UPDATE: Officials say a shelter will be opening at 8:30pm in the auxiliary gym at Ashbrook High School.
The entrance for the gym is located on the side of the school.
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GASTON COUNTY, NC — Duke Energy says they expect about 2,000 customers in the southern portion of the county to be without power until early Thursday morning.
Officials say an accident at Beaty and Maplecrest Roads involving a tractor-trailer caused the initial outages. Duke Energy says about 1,000 residents have had power restored, but crews estimate it could take all night to restore power to the roughly 2,000 residents remaining.
Duke says crews are working as quickly as possible to fix the outage, as temperatures are expected to fall into the low 20s overnight.
Officials are advising anyone with relatives or friends in these affected areas to make routine checks on them and help provide any necessary provisions. The Department of Health and Human Services is expected to release information regarding possible shelters being made available soon.
Check back for updates.
