ROCKVILLE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– Over 2,000 customers of Parke County REMC may still have to wait several days for their power to be back on.
The company released a statement on Monday, saying they have around 2,500 customers without power right now, and they expect it to be restored by late evening Thursday, July 6th. The outages were caused by a set of storms– one on June 29th, and another the next day on June 30th.
Parke County Commissioner Jim Meece said after the initial storm– over half the county was without power.
“We had over 9,000 customers lose power after this. That’s over half of our county, half the population lost power. Most of it has been restored, there are still some places that have been difficult to deal with, so much wiring to replace, so many poles to replace, so many trees to deal with,” he said.
As of Monday afternoon, around 900 residents in the county are without power, according to Meece. He said this storm caused extensive damage to power lines, one of the main reasons for the wait, as well as how many nearby areas received similar damage.
“Typically, on a storm like this, surrounding counties swoop in to help you take care of your problem,” he said. “But now, every county around is facing the same thing so they’re all tied up.”
Those in Parke County did receive some outside help– Meece said Jasper County REMC, Kankakee Valley REMC and over a dozen contracted crews from Tennessee have assisted over the past few days. He credited local volunteer fire departments and residents for their help.
“Unsung heroes in events like this are the volunteer fire departments. Those guys and gals are out everyday. When that storm hit, they were out all night cutting trees and taking care of any emergencies that came up. And those are unpaid volunteers,” he said.
Once much of the initial emergency response was done– Meece said he also received reports of damage to some of the county’s famous covered bridges.
The Mansfield Covered Bridge had some roof damage, and a section of the siding at the West Union Covered Bridge was completely torn off and thrown about 100 yards downstream by the strong winds. The good news– Meece said neither situation was serious.
“It’s not over any of the wooden structure, it’s just over the entrance,” he said. “So as far as I know at this point, we’ve had no structural damage to any of the bridges so we faired well with that.”
The main concern is still those without power. Meece said they can contact the county’s ambulance service for assistance if needed, saying they were able to provide services including oxygen to local residents.
And while the situation is in his words, “frustrating,” he preached patience as crews help get power back to everybody.
“What I admire most about our folks here in Parke County, and Parke County is full of wonderful people, is the patience. I understand the frustration, I understand the loss of all that food in the freezer because it’s gone. I understand having no air conditioning,” he said. “It’s frustrating that it can’t be fixed overnight, but it just cannot.”
