Cleco is experiencing outages in the central Louisiana area as a result of ice accumulation. The weight of the ice has caused tree limbs to break and fall into power lines, which are already coated with ice.

Power lines could be on the ground tangled in the debris of fallen tree limbs, so Cleco urges everyone to be careful if they must go outside. Assume all downed lines are dangerous and stay away.

Cleco reports that outages started at approximately 3:30 a.m. and have continued to rise. As the fr eezing rain continues, Cleco expects more outages to occur.

In Avoyelles, 495 outages are currently reported.

As of 9:31 a.m., Cleco reported only 13 homes in Avoyelles Parish without electricity.

As of 2 p.m., Cleco reported 75 outages in the Plaucheville area.