Fairfield residents reported that utility lines were sagging or had come down across town due to the heavy, wet snow accumulation from Tuesday’s winter storm that deposited 8-10 inches of snow in Jefferson County.

Fairfield City Engineer and Public Works Director Melanie Carlson said in an announcement Tuesday morning that the power companies were not sending out crews to address these low utility lines, and that instead barricades were being erected to direct traffic around them.

“Areas being barricaded are continuously changing and we are not able to update the public on all road closures,” Carlson said. “Please use extreme caution when driving or stay home if possible.”

One of the low-hanging utility lines was in the 100 block of East Broadway Avenue in downtown Fairfield, which is the street the Fairfield Ledger/Southeast Iowa Union office is located on. Barricades were placed on that block of Broadway Avenue to instruct drivers not to access it.

Shea Barber, who runs PC Repair Specialists on the north side of the Fairfield square, said he nearly drove into the low-hanging utility lines while riding on his four-wheeler. He said he saw the lines just in time to slow down and duck before “clotheslining myself off of it,” he stated in a Facebook post.

Barber said that a city worker put up one barricade after noticing the low-hanging lines, and a couple other people in the area placed more barricades to make it even more visible.

Alliant Energy Spokesperson Morgan Hawk said the storm had caused power outages throughout Alliant’s coverage area, which includes Fairfield and Washington among many other cities.

“Crews are working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible,” Hawk said. “Crews are seeing downed power lines and tree limbs that are getting heavy and contacting overhead lines.”

Hawk said the public should avoid downed power lines and provide Alliant crews the space they need to safely assess damage, make any repairs and restore service to customers.

“We appreciate customers’ patience and understanding as crews work as quickly and safely as possible,” Hawk said.

Alliant customers can view estimated restoration times and report outages by visiting www.alliantenergy.com/outage.

Fairfield’s streets department will prioritize clearing high-volume streets until the rate of snow decreases. Carlson said that, once crews are able to get ahead of falling snow, they will proceed to residential streets. She said that clearing of alleys will not occur until later this week.

“As heavy snow continues to fall, we will see rapidly changing conditions,” Carlson said. “Report down trees to 641-472-4146 and down lines to 1-800-ALLIANT. If there is a power outage, no warming shelters will be opened at this time. Please shelter in place and check on your friends and neighbors.”

Carlson said city staff appreciate the public’s patience given that it will take multiple days to clear this much snow.

“This is not a typical snow,” Carlson said. “It’s been several years since we’ve seen a snow like this. We’re used to getting 2 inches at a time.”