Over 7,200 still without electricity Friday morning

The three utility companies serving Avoyelles Parish were reporting a combined total of 7,248 customers in the parish still without electricity Friday morning due to Hurricane Laura.

Cleco reported 5,500 customers still out of power around 9 a.m. today. Power outage maps for Entergy showed 1,713 customers still without power and 35 SLEMCO customers without electricity as of 10:50 a.m.

Utility crews for all three companies have been working overnight to restore power to customers who were plunged into the dark after Hurricane Laura ripped through the state Thursday. Western Louisiana bore the brunt of Laura's wrath, but even as far east as Avoyelles the storm knocked down trees, leveled storage sheds and covered the ground with limbs, branches and other debris before continuing its journey north.