RICHMOND, Vt. (WCAX) – Many people were without power Saturday after strong winds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby knocked out lights in our area.
“Usually when the power goes out it only lasts a couple of hours at most, so I just let it go, but last night I got home probably around 10:30 and the power was still out,” said Cassie Lathrop.
Lathrop, who lives in downtown Winooski, says her street lost power Friday afternoon after a transformer exploded in front of her house. She says she called the power company several times and hasn’t received an answer as to when the power would be back on.
“Because of the clouds, we didn’t have much light and couldn’t do much. It’s weird to walk into a room and still turn the light on and off out of habit. It doesn’t come on. I’ve never been without power for that long when something went out in Vermont,” Lathrop said.
But after nearly 24 hours in the dark, Green Mountain Power fixed the problem and turned Lathrop’s lights back on.
As of Saturday evening, crews had restored power to over 36,000 customers and are now racing against time to get electricity back on.
The storm caused widespread damage across the state, with the worst in the Champlain Valley. Dozens of people are without power because of a tree on the lines on Governor Peck Road in Richmond. “It was just really, really windy. It didn’t really rain much. But of course a lot of trees were knocked down. When we drove out there, the rain was a little higher about an hour ago. It must have come down a little harder. We didn’t have power when we left. That was about an hour ago,” said George Bennum of Richmond. GMP says they prepared for Debby but didn’t expect such a strong force. “This storm hit so hard, harder than predicted. With high winds that uprooted trees and caused major damage that crews are now dealing with and repairing for customers,” said Kristin Carlson of Green Mountain Power.
Power companies across the state tell us work won’t stop until all the lights are back on. But remember: If you see downed power lines, don’t walk under them.
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