Students return to DeKalb elementary school after power outage

Students, teachers and staff at a DeKalb County elementary school returned to their campus after spending Wednesday morning at a nearby high school due to a power outage.

Briar Vista Elementary School students began their school day at Druid Hills High School after a fallen tree knocked out power in the neighborhood, DeKalb schools spokesman Donald Porter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Power was restored to the area around 9 a.m., and students came back to Briar Vista at midday after having lunch at Druid Hills, Porter said.

Credit: John Spink

Credit: John Spink

A large tree fell on Briar Vista Terrace in DeKalb’s Woodland Hills neighborhood overnight, cutting power to more than 900 homes and the elementary school. The outage did not appear to extend to nearby Emory University.

The downed tree shut down Briar Vista Terrace well before sunrise, but Georgia Power expected to have service restored by midmorning, according to the utility’s website. Power had been restored to most homes by around 8:30 a.m.

Despite the quick work to restore power, the situation was not resolved before students began to arrive for school. Briar Vista Elementary starts at 7:45 a.m., according to the school system’s website.

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