Many Will County Communities Remain Without Power A Day After Storms
FRANKFORT, Ill. (CBS) -- Hundreds of thousands of ComEd customers remained without power earlier Tuesday, a day after a storm brought hurricane-force winds and even a tornado touchdown to the city.
That figure includes almost all the people whom CBS 2's Jeremy Ross spoke with in Will County on Tuesday. Some blamed tree debris for bringing down lines and causing all the problems.
The hum of generators has replaced the normal sounds you'd hear in several Mokena neighborhoods, while damage, destruction, and debris have replaced the normal sights.
"We heard the tornado sirens go off and went into the basement," said Jason DeRosa.
DeRosa and his family headed to safety. The worst of the storm seemed only to last seconds, but what it left them without could have an impact for days.
"We still do not have power," DeRosa said, adding that as to when he would have it back, "I wish I knew."
For most like Frankfort neighbor Kelly Rogers, the power outage is an annoying inconvenience. She said she was given an estimate that power would be back on Saturday, which she called "a little ridiculous."
"We're arguing weather the food in the fridge is still good," she said.
Another woman, who asked us not to share her name, shared concerns about not having power at Mokena's Clarendale of Mokena senior living community.
"It's hot," she said. "No cable, no nothing… no air conditioning."
She said it felt like about 80 degrees inside.
To that, Rogers said, "Yeah, I can't complain when I hear that."
"I Think it would be pretty difficult for them, especially if they have any special medical needs," added DeRosa.
In the past, people without air conditioning or a working refrigerator would not have thought twice about staying at a relative's house. But during a time when health officials want people to social distance and stay in smaller groups, some are giving that a second thought.
"I've been through a tornado what I was younger, and that's about what it was like," Rogers said.
The senior center said it was in the process of getting help with the power, but did not comment further for us on this story.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Com Ed said 71,000 customers and 320,000 systems were still without power, though the majority of the hundreds of thousands who lost power have had it restored.
Com Ed said it believes vast majority will be restored by Friday night if not earlier.
ComEd said the Monday storm was the most unique storm they've dealt with in years and poses unique problems.
While we saw ComEd crews coming down the street in Frankfort late Tuesday afternoon, there was no word from the company as to why restoring power for some communities may take days.