Flashback to 1979: Freezing temperatures, citywide blackouts shut down Dallas as residents struggled to - The Dallas Morning News

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North Texas became a casualty of a 250-mile winter storm that left the city— and its power grids— frozen in its tracks on December 31, 1978.

John Durmon tries to build a fire under a tree across the street from his home at 6527 Axton to save the tree from ice.(Richard Pruitt)

“Near blizzard conditions” are currently threatening Dallas and its surrounding suburbs as the Metroplex prepares for terrorizing icy weather.

Warnings are also extending indoors as companies and first responders prepare for record-breaking electricity usage as temperatures plummet. As officials fear an overstressed power grid today, take a look back at the winter disaster the city faced in 1979 when 300,000 residents were left helpless against the cold.

The city was ill-prepared to handle the impact of a severe winter storm and residents paid the price. The power lines from Dallas Power and Lights Co. faced the most damage, leaving its whole customer base, almost 20% of the city, with no electricity.

January 4, 1979(The Dallas Morning News)

According to The News on Jan. 1, 1979, thousands of residents were left with unanswered calls for help to the electric company and city services. “I think Dallas has failed,” JoAnne Swift, a victim of the outage, said. “It doesn’t seem to have any plan to deal with this type of emergency. ... This is only an ice storm, and the city is almost paralyzed. We’ve had ice storms before, but no one seems to be in charge.”

By Jan. 2, most of the city’s power was restored, but danger still lurked around the city. There were 180 minor traffic accidents and 45 major ones the evening of the storm. More than 800 motorists were stranded in Corsicana due to the weather, and weather-related cases flooded hospitals.

The dangers extended beyond the road to the home. An 8 year-old boy was fatally electrocuted after touching a fallen power line, according to The News on Jan. 3, 1979.

With thousands of customers without electricity, DP&L communicated with customers through an ad in The Dallas Morning News.

January 5, 1979(The Dallas Morning News)

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