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LIVE UPDATES: Thousands still without power days after snow, ice bring down trees, wires

Thousands of people remain without power, more than three days after snow and ice moved through the area, causing dozens of downed trees and wires.

PHOTOS: Snowfall across region causes trees to fall, power outages

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LIVE UPDATES

4:30 p.m. UPDATE Monday: Central Electric Cooperative provided an update on their outages:

4,400 members remain without of power

  • 2,700 members in Butler County (138 members in Middlesex Twp.)
  • 660 members in Venango County
  • 240 members in Armstrong County
  • 26 members in Allegheny County (Deer Lakes Twp.)
  • 555 members in Clarion County
  • 200 members in Forest County
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4:00 p.m. UPDATE Monday: Around 3,700 First Energy Customers remain without power in Butler County.

They said the majority should be restored by 11:30 p.m. Monday night.

2:15 p.m. UPDATE Monday: Shelbourne Personal Care Home in Penn Township, Butler County has issued a boil water advisory.

The advisory was necessary due to a power outage which resulted in a loss of positive pressure throughout their system, according to the Butler County Emergency Services Facebook page.

6:15 a.m. UPDATE Monday: Several thousand people remain without electricity Monday morning, with the majority of outages in Butler County.

First Energy is reporting 7,669 customers are without power, while Central Electric Cooperative is reporting outages for 5,895 customers.

11 p.m. UPDATE Sunday: About 50 Duquesne Light customers are still without power, even though utility crews have been working nonstop to restore service to customers.

According to the First Energy website, more than 8,600 West Penn and Penn Power customers are still in the dark.

The companies had hoped to have service restored by tonight, but now it's not clear when power will return.

5 p.m. UPDATE Sunday: The Butler Area School District is closed Monday because of a power outage.

12 p.m. UPDATE Sunday: The warming center at Butler Middle School will close at 1 p.m. All residents have left.

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10:51 A.M. UPDATE Sunday: The Red Cross shelter at the Butler Middle School on East North Street will close at 6 p.m.

9:30 A.M. UPDATE Sunday: Around 16,000 First Energy customers in Butler County are still without power.

A majority of those are still expected to have service by 11:30 p.m. Sunday night.

7:00 A.M. UPDATE Sunday: Duquesne Light crews restore power to 1,100 customers overnight.

About 700 customers remain without power.

6:45 A.M. UPDATE Sunday: Around 20,000 First Energy Customers remain without power.

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10:08 P.M. UPDATE Saturday: About 1,800 Duquesne Light customers are without power. The timeline for restoration remains early Sunday evening.

6:05 P.M. UPDATE Saturday: Since the start of the severe weather, Duquesne Light crews have restored power to more than 53,000 customers.

This storm caused more damage to Duquesne Light power lines and equipment than any storm since 2010. Currently, only approximately 3,000 customers are still without power.

5:08 P.M. UPDATE Saturday: West Penn Power crews are making repairs to about 24,000 customers who remain without power. Approximately 37,000 customers who lost power earlier due to the weather have been restored.

Service is expected to be restored to more than half of currently affected customers on Saturday. Restoration is currently set at 11:30 p.m. Sunday for some of the hardest-hit areas around Butler, Armstrong and Clarion counties.

Work is also ongoing to restore power to 6,200 Penn Power customers. Overall, since the storm began, service has been restored to approximately 26,000 customers. Many affected customers will have power restored Saturday, and nearly all customers should be restored by late Sunday evening.

11:30 A.M. UPDATE Saturday: Duquesne Light continues its storm restoration efforts with increased staffing, including additional contract linemen and contract tree clearance personnel.

This storm has caused more damage to Duquesne Light equipment than any storm since 2010, according to a release.

Around 6,000 customers remain without service.

Officials said they are actively working now to restore power to customers in Hampton, Ross, Brighton, Economy, Churchill, Indiana Township, Hanover and Independence, which are the current areas with the most outages. Service will be restored to most of these areas by tonight.

The majority of the remaining customers are expected to have their power back by Sunday evening.

9:00 A.M. UPDATE Saturday: Around 36,000 First Energy customers are without service.

There has been a spike in outages in Washington County.

7:00 A.M. UPDATE Saturday: Around 22,000-23,000 First Energy customers are still without service, according to an official with the company.

6:30 A.M. UPDATE Saturday: Around 7,000 Duquesne Light customers remain without power.

TRENDING NOW:

ALLEGHENY COUNTY

Many residents in the North Hills woke up to power outages and fallen trees, leaving a lot of cleanup to be done.

In Richland Township, crews had to clear Logan Road early Friday morning after a tree crashed down.

Meanwhile, in Allison Park, a large tree toppled onto the back porch of a home. The woman who lives there said her patio furniture was destroyed.

A family in Ross Township was jolted awake by what they thought was the sound of thunder. Instead, it was a 90-foot-tall oak tree that had been uprooted.

The tree smashed through an awning, destroyed a grill and partially went through the home’s dining room ceiling.

No one was injured.

Along Perry Highway in Ross Township, a tree fell onto a car. No injuries were reported, but the road was blocked.

In addition, to downed trees, power outages caused issues on several roads for drivers during the morning commute.

A power outage on McKnight road affected traffic signals at several intersections.

Outages also impacted traffic lights at Saxonburg Boulevard and Route 910, Route 8 and Harts Run Road, and Mt. Royal Boulevard at William Flinn Highway.

The intersection of Silver Lane and Clever Road in Robinson Township was also closed because of fallen tree.

Duquesne Light said the hardest-hit areas include Pine Township, Richland Township, West Deer, Indiana Township, Hampton and O'Hara Township.

West Deer Township’s three fire companies set up warming centers at their stations for residents. They were expected to be in operation until at least 4 p.m. Friday, but will remain open as necessary, and as staffing is available.

The addresses for the stations are:

  • West Deer Fire Company #1: 1520 Saxonburg Boulevard, Tarentum, PA 15084
  • West Deer Fire Company #2: 2163 Saxonburg Boulevard, Cheswick, PA 15024
  • West Deer Fire Company #3: 4372 Gibsonia Road, Gibsonia, PA 15044

Cranberry Township will be offering temporary warming stations for residents without power.

The sites include:

  • Cranberry Township EMS Station - 20727 Rt. 19
  • Cranberry Township VFC's Haine School Fire Station – 1679 Haine School Rd.
  • Municipal Center, 2525 Rochester Rd.
BUTLER COUNTY

In Butler County alone Friday morning, 27 calls to 911 were placed in less than 45 minutes for downed trees and wires, Pittman said.

In Cranberry Township, Powell Road was blocked by a large fallen tree that was tugging on wires. A tree removal service and power company were called after public works crews assessed the situation.

The road was closed for several hours.

Numerous trees fell outside homes on Sunset Circle in Cranberry Township. One of them fell onto a car.

“I heard something and looked out my window. Of course, trees were everywhere. It looked like a tornado came through,” Frank Lewis, a resident, said.

As of Monday evening, more than 6,000 homes were still without power.

BEAVER COUNTY

Parts of Tuscarawas Road in Beaver County were closed because of downed tree limbs.

 

Cox Media Group

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