Environment

Risk of lighting strikes rises in summer

Submitted by Anonymous on Monday, July 11th, 8:39 am

Although your risk of being struck by summer lightning is extremely small, you can make it still smaller by taking some basic precautions.

"Lightning is one of the most dangerous and frequently encountered weather hazards," said Dr. Sandra Schneider, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), in a college news release. "A person's risk for lightning injury is most consistently related to their failure to take appropriate precautions."

In the United States alone, lightning kills 55 people each year and seriously injures hundreds more, according to the ACEP. Lightning strikes the earth about 25 million times annually, according to U.S. Weather Service records.

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Burn ban lifted for north Alabama

Submitted by Anonymous on Friday, July 1st, 9:53 am

Officials with the Alabama Forestry Commission say ground moisture levels in 12 north Alabama counties have increased enough to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire, justifying downgrading these counties from Drought Emergency (No Burn) to Fire Alert. Counties included are: Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, Marion, Limestone, Lawrence, Winston, Madison, Morgan, Jackson, Marshall, and DeKalb.

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Power outages in Madison county

Submitted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 28th, 8:43 am

There currently is a large power outage in northwest Huntsville extending west from Research Park Blvd. to Explorer Blvd. and Discovery Dr. and along US 72 Hwy, Slaughter Rd., and University Dr. to Nance Rd. This will include much of Cummings Research Park . Crews are working to restore power now.

The outage that affected most of northwestern Madison County has been repaired. Lighting struck a substation on Nick Fitcheard Road damaging equipment inside the station. This is one of the locations where Huntsville Utilities receives power from TVA.

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Program to boost glass recycling

Submitted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 14th, 9:01 am

An announcement will be made on Wednesday, June 15th between Operation Green Team and Alabama Glass Recyclers (formerly Green Mountain Glass.)

Residents will now have the opportunity to recycle glass without fees at Alabama Glass Recyclers located at 5024 Meridian Street in North Huntsville.

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Governor Bentley signs emergency drought condition declaration

Submitted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 7th, 12:48 pm

Because extremely dry conditions have created an atmosphere where the probability of catastrophic wildfire activity is high, Governor Robert Bentley today signed an Emergency Drought Condition Declaration prohibiting outdoor burning in all 67 counties in Alabama.

Since January, 1,808 wildfires have burned over 41,000 acres in Alabama, according to the Alabama Forestry Commission.

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Clean up Madison day

Submitted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 18th, 9:58 am

Begin your community involvement by participating in "Clean Up Madison Day". The entire community is invited to come together to help neighboring communities during "Clean Up Madison Day."

The clean up is to help others from the devastating damage received from the April 27th storms. Clean Up Madison Day is in partnership with the Horizon Elementary Eco-kids and will be held on May 21st from 8:00 AM-12:00 PM.

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Statement for Huntsville Utilities

Submitted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 11th, 3:28 pm

The power outage that affected a large portion of northern Madison County on Tuesday, May 10, has raised concerns by customers about the current status and stability of the electric system.

The connection to the TVA system is still fragile and will remain that way for a number of weeks. While repairs to the TVA system continue, Huntsville Utilities has no plans to schedule blackouts or rolling outages.

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