Jul. 5, 2012
Garrett County suffered “some of the most extensive damage we’ve seen from a storm event,” reported Brad Frantz, director of Garrett County Public Safety and Emergency Management, during a special briefing for the county commissioners on Tuesday morning.
A derecho – a rare string of powerful storms with intense lightening, rain, and hurricane-force winds – swept through the Midwest and mid-Atlantic region Friday (June 29) evening. According to some accounts, at least 22 people were killed, 5 million were left without power, and billions of dollars worth of damages occurred.
“We were quite fortunate that there were not more structures that had impact,” Frantz said. “We had one reported on Savage River Road that was significant damage.”
Three trees fell on a home, one of which landed in a bedroom. The house was insured, according to Frantz.
The director said 1,114 county electric power customers remained without service as of Tuesday at 7 a.m., but he anticipated that power would be restored to most of these customers by the end of the day.
As of Thursday morning, Potomac Edison reports that 140 Garrett County residences are still without power. Those without electricity in surrounding counties are as follows: Allegany, 1,225; Preston 2,421; Tucker 185; Grant 117; Mineral, 117; and Somerset, 7.
Utility companies have been working around the clock, since the storm hit Garrett County at 8:20 p.m. on June 29, Frantz said. Potomac Edison reported 147,000 of its area customers had lost power from the storm.
Frantz noted that nearly every fire department in the county spent the weekend clearing roads of trees and debris, and as of Monday, all roads in the county were open.
Cooling centers/shelters were established Saturday morning and remain available this week to residents at the Friendsville Volunteer Fire Department, the Deer Park Community Volunteer Fire Department, and the Southern Garrett Rescue Squad hall, according to Frantz.
At the impact of the sudden storm – with winds exceeding 65 miles per hour in some areas, according to Potomac Edison – Frantz said telephone calls into 9-1-1 were 300-400 percent above normal call volume.
“On a normal day, we might see 75 calls,” he said.
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Outages decreasing in storm recovery
Efforts to restore power to more than 1,500 customers continue
Jeffrey Alderton Cumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — Day four of the storm recovery continued Tuesday with no major problems reported throughout the region, although thousands of Potomac Edison customers throughout the region remained without electrical service at Tuesday night.
But efforts to restore each and every customer as quickly as possible continued without relenting as more than 1,500 customers remained in the dark in Garrett and Allegany counties by late evening.
“We are down to the work that is very labor intensive, such as replacing a number of poles needed just to restore a couple customers. We hope to have the vast majority of our customers back today,” said Scott Surgeoner, FirstEnergy spokesman, regarding the Potomac Edison service area in Allegany and Garrett counties.
“Right now, there are about 800 customers still out in Cumberland. And we really do appreciate the customers’ patience. Our workers take great pride in what they do and they are working as quickly as possible to get each and every customer back in service,” he said.
By 10 p.m. 490 Potomac Edison customers were without power in Cumberland
The latest outage information by county was being updated every 15 minutes on the FirstEnergy website at http://outages.firstenergycorp. com/mdwv.html.
The number of customers without service was decreasing by the hour Tuesday afternoon.
“As of this morning, there were about 2,000 people needing power and Potomac Edison brought in more resources Monday,” said Dick DeVore, Allegany County Emergency Service chief. “As we had been told, the last ones to be restored would be the most difficult.”
On another note, DeVore said several cooling centers that were opened Saturday at various locations in the county were not opened Tuesday since there was no demand for the temporary relief facilties. Only a small number of local residents reportedly utilized the facilities over the last several days.
In Garrett County, Emergency Services Director Brad Frantz said early Tuesday afternoon “the situation is improving somewhat” as Potomac Edison and allied crews worked to restore electrical service throughout the county. About 400 residents remained without electricity Tuesday night.
Comfort stations at three locations in the county — Deer Park and Friendsville fire stations and the Southern Garrett Rescue Squad — remained open although none had been utilized as of Tuesday. “They will remain open and available in case there is a need,” said Frantz.
Frantz also said back-up battery service at the Department of Natural Resources fire tower on Elder Hill between McHenry and Friendsville failed late Monday evening.
“This has not in any way affected our service. We are continuing to normally alert affected companies so I want to emphasize this has not in any way affected delivery of emergency services. Potomac Edison is actively working on that site as a priority to restore service there,” said Frantz.
The 120-foot tower houses the 911 center’s two-way radio repeater for alerting of Friendsville Volunteer Fire Department, the Northern Garrett Rescue Squad and some other companies.
Frantz also continued to urge any residents that has sustained significant structural damage by Friday’s storm to contact his officer at 301-334-7619.
Contact Jeffrey Alderton at jlalderton@times-news.com
More here.
— Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
