RADNOR TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WPVI) — A powerful wind storm left thousands without electricity Monday night and Tuesday, toppling trees and utility poles across the region and forcing crews to work through bitter cold to restore service.
Flames sparked from a utility pole for hours in one Radnor Township neighborhood as smoke drifted uphill. Residents there were left without power overnight.
Ted Tryon said the outage hit just as he was closing his garage.
“The power actually went out as I was lowering the garage door, so it went halfway,” Tryon said.
He returned home around 8 p.m. to find a massive tree uprooted on the 500 block of Brookside Avenue, bringing down wires with it.
“A lot of these trees are 80, 100 years old, so they’re on borrowed time. And the winds are getting more furious nowadays,” he added.
PECO reported about 48,000 customers lost power at some point during the storm. Crews have restored most service, but repairs are ongoing.
“We’ve seen really strong wind gusts going over 40 mph that has impacted our region,” said Candice Womer, a PECO spokesperson.
Damage was widespread. In Doylestown, a downed tree forced crews to close Woodview Drive between Lenape Lane and Pebble Valley Drive after it damaged wires and poles.
In Delaware, a large tree blocked a lane on Route 100 near Great Barn Lane in Montchanin, New Castle County.
PECO said extra crews were brought in to respond and urged customers to remain patient.
“We are working to quickly restore power to our customers, but also want to make sure that we’re safe,” Womer said.
As repairs continued in Radnor, Tryon said he wasn’t waiting around.
“We’re going to go to Costco and warm our bones,” he said.
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