Summer Storms, Summer Heat, No Electricity – Again

A powerful thunderstorm ripped through our area in the dark hours early Saturday morning. Everyone heard it – the thunder, the wind whipping through the trees, the heavy rain on the roof. It did not last long, however, and we rolled over and went back to sleep.

Morning light revealed the real picture of the storm’s devastation. There was no electricity. The digital clock was dark. The TV did not operate. The lights did not work.

The entire block was electricity-less. It quickly became apparent most of our town and large swaths of the county were not only without electricity, but severe wind damage had downed huge trees, clogging roads and causing wide-ranging havoc. We had a few tiles ripped from our roof, but no major damage.

A large tree at the end of our block fell. Here are a couple of pictures as the clean up crew cut down the tree, opening the street for traffic and removing broken limbs from power lines.

The sidewalk was completely upended; homeowners are now responsible for fixing the damaged walkway.

Apparently out of 150,000 customers in our county, 130,000 were without electricity immediately after the storm. Four days later many customers remain in the dark.

Our power returned 8:00 p.m. Sunday night. It was a momentous occasion. Word quickly spread a power truck was working at the end of the street. Everyone came out on the sidewalk, watching, hopeful. Suddenly, in the evening dusk, lights came on. A collective cheer went up.  A few moments later a girl ran out of one of the houses yelling, “I have wifi!” Life was good again.

Luckily I had not restocked the freezer from our last electricity outage less than three weeks earlier. We bought bags of ice to keep food cold. Sunday night we invited friends over and grilled chicken, burgers, and vegetables, recognizing the food was not going to keep long-term. It was difficult to continue obtaining ice – everyone needed it.

Today all is back to normal, almost, in our little part of the world. The recreation center where I exercise remains closed and powerless. The day camp closed yesterday (Monday), but the staff managed to find alternate off-site locations and activities, and camp opened today.

Hopefully everyone has electricity restored by the holiday tomorrow. 

Happy Fourth of July!