Since 1961, it’s been the job of those who work for the Princeton Electric Plant Board to power the crown jewel of Caldwell County — no matter the circumstance, no matter the cost.
Sixty years later, its staff faced a most terrible test, when on December 10 an EF4 tornado ripped through Hwy. 293, Hwy. 91 and eastward — gutting almost everything before, after and in its path.
Chris Burton, operations superintendent and safety director for the city municipality, was one of three individuals in the company dealing with its direct line, and the twister spared little among the Deerfield, Greenspoint and Country Club Hills communities.
At 10:21 p.m. that fateful Friday, power flickered — but remained — as the storm approached.
At 10:22 p.m., the grid was gone — and along with it went several homes and businesses, as well as the lives of four Caldwell Countians in Larry Burdon, Rick Carlisle, Richard Lipford and Millie Lipford.
Bringing winds of nearly 190 miles-an-hour and often a mile or so wide, the tornado left as quickly as it came; quite literally moving a mile a minute at times.
When it passed, Burton — like his coworkers — made sure his family was safe, and almost immediately went to work.
Storms like these don’t come around often, but emergency and work preparedness kick in with adrenaline. Burton noted the order of operations was simpler than one might think. Crews immediately started helping pull people from wreckage, sometimes rushing the injured to the Caldwell County Hospital in their own vehicles.
Burton was one of many to notice that South Jefferson needed to be cleared so ambulances could get back and forth to the emergency room. The hospital also needed power — and soon.
By 2:21 AM, December 11, and before the reinforcements had arrived, workers for the Princeton Electric Plant Board had restored the main transmission line to Princeton — bringing the city to nearly 50 percent electrical capacity, and more importantly the hospital back online.
Also a volunteer network coordinator for Kentucky Municipalities and the American Public Power Association, Burton then started putting his contact list to use seeking mutual aid. He phoned Paducah Power, Owensboro Municipality, the Frankfort Electric Board and Groves Electric out of Madisonville — all of which arrived by sun-up Saturday.
Burton didn’t want to speak for his two coworkers who also lost homes, but in those immediate moments after the storm, he noted it was hard to discern whose house was whose in the chaos and destruction.
What they do have, however, are their lives — and it was quick thinking and organization that brought Princeton its power.
A final assessment hasn’t been completed, but Burton estimates at least 140 high-voltage poles, five 160 kV steel poles and countless fiberglass streetlight poles were snapped and swept away in the storm.
