01-05-2025
Outages could remain for 'days', barn destroyed in Portage area
EBENSBURG, Pa. – Cambria County's 911 Center didn't need its call logs to gauge the extent of the widespread issues caused by a Tuesday storm.
Until almost noon Wednesday, the center was running on a generator – among thousands of customers in the region without power, Emergency Management Director Tom Davis said.
'We have to be prepared for the worst ... just like everyone else,' Davis said Tuesday, shortly before power was restored in parts of the Ebensburg area.
The county's propane-fueled generator system enabled the county's staff to continue answering calls and dispatching incidents to local responders – and Tuesday's storm kept them busy, with widespread reports of outages, toppled trees and property damage.
A steel cellphone tower was bent in half while still planted to its foundation near Sunset Road near Carrolltown. William Penn Avenue remained closed Wednesday near Conemaugh Valley High School after a large tree landed on a series of roadside power lines.
A Munster Road barn north of Portage was destroyed by winds while cattle were trapped inside, Davis said.
'We must've had 10 calls – all at once,' said East Taylor fire Chief Alan Buchan said. 'There were trees on wires everywhere.'
Hospital: Be 'proactive' about maintaining oxygen supplies; seek help if needed
Power outages might disrupt electricity at home, but they should never stop the flow of oxygen supplies for those reliant on medical devices to thrive, Conemaugh Health System officials said.
Thousands of Cambria and northern Somerset County residents weren't as lucky as the 911 center Wednesday – many of them still without power at 5 p.m.
And the region's issues weren't unique.
As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, Penelec reported 127,713 customers were still without power across a region that spread from Beaver County and Pittsburgh to Johnstown, Altoona and State College.
More than 270,000 were without power after the storm swept through around 6 p.m. a day earlier.
The utility company's online outage map was cluttered with perhaps 1,000 individual incidents across western Pennsylvania. The Cambria- Somerset region had at least 85 separate outage reports that crews were working to address.
According to 9.383 customers in Cambria County were without power as of 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Penelec spokesman Todd Meyers told The Tribune-Democrat late Tuesday that it will likely take days – not hours – for every outages to all be addressed.
Because much of western Pennsylvania was struck, rather than one concentrated area, Penelec crews and their line repair subcontractors were forced to spread out to repair a long list of issues, he said.
2 dead as slow-moving storms flood roads across Oklahoma and Texas; outages, 3 deaths across Pa.
A least two people drowned when their vehicles were caught in floodwaters in Oklahoma on Wednesday as slow-moving thunderstorms inundated roads across parts of that state and Texas.
In the Pittsburgh region, at least three people were reported dead after 70 mph straight-line gusts damaged city buildings and sent live wires scattering onto roadways.
The Allegheny County city's main power provider, Duquesne Light estimated 40% of the community's customers lost power – and that it may be a week before electricity was restored to some neighborhoods.
'Making the best of it'
North of Johnstown, East Taylor Fire Department opened its doors for local residents Wednesday after it became clear the outage may continue through the day.
Sandra Heltzel, the department's treasurer and EMS commander, said at least 10 residents stopped in at one point or another through 1:30 p.m.
Some just needed a way to keep their cellphones charged, she said.
One local resident needed a power supply for her portable oxygen tank.
The department was also enabling residents to cook on their stove, if needed.
'We have a generator here, and we're here if people need us,' Heltzel added, noting the station will stay open Thursday, if needed.
Further up Donruth Lane, John Shirk's family was taking turns using their car to charge their cellphones.
But after nearly a full day without power, they weren't going to let the outage drain their outlook on the situation.
'It is what it is,' said his wife, Jennifer, as their children snacked on McDonald's cheeseburgers and played outside near the front porch. 'Fortunately, it's a nice and warm today. It's a perfect day for this.'
John Shirk shrugged his shoulders in agreement. He said he planned to fire up the grill for dinner.
'You gotta make the best of it,' he said.
'More common' storm
Indiana-based REA Energy Cooperative, which provides electricity to residents in across parts of central and northern Cambria County, indicated nearly 18,000 customers lost power Tuesday.
By 1:50 p.m., that number was reduced to 14,900, the company wrote.
Somerset County Emergency Management Director Joel Landis said this week's storm is the just the latest of several that have inflicted severe wind damage over the past two months.
A previous storm destroyed barns in Somerset County.
'We (avoided) the worst of it (Tuesday) ... but this trend is getting more and more common,' Landis said.
He said the public should plan ahead before traveling during or after storms and visit to look for real-time road closures that might impact their travel routes.
