Five Days??? That’s what FirstEnergy says it needs to turn the power back on

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The tornadoes that ripped through Northeast Ohio late Thursday night zapped the power of more than 145,000 customers, and FirstEnergy Corp. says many of them will be without electricity for nearly a week.

More than 50,000 customers from Cuyahoga County had no power late Friday afternoon from the high winds and tornado that blew through the city’s East Side. A second tornado struck Mentor, creating a path that was nearly four miles long.

“We expect to restore power to the majority of affected customers by (Wednesday),” a statement on FirstEnergy’s online outages map said late Friday afternoon.

The high winds toppled trees and powerlines, damaged homes and blew the roof off of New Life at Calvary Church in Cleveland and windows from the Justice Center in Cleveland. The tornado that hit Cleveland’s East Side had winds of 100 mph. The damage closed roads throughout the region. No one was hurt.

City officials in Mentor told residents that FirstEnergy officials “indicated that power will be restored for 95% of CEI customers by 4 p.m. (Wednesday). Residents are strongly encouraged to make provisions for a long-term outage, especially in the hardest hit areas.”

That means food in many refrigerators and freezers could rot, and air conditioning system will go silent. Temperatures are expected to stay in the mid-70s through most of next week.

Mentor urged residents and businesses using generators to observe safety practices, including not operating them indoors or near windows.

Service has been restored to approximately 221,500 of the more than 460,300 customers, the company said in a press release.

Utility crews are working 16-hour shifts with eight hours of rest, and they will continue doing so until all power is restored. Workers from FirstEnergy’s sister companies and contractors are also assisting.

The Mentor Senior Center, at 8484 Center St., is available as a community shelter with water and snacks. Other cities are also opening up their public buildings to help residents during the outage.

The Senior and Community Center in Wickliffe was to open Friday at 5:30 p.m. for residents who need to charge their phones and other devices, Mayor Joe Sakacs announced on Facebook.

The Cleveland Heights Community Center and the Lee Road and University Heights branches of Heights Libraries are open and have power. The city also was impacted by the severe weather with many downed wires and power outages.

Police urged residents to not drive over wires and treat intersections where lights are out as four-way stops.