Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Tri-State area

QUINCY, ILL. -- More than 600 Ameren customers in Quincy and Adams County woke up to no power Tuesday morning.

The updated number as of 10 a.m. was 17 households without service, Ameren Illinois is reporting.

Click here to see an outage map of all other outages in Illinois. There are also outages reported near Burton and Columbus, Ill.

Pockets along Maine Street in Quincy are currently without traffic signals. Emergency officials are stressing caution on the roadways. 

There are also reports of outages in Missouri. Some of those were due to the heavy snow weighing down on tree branches. Those branches are falling on power lines.

Meanwhile the Ameren Illinois Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has declared a weather alert in preparation for Tuesday's winter storms.

Ameren officials put all Ameren Illinois and contractor personnel on alert for deployment Tuesday.

Ameren is also urging residents to use extreme caution. Heavy snow and ice could weigh down branches and trees and cause them to crash down into power lines.  Downed power lines are extremely dangerous.

Ameren Spokesperson Leigh Morris you should stay as far as possible from downed lines; 12-15 feet at the least. Morris says downed lines can energize the ground around them and seriously hurt someone nearby. This is especially dangerous during wet conditions.  Water conducts electricity, as does snow.

Ron Pate, Ameren Illinois vice president of operations and tech support, said “The first safety rule is to stay away from downed power lines and always call us or ‘911’ if you see downed lines,” Pate said. “Never go outside during a power outage after sunset because you won't be able to see a downed power line that could still be energized and dangerous. Stay away from brush, shrubs and downed trees that may hide downed lines."

The measures customers should take to prepare for a power outage or loss of natural gas service are similar to those needed to prepare for any emergency situation.

Detailed safety and outage information is available at IllinoisOutage.com. Customers with mobile devices can visit www.ameren.mobi.

If your electric service is interrupted, be sure to unplug or protect sensitive computer and electronic equipment with a high-quality surge protector.

If your power goes out, call Ameren Illinois at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week – and always call as soon as possible to report a downed line or natural gas odor. 

The Ameren Illinois contact number is 1-800-755-7000.

If necessary, Ameren Illinois is prepared to deploy the special Ameren Illinois Storm Trailers. These trailers are filled with materials field crews need to perform their service restoration work. The trailers can be moved to various staging sites to provide materials when outside crews come in to help with the restoration efforts and to provide a store of materials close to the area with the most damage.