Residents still looking for answers after losing power thanks to severe storms
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Damage across Allegheny County is still quite visible from Saturday's storm.
In Shaler, residents are assessing property damage and removing debris and still have no power. Neighbors who live in the area said this is an all too familiar situation that they're fed up with.
On Hawthorne Road, a tree toppled over from strong winds and rain. It fell on cars and took down power lines, forcing neighbors and a senior home to brave the heat.
Neighbors said they've been calling utility companies for help - but have been left in the dark.
Across the area, power is out — in Upper St. Clair — trees have been uprooted from yards — and in Shaler and Millvale Townships resides some of the worst damage.
"I just threw out a whole deep freezer, my fridge, my neighbors, there are elderly people, my house is 84 degrees at the moment," Shaler resident Anna Dzikowski said.
Dzikowski is talking about the storm's impact on her neighborhood, on Hawthorne Road, which sent a large tree down, took out cars, and power lines, and snapped utility poles.
And apparently - it's a problem they've had to deal with during previous storms, too.
"This keeps happening on this stretch of Hawthorne. Duquesne Light is aware of it, the boroughs are aware of it, and the homeowners are aware of it. I just don't think we're being heard. We cannot continue to have outages like this over and over without addressing the tree problem," Dzikowski said.
Dzikowski and many of her neighbors have left their homes since they don't have any way to stay cool as an intense heatwave hits the region.
Something they've had to do several times, even after what Dzikowski said, has been an exhausting number of calls to Duquesne Light.
She says it doesn't matter who does it — but something needs to be done to make the area safer.
"I think they need to get out here to get these big trees, get them down and maybe not have lines in this part of it. You don't want to have people not lose power for days on end," Dzikowski added.
Duquesne Light said they're hoping all power will be restored by noon on Monday - but Anna and her neighbors said they're not so sure about that.
Make sure to stick with KDKA for any updates on weather damage and when power will be restored in your area.