High temperatures remain as region recovers from strong wind storm
Jun. 15—Thousands of customers in the region remained without power for a second day on Wednesday as stifling temperatures went above 90 degrees again.
The largest portion of the outages caused by strong winds that hit the region on Monday were in Centerville, Butler and Warren counties and in rural areas around Bellefontaine, according to AES Ohio and Duke Energy.
As of 3:50 p.m. Wednesday, AES Ohio reported 1,211 customers were without power in a number of areas around Centerville and in various rural areas around the Bellefontaine region.
In the Duke Energy Ohio service area, there was a total of 540 active outages leaving 6,774 customers without power about the same time on Wednesday. Of that total, there were 21 northern Kentucky customers still without power. In Butler County, there were 236 active outages and 2,650 customers without power, while Warren County had 88 active outages with 1,730 customers without power, according to their website.
"While 166,000 (Duke) customers were simultaneously without power at the peak of the event Monday evening, crews have since restored power to more than 221,000 in total," said Casey Kroger, senior communication manager for Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky. "The remaining outages often only affect a small amount of customers, which increases the amount of time it takes for crews to assess and restore power to the many individual events."
Both energy companies said they expected power to be restored by late Wednesday.
In Springboro, City Manager Chris Pozzuto said power started coming back online about 3 a.m. Wednesday and nearly all of the city's power had been restored by 7 a.m.
"I think we're good," Pozzuto said after touring the city.
Power was reported to have been restored at the Dorothy Lane Market and spokeswoman Jessie Kuhn said the store reopened Wednesday as employees worked to get the store restocked despite a limited selection of perishables.
Carlisle City Manager Julie Duffy said most power was restored to the city in the early morning.
Duffy said the homes without power were in three pockets in the city and all are on private water well systems. She said the city will continue to pass out bottled water to residents who cannot use their home systems and the water filling stations for larger containers will be available at Carlisle Town Hall and Roscoe Roof Park for other home uses.
High temperatures remained a problem in the region.
Three Dayton cooling centers remained open Wednesday and will be open to residents today. A cooling station was offered to residents of Washington Twp. and Centerville at the Washington Township RecPlex, 895 Miamisburg-Centerville Road.
In Lebanon, Countryside YMCA announced it would open its lobby as a cooling center during the excessive heat days.
As power crews worked all day in the excessive heat conditions, with temperatures and heat index in the low 90s, other people who work in the elements were also hard at work.
Lebanon public works crews were working on installing a sanitary sewer line on Mechanic Street for a new public restroom. Joe Tussey, who was working on the sewer line, said workers were drinking water as needed. He said each of the trucks had cold water available.
Dakota Owens, an electric apprentice, said he usually wears a long-sleeved shirt, wears his hat or helmet, uses plenty of sunscreen rated at 50 SPF and "drinks tons of water." Owens said he drinks four to five bottles of water when working on a hot day. He said workers also try to find shade nearby to take breaks and cool off.
He said he and his co-workers are constantly watching out for each other for signs of heat exhaustion and swap out while working, especially when they are working in the bucket trucks.
"The foremen and veteran journeymen area really good about that," Owens said.
Owens said it was a busy week for the electric department as they worked to restore power Monday night after the storm came through. A Duke Energy Ohio customer, he said power was restored to his home on Wednesday and he's happy looking forward to turning on his air conditioner tonight.
National Weather Service meteorologist James Gibson said Dayton set a record for heat on Tuesday and reported a heat index of 110 degrees. On Wednesday, he said the high reached 93 degrees and a heat index of 99 degrees.
Today, it's expected to be muggy and temperatures will reach 90 again. On Friday, it will be hot again with temperatures in the 90s, but it will not be as humid.
