widespread damage from a deadly ice storm left more than half a million customers still in the dark friday night, and utility officials said the electricity might not be fully restored in parts of the carolinas until tuesday. the storm blew through georgia, the carolinas and virginia on thursday and was blamed for hundreds of traffic accidents and at least four deaths. ice built up on tree limbs, causing them to snap and pull down power lines. duke power, the leading electricity provider in the hard-hit areas, said the storm inflicted 'extreme structural damage' that kept 536,000 customers in the carolinas without power friday evening, down from 683,000 at the height of the storm. the company urged customers facing extended periods without heat to find another place to stay. about 7,500 utility technicians were on the job, the associated press quoted duke as saying. --spa 15:11 local time 12:11 gmt nnnn
