The Outlets at Vicksburg and nearby businesses remained without electrical power at mid-afternoon today, about three hours after two utility poles were snapped in two after a sagging line was yanked by an 18-wheeler leaving the complex.

Customers and employees of retail shops in the outlet mall, the Cracker Barrel and the Jameson Inn motel were not allowed to enter or leave the shopping center area after live power lines crossed South Frontage Road, the only access to the center.

A spokesman for AT&T, whose lines were on the ground, said the stability of guy lines holding utility poles straight might have been affected by ground left soggy after Sunday’s heavy rains.

No injuries were reported, but the driver of the 18-wheeler was trapped in his vehicle for about two hours while employees of Entergy worked to turn off the electricity and stabilize the poles.