Crews work to restore electricity after winds down lines
Mar. 5—CUMBERLAND — Utility crews continued Sunday to restore electricity following high winds Saturday that left thousands of residents in the dark.
By Sunday night, according to Potomac Edison, outages in Allegany County were down to about 235 from a high of more than 7,500 Saturday morning. Most of the remaining outages were in the Frostburg and Lonaconing areas.
There were under 50 Potomac Edison customers without electricity in Garrett County and about 80 in Mineral County, West Virginia, after more than 3,300 had been without power earlier Saturday.
In a statement, Potomac Edison said some outages in hard-hit areas like Cumberland and Berkley Springs and Augusta, West Virginia, may not be restored until Monday.
"PE crews, assisted by crews from our sister utilities and contractor crews, will continue working around the clock until all customers are restored to service," the statement said.
The utility said 14,000 customers in its service area were impacted at the storm's peak. The number of total outages reduced to 4,300 Sunday.
According to preliminary information Sunday from the National Weather Service, a wind gust of 74 miles per hour was recorded in Garrett County, 72 mph in Keyser and 65 mph in Frostburg. Gusts topping 40 mph were common throughout the region, and a 59 mph gust was recorded in Cumberland.
Volunteer firefighters across both counties were busy clearing trees and checking electrical hazards for most of the day Saturday. A steady stream of emergency calls to the Allegany County 911 center prompted an Emergency Call Mode just after 8 a.m.
Firefighters at all stations in the county were called to staff their stations due to the high volume of emergency calls dispatchers were receiving.
Frostburg Fire Department Station No. 1 on South Water Street suffered wind damage. Firefighters, including the county structural collapse team, were called there at 8:50 a.m.
In a statement posted to social media, the department said there were no injuries or damaged apparatus and structural damage was confined to a warehouse used for training and storage.
"So as usual, the FFD is open 24/7," the statement read.
