After the storm: How 2 communities came together to pick up the pieces, & how you can help

Bryce Buyakie, The Daily Record
·7 min read
Rachel White-Ware of Holmesville describes how neighbors are supporting each other.
Rachel White-Ware of Holmesville describes how neighbors are supporting each other.

HOLMESVILLE – Chainsaws flared to life with high-pitched screams before muffling themselves into a fallen tree, the relative quiet revealing the steady growl of generators around the village.

Four days after severe storms pounded the area with strong wind bursts over 90 mph, residents are still picking up the pieces as they wait for power to return.

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Holmesville residents came together to help each other after Monday night's severe thunderstorm caused much damage and a prolonged power outage.
Holmesville residents came together to help each other after Monday night's severe thunderstorm caused much damage and a prolonged power outage.

Since early Tuesday, many communities throughout Wayne and Holmes counties have operated without electricity, running water and cold storage, leaving many neighbors and local businesses to provide food aid, water and support.

Holmesville is no different, where residents like Rachel White-Ware helped her neighbors in the days since the storm.

"Our neighbors didn't have any chainsaws, so we lent them ours," White-Ware said. "Amish came around with trailers to help chop and carry off trees."

No power means no refrigeration, so some homeowners distributed food to their neighbors that would have gone bad, she said.

"In general, we're just checking in on each other to make sure everyone is okay and to see if they need help," White-Ware said.

Macroburst home damage

A pole and lines are still laying on a street in Holmesville.
A pole and lines are still laying on a street in Holmesville.

The streets of Holmesville were lined with fallen trees early Friday afternoon. Piles of chopped branches and tree trunks turned parts of the village into a lumberyard.

White-Ware and her family were luckier than most. With no trees around their home, it suffered no serious structural damage.

But living on a corner lot across from an open field that provided no shield from the heavy winds did damage her home.

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"I remember hearing the sirens go off at around 12:30 or 12:40 Monday night," she recalled. "I told my son to turn off and unplug everything and go to the basement."

There her family rode out the worst of the storm.

"I remember looking outside and thinking things just didn't feel right," White-Ware said. "It was too quiet, no animals, no wind and it was really dark."

Then the wind pounded their property and peeled back garage rooftiles, blew out windows and took out parts of their porch ceiling, White-Ware said.

"Homeowners insurance should help with those costs," she said.

Shreve store holds barbecue

This barn just north of Shreve on State Route 226 is a victim of the storm.
This barn just north of Shreve on State Route 226 is a victim of the storm.

When the power went out to the northeast of Holmesville in Shreve, the Sweethaven grocery store knew much of its product would quickly go bad.

Instead of tossing all of it in the trash, employees cooked it up in a smoker and served it to community residents and utility workers, said Kevin Cronin, meat manager and assistant store manager.

"We knew much of the community needed it because they also didn't have power," Cronin said.

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By the end of the day, he said the spontaneous barbecue served around 900 people, raising nearly $1,000 to offset store losses and to purchase water and ice for the community.

"It was free but people could donate any amount of money if they could," Cronin said.

While they used up around 20% of their cold products during the barbecue, the store tossed out 30% more because of the Tuesday outage.

Later that night, the store regained power only to lose it the next day for four hours.

"We kept the store opened during that time, using calculators and checking people out by hand," Cronin said.

Now, the store's power has returned for good, Cronin said hopefully.

State of emergency in Wayne County

Crews work to set a new power pole near Shreve.
Crews work to set a new power pole near Shreve.

As communities continue the road to recovery, Wayne County Commissioners declared a state of emergency in the county Friday afternoon, one day after their counterparts in Holmes County did the same.

"County officials are working with state and local public and private organizations and officials attempting to provide relief and assistance," a press release from the county stated.

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Material aid will be handed out at locations around the two counties. United Way's Wayne-Holmes Information Referral Exchange can be contacted to learn more about receiving aid at 330-263-6363.

The United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties is accepted online donations at https://secure.givelively.org/donate/united-way-of-wayne-and-holmes-counties-inc/united-through-disasters.

"It is likely that no state or federal dollars will come to our area to aid with the recent storm," the United Way posted on Facebook. "We have set up a local relief fund. If you would like to help those in need, please consider a donation."

Power is slowly being restored

A power truck tackles electric lines that had been pulled down by trees near Shreve.
A power truck tackles electric lines that had been pulled down by trees near Shreve.

Utility crews have restored electricity to thousands of homes and businesses but thousands still remain in the dark.

Nearly 2,000 more AEP customers regained power in the last 24 hours putting the total number without electricity at 6,000, according to the AEP outage map.

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Over 13,200 Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative were without power immediately following the storm, the company reported on Facebook. That number was down to 5,320 Friday morning.

The cooperative said it was on track to meet its goal of 75% customer restoration by Friday night.

Over 200 women and men from Ohio and surrounding states are in Wayne and Holmes counties working on downed powerlines and poles, according to the company's Facebook.

AEP and cooperative customers could have their power restored as late as Saturday or Sunday nights, according to each company.

Intermittent power outages

Cemetery Road east of Shreve still needs a lot of work.
Cemetery Road east of Shreve still needs a lot of work.

The lights flickered followed a booming noise around 11:30 a.m. Friday near Wooster Community Hospital.

Some homes like those at the Williamsburg Apartments on Beall Avenue remained powered while others sat in the dark.

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Some nearby offices like the Cleveland Clinic Family Health Center on Cleveland Road briefly lost power for around 50 minutes by one employee's estimate, temporarily  shutting down elevators and some phones and computers.

In Shreve and around Apple Creek, the power had flickered on and off over the last fours days as utility crews attempt to fix downed lines.

Some of these intermittent outages are caused by AEP trying to resolve transmission issues, according to the Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative.

"We have had intermittent transmission power to our Alpine, Ripley, Trail, Moreland, and Drake Valley substations, we know AEP is working just as hard to resolve their transmission service issues," they said. "If you have experienced your power being restored and several hours later an outage occurs this is the reason."

Many roads remain closed

Power crews wait while a tree-trimming crew takes trees off the lines.
Power crews wait while a tree-trimming crew takes trees off the lines.

County roads are open and passable to local residents, but some roads remain closed, the Wayne County Engineer's Office announced Friday afternoon.

Clearing the roads remains slow going in places because there was so much damage.

The storm affected a huge portion of the county, including Chester, Plain, Wooster, Clinton and Franklin townships, which suffered "significant damage," Brock Yoder, traffic safety Supervisor at the Wayne County Engineer’s Office.

"The winds were hurricane force," he said. "Its impossible to describe the amount of damage."

Heavy equipment is needed to lift large trees off roadways and powerlines, but this cannot happen until utility crews confirm that the power is off and the lines are grounded, he said.

"We have to wait on them to make it safe for our crews and their crews," Yoder said. Local utility crews called in over 100 additional lineman and tree crews to help in this effort.

Some roads are closed because of broken poles and low-hanging wires, he said.

These roads remained closed as of Friday until utility companies can rebuild electric infrastructure:

  • Old Columbus Road from state Route 226 to Heyl Road

  • Jefferson Road from state Route 3 to state Route 30

  • Millbrook Road from state Route 3 to Elyria Road

  • Heyl Road from Smyser Road to state Route 3

  • Harrison Road from James Road to state Route 83

  • James Road from Harrison and Clark Roads

  • Clark Road west of state Route 83.

Reach Bryce by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com

On Twitter: @Bryce_Buyakie

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: How local residents are supporting each other days after severe storm