In the Dark: Oklahoma Family Without Power, Jamie Lynn Spears Pregnant
CHETRY: Some of the most amazing shots of the morning in our "Quick Hits" now, this one certainly bad news for the family that lives here. But this is a Scottsdale, Arizona, mansion, entirely up in flames. It was an 8,000-square-foot home. It was brand new. They just built it. Firefighters said that no one was there at the time. There are reports that a water shortage hurt efforts to stop it before the home was a total loss. A spaniel in distress on a frozen pond. This is in Lake Winona in Minnesota. The dog fell in. A fire captain came to the rescue, and there's a shot of it. It's a pretty delicate operation. The rescuer, of course, weighing a lot more on the little guy on the ice, had to don a cold water suit and then crawl out onto the ice to pull the dog out. The fire department says that two other dogs also went under, but they were able to climb out on their own. The vet says this little guy will be fine. And look at these amazing ice sculptures and snow pictures. These are workers putting finishing touches on this giant French maid that's entirely carved out of snow. This is a part of the 20th annual snow sculpture expo that takes place in northeast China, one of the world's four largest ice and snow festivals fueled by cold winter temperatures blowing in from Siberia -- John.</s>ROBERTS: Seventeen minutes after the hour. We are also following extreme weather this morning. Utility workers in Oklahoma working to restore power to more than 88,000 homes and businesses more than a week after a major ice storm there. President Bush declaring seven counties a disaster area. The order means that state and local governments can now receive federal funds for cleanup and repair. One power company says all of the electricity is expected to be restored by late tonight or maybe tomorrow. We're talking this morning to one family who had the lights come back on for just a little bit, but they are unfortunately in the dark again this morning. The Barnes family joins us now from Sand Springs, Oklahoma, sitting in front of their fire there, Lisa and Brandon and a couple of the kids. Is that your only source of heat that you've got going there? I imagine it is.</s>LISA BARNES, MOTHER: Yes, it is.</s>ROBERTS: Oh, my goodness. You've been without power, Brandon, since the 9th of December. How have you been coping?</s>BRANDON BARNES, FATHER: When this -- as far as getting logs, bringing them in and staying as warm as we can.</s>ROBERTS: Go ahead.</s>B. BARNES: We have no electric and no hot water, and we've been doing the best we can.</s>ROBERTS: So your heat is electric as well, is it? I mean, not that it would work if there was a gas-fired furnace anyway.</s>B. BARNES: Correct.</s>ROBERTS: But what temperature is the house at these days?</s>B. BARNES: We have not been paying attention. We've just been wrapping up in blankets and keeping all of us bundled up.</s>ROBERTS: That I imagine, it's cold regardless of what temperature it is.</s>B. BARNES: Right, right.</s>ROBERTS: So what's the power company told you about getting the lights back on? I understand it came on briefly yesterday?</s>B. BARNES: Yes, a short period of time, but from the wife calling the last four nights, they've been saying 10:00.</s>ROBERTS: Right.</s>B. BARNES: And you know, the last, first couple times, you know, we anticipated it, but we haven't seen any changes yet.</s>ROBERTS: Yes. And how many other folks there in Sand Springs without power? Is it still the whole town or just a couple of blocks?</s>B. BARNES: No, it's just from what we've seen it's just the houses in this neighborhood only.</s>ROBERTS: Right. So how have you been coping? How have you been cooking food? How have you been, obviously, you don't have any hot water, so how have you been bathing? How have you been keeping the kids clothes clean? You mentioned, you can't do any laundry.</s>B. BARNES: We've hit the Laundromat a couple of times, and that was a nightmare. Everybody -- the first Laundromat and everybody in Sand Springs was involved in going there, and it was terribly busy.</s>ROBERTS: Right. So when do you hope to have the power back on?</s>B. BARNES: Any time would be nice.</s>ROBERTS: I'm sure it would be, but no estimate there. They're still saying hang in. We're trying to get it all done?</s>L. BARNES: They're saying December the 20th is the soonest.</s>ROBERTS: Wow!</s>L. BARNES: Yes.</s>ROBERTS: All right.</s>L. BARNES: We'll see.</s>ROBERTS: All right, folks. Well, good luck to you. Stay warm. The Barnes family in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, thanks for joining us this morning. Let's get a response now from the power company, Public Service Company of Oklahoma spokesman, Stan Whiteford joins us on the phone now from Tulsa. So you heard what the Barnes had to say, Stan. What can you tell them about getting the power back on? STAN WHITEFORD, SPOKESMAN, PUBLIC SERVICE CO. OF OKLA</s>ROBERTS: These ice storms are just the worst because unlike snow, which can easily fall off of the power line, the ice clings to it, and it doubles or triples the weight and it comes down. Is it possible to prepare for something like this? Were you adequately prepared?</s>WHITEFORD: Well, we have a very formal and aggressive vegetation management program here, and certainly we hope that and would expect that the work that we do year-round to help trim trees away from power lines has done something to help mitigate the amount of damage...</s>ROBERTS: You mean --</s>WHITEFORD: But you know this is a storm of unprecedented damage in the populated areas of Oklahoma.</s>ROBERTS: You mean -- you're saying Stan--</s>WHITEFORD: We've never had anything like this before, so this is a historic event.</s>ROBERTS: Stan, you're saying it could have been even worse?</s>WHITEFORD: Well, it could have been worse for sure. We have a very formal program to try to take care of vegetation that's in and around the power lines. We've also been in the process of converting certain overhead power lines to underground.</s>ROBERTS: Yes.</s>WHITEFORD: So we continue to try to do whatever we can to mitigate the impacts and to lessen the impacts of these type of events.</s>ROBERTS: Well, that's a process that can't happen fast enough for some people. Stan Whiteford for us this morning. Stan, thanks for joining us.</s>WHITEFORD: You're welcome.</s>ROBERTS: Kiran?</s>CHETRY: Well, he knows that you've been naughty, of course, and he knows when you've been nice. Which list will this woman end up on? Well, that's the actual Santa. A mall Santa says that one woman sat on his lap and grabbed him inappropriately in front of kids, no less. We'll have that story in just a bit. And a new child coming into the Spears family. This time is not Britney, though. Her 16-year-old sister, Jamie Lynn, we're going to tell you what Jamie Lynn's plans are for the new baby and how she broke the news to her parents, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.