By Maria Young, The Charleston-Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There was a brief moment of joy Wednesday afternoon on South Charleston’s D Street as Pat Stone’s next-door neighbor headed into his home and called out, “Hey, power’s on.”
Pat and her sister headed quickly into their own home, only to discover that they were still without.
“It’s a little bit cold at night, for one thing. You gotta put blankets on you. And, of course, you can’t open up your refrigerator, can’t watch your TV, can’t use your cellphone,” she lamented. “Just modern conveniences you get used to, but I know they’re working hard to get it done.”
Tuesday’s storms left more than 100,000 people without power across West Virginia, in addition to fallen trees, downed power lines and other damage. By 5 p.m. Wednesday, just over 72,600 remained in the dark.
‘This crew’s been working nonstop’
On Virginia Street East in downtown Charleston Wednesday morning, crews had already removed a tree being propped up by power lines. A few yards away, they had to dig a hole and install a new utility pole to replace one that had snapped at its base. Crews then had to transfer all of the equipment and lines from the old pole to the new one — all under the watchful eye of Quarrier Street resident Carl Propson.
