FirstEnergy Power could be without power until August 14 after storms

According to a Facebook post from FirstEnergy, power has been restored to more than 230,000 Ohio Edison and Illuminating Co. customers who were left without service due to a powerful storm system that swept through Northeast Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey on Aug. 6.

Approximately 578,000 FirstEnergy customers lost service.

FirstEnergy has estimated that power will be restored to most Illuminating Company customers by August 14. Depending on the level of damage in your area, many customers will have service restored sooner.

According to FirstEnergy, this storm was the most impactful to hit The Illuminating Company’s service territory since July 1993, when a powerful line of thunderstorms caused power outages for approximately 300,000 of the company’s customers.

On Aug. 6, a large tree was ripped from the ground in Mentor's Garfield Park during a severe storm that hit northeast Ohio. (William Tilton The News-Herald) — On Aug. 6, a large tree was ripped from the ground in Mentor’s Garfield Park during a severe storm that hit Northeast Ohio. (William Tilton — The News-Herald)

With the help of more than 4,100 additional line workers and field personnel, FirstEnergy crews will continue to work around the clock in 16-hour shifts to make repairs. Additional crews have since been brought in and parked at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake.

In addition, more than 1,000 forest officers, damage assessors and risk response personnel are assisting in restoration activities.

The primary focus so far is to eliminate the 3,200 reported hazards and assess the damage so crews can access the outage site and begin making repairs safely.

“Everyone is working hard to get our residents ready,” said Willoughby Fire Chief Todd Ungar, noting that residents remain the top priority.

Power outages prompted organizers of the Ohio Celtic Festival to announce on Aug. 8 that they were canceling their event, which was scheduled to take place Aug. 9-11 at the Lake County Fairgrounds.

In Wickliffe, 400 FirstEnergy team members are working throughout the area to handle emergency calls, Mayor Joe Sakacs said. Because police and non-emergency lines are temporarily out of service, two temporary dispatch numbers for non-emergency calls are 440-813-9529 and 440-813-9437. City Hall and the city services department phones remain out of service.

Tuesday's storm brought strong winds and heavy rain as it battered Northeast Ohio in the late afternoon, leaving some streets like East 260th and Euclid Avenue in Euclid under water. (Frank Mecham - The News-Herald) — Tuesday’s storm brought strong winds and heavy rain as it swept across Northeast Ohio in the late afternoon, leaving some streets like East 260th and Euclid Avenue in Euclid under water. (Frank Mecham — The News-Herald)

Sakacs reported that 80% of Wickliffe is without power.

“I’m doing my best to answer phone calls, emails, texts and social media, but without power it’s difficult,” he said. “The majority of our city is without power, including myself and many members of the council and administration.”

The Wickliffe Community/Senior Center was open until midnight on August 7 as a charging and cooling station. Additionally, the Pastoral Leadership Center opened its Field House as a charging and cooling station until 7 p.m.

On Aug. 8, the senior center remained open until midnight and the Field House until 7 p.m. Motorists have been advised to treat every intersection with non-functioning lights as a four-way stop.

The pools are closed until further notice. Until FirstEnergy crews have cleared the area, Wickliffe service crews cannot move debris, Sakacs said.

Willowick Fire Department members handled 51 calls for service, including a house fire, and numerous storm-related incidents throughout the day and evening of August 7.

In addition to Dudley Park being available as another charging and cooling station, Sakacs has invited Willowick residents to use the facilities at the Wickliffe Senior Center if needed.

Updates on service restoration can be found at outages-oh.firstenergycorp.com. FirstEnergy advises people to use caution if they must go outside. Downed or low-hanging wires can be reported by calling 888-544-4877 or 911.

According to FirstEnergy, when using a generator, the power coming into the home should always be disconnected. Otherwise, the generator’s power could flow back into the power lines, creating a dangerous situation for workers.

The National Weather Service confirmed on August 8 that an EF1 tornado touched down between 4:31 p.m. and 4:38 p.m. Tuesday in southern Kirtland and northern Chester Township.

According to a map sent to X, the tornado tracked 4.79 miles from Worrell Road south of Euclid-Chardon Road to Wilson Mills Road west of Sperry Road. The estimated maximum wind speed was 110 mph and no injuries or deaths were reported.

The NWS also said in X that a macroburst affected regions of northeastern Cuyahoga County, northwestern Geauga County, and western Lake County, including most of Mentor and Kirtland Hills and areas of Lake County to the west, on Tuesday from 4:20 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.

The NWS estimated winds to be between 70 and 90 mph, “with small areas up to 100 mph.” No injuries or deaths were reported from the macroburst, which the agency defined as “a gust of strong winds at or near the surface with damage extending more than 2.5 miles (4 km).”

News-Herald staff writer Bryson Durst contributed to this article.

Updated at 4:50 p.m. to include reports of a tornado and macroburst from the National Weather Service.

Originally published: August 8, 2024 at 4:30 PM