Drought, windy weekend lead to power outages, school closing - KYTX CBS 19 Tyler Longview News Weather Sports

LONGVIEW/GREGG COUNTY (KYTX) - One felled three power lines, which ended up closing a major Longview intersection overnight into this morning, and canceled classes here at this Longview ISD elementary campus."We were just watching TV and watching the ballgames, and suddenly, it went out," Joyce Carlisle said.
Joyce Carlisle didn't have to guess what time her lights flickered off. "It was 4:50, because the electric clock stopped then."
What she didn't know was that less than a mile away, multiple agencies were dealing with a mess. A tree, likely dead from two years of drought, snapped over three power lines.
Meanwhile, Longview Independent School District canceled classes at J.L. Everhart Elementary School, which also lost power. It's unclear whether the school will seek a waiver from the state or make up the bad weather day next June.  shortly after 2 p.m. Monday, police reopened east loop 281 to traffic. This weekend's storms highlighted a growing concern for local and state officials. After two years of record-setting drought, the state says at least 300-million trees died from stress. The City of Longview has faced that problem directly.