Atlantas Ritz-Carlton Turns Refugee Center in Ice Storm

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, a Republican, speaks about government response to a potentially historic winter storm that threatens to coat the state with ice. Deal speaks at a news conference in Atlanta. (Source: Bloomberg)

Edward Spearman, his Atlanta-based tile import business shut down by an ice storm yesterday, did about the only thing he could do. He plopped down on a cushy sofa in front of a warm, split-wood fire with his 5-month-old son in his lap and answered e-mails -- in between tickles.

Dit, dit, dit, dit, dit, Spearman, 46, dressed in sweats and a long-sleeve t-shirt, said to the cooing baby after setting aside his device for a moment.

He wasnt at home. Spearman was part of an exodus Tuesday night to hotels like the Ritz-Carlton in Buckhead, metro Atlantas swank business epicenter. They were fleeing what were expected to be mass power outages from ice-encased tree limbs crashing onto electric lines.

Geoff Meacham, 43, a biotechnology equities analyst for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), took a lounge seat at the Ritz and ordered an egg-white omelet to go. He was headed next door to his office to get some work done. With three children ages 4 through 7 at home, he found that hard to do during the last storm Jan. 29.

Its just a really busy time of year to us, with the earnings season and a lot of deals, said Meacham, who had driven his wifes Land Rover SUV.

More than 100,000 Georgians had lost power by late morning yesterday in the states second major winter storm in two weeks. The last storm left people stranded on the interstates for more than 20 hours and made national headlines, as residents blamed poor planning by state and local officials. Residents also recall winter storms in 2011 and 2000 that trapped people in their homes for days.

Snow plows clear downtown lanes on Interstate 75/85 on Feb. 12, 2014, in Atlanta.

Snow plows clear downtown lanes on Interstate 75/85 on Feb. 12, 2014, in Atlanta. Close

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Atlantas Ritz-Carlton Turns Refugee Center in Ice Storm