    The parking lot at the Jefferson County Courthouse is nearly empty Monday afternoon, Dec. 2, 2024, due to a power outage that occurred just south of Lake Saracen less than 48 hours earlier. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)