More power outages reported after another round of storms hits area

Yahoo

02-05-2025

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A busy Conemaugh Valley road was reopened to traffic, but another round of thunderstorms caused a reported resurgence in power outages across the region Thursday night.
According to online outage tracker PowerOutage.us, more than 15,500 Cambria County electricity customers were without power as of 11 p.m. Thursday.
That was 10,000 more outages than were reported in the county eight hours earlier – and also exceeded the totals from Wednesday evening in an area still reeling from Tuesday's powerful storm.
Outages could remain for 'days', barn destroyed in Portage area
Cambria County's 911 Center didn't need its call logs to gauge the extent of the widespread issues caused by a Tuesday storm.
Reports of downed trees and wires kept Cambria County 911 officials and emergency responders busy Thursday evening, a Cambria 911 supervisor said. As of 10 p.m. Thursday, St. Clair Road in the Johnstown area was closed to traffic. Other roads reopened Thursday.
William Penn Avenue was reopened early Thursday. It had been closed for more than 36 hours near Keiper Lane in East Taylor Township after a row of power lines was disrupted by a wind-downed evergreen tree during Tuesday's storm.
Repair work on those lines also helped get power restored to much of the East Taylor Township area as of Thursday afternoon. The community went dark around 6 p.m. Tuesday, township fire Chief Alan Buchan said.
Utility crews were working across the region for much of the day Thursday to address downed lines and other outages caused by Tuesday's storm, mirroring a task repeated across much of western Pennsylvania.
Outages impacting region, 911 center; barn destroyed in Munster Township
Cambria County's 911 Center didn't need to check its call logs to gauge the extent of the widespread issues caused by a Tuesday storm.
Much of Somerset County was spared the worst of Tuesday's storm. Outages were widespread in the northern tier of the county, but as of Thursday morning, fewer than 20 customers in the county were still without power, most of them in the Boswell area, Penelec's outage map showed.
Rare damage
Straight-line winds during Tuesday's storm caused havoc across western Pennsylvania. FirstEnergy officials reported Thursday that the strength of the gusts in at least one part of Cambria County hit rare levels.
Citing National Weather Service estimates, they said winds might have reached 120 mph when they mangled a cellphone tower near Carrolltown. That's comparable to an EF-2 tornado's wind speeds, albeit without the rotation.
National Weather Service officials reported to FirstEnergy that no other wind damage was visible adjacent to the damaged tower.
'The recent storm in the greater Pittsburgh area is our second-worst on record since 2009 in western Pennsylvania, ranking among the top storms in the company's history in terms of impact,' said FirstEnergy President John Hawkins, whose company's territory also saw severe damage in the city of Pittsburgh.
FirstEnergy was working to restore power for approximately 100,000 homes across much of western Pennsylvania after restoring power to 275,000 more this week.
'Help is available'
Cambria County Area Agency on Aging Administrator Veil Griffith reminded older residents that there is help available for those in need.
Whether it's a hot meal or a bright, welcoming place to sleep at night, help is just a phone call away, Griffith said.
She said the region's senior centers remain open all day across the county, with lunch offered. The Cambria County Area Agency on Aging's phone number is 814-539-5595.
The Portage location was closed Wednesday due to the community's outage, but all nine Cambria County centers, spanning from Johnstown to Patton, were open as of Thursday to community members 60 and older.
The county's senior activity centers are open Monday through Friday. But there are other avenues for support, too, Griffith added.
Meals can be dropped off at residences. And for people who are uncomfortable spending another night in the dark, the Area Agency on Aging can arrange temporary lodging somewhere that has electricity, she said.
'If there is an older adult in need, whatever the need is, they can always call our area agency, even if it's something they don't think is very serious,' Griffith said. 'We're here to help.'
She said the region is fortunate that temperatures have been so mild this week. Frigid conditions or intense humidity would have posed greater problems, she added.
'And with daylight savings time, it is light outside longer right now,' Griffith said.
Water, ice provided
Free water and ice were available to Pennsylvania customers who remain without power.
Customers could visit participating Giant or Giant Eagle stores to receive two one-gallon bottles of water or one 24-pack of bottled water, and two seven- to nine-pound bags of ice or one 20- to 25-pound bag of ice, FirstEnergy officials said.
FirstEnergy said customers should let the store know at checkout that they are a FirstEnergy customer without power. A list of participating stores was available online at bit.ly/FEwaterice.
The list included all three Giant Eagle stores in Greater Johnstown, as well as locations at 881 College Plaza in the Ebensburg area and 7 Cottonwood St. in Northern Cambria.
Another round
A new round of storms swept through the region late Thursday afternoon. The system was expected to bring wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph, and potentially higher in some areas, with an additional risk of scattered thunderstorms.
FirstEnergy officials predicted the storm could slow electricity restoration efforts. Winds at 40 mph or greater aren't safe for crews working in bucket trucks, who often have to hoist team members toward treetops to make repairs.
'As we continue our efforts to restore power to every last customer, we urge everyone to prioritize safety. We deeply appreciate your continued patience and support of our field,' Hawkins said.
Early forecasts for Saturday were also predicting a chance for additional thunderstorms.