Widespread power outages in St. Mary

Hurricane Barry had knocked out power to two-thirds of Cleco's St. Mary customers at 11:30 a.m., according a website that tracks outages.

PowerOutages.us said nearly 13,000 customers were without power. The utility has about 19,000 St. Mary customers, a figure that includes both residential and commercial users.

The parish has about 20,000 households, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

About 2,200 customers, or 9 percent, of St. Martin customers for three utilities were blacked out.

About 6,800 of 13,000 Entergy customers in Assumption were without electricity.

The city of Patterson's Facebook page said Cleco has been notified and will be out to make repairs as soon as weather permits.

Officials warn people to avoid downed power lines and to use caution when using candles or electrical generators during blackouts. Don't try to use generators indoors or in enclosed spaces that might expose people to dangerous carbon monoxide.