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Coping with the Cold in Sullivan County

LAPORTE — Thousands of homes and businesses in Bradford and Sullivan Counties were left powerless on Thursday when the electricity went out during these b...
sull power 5

LAPORTE -- Thousands of homes and businesses in Bradford and Sullivan Counties were left powerless on Thursday when the electricity went out during these bitter cold temperatures.

Debbie Peterman of Laporte says she woke up in the middle of the night with her dog on top of her shivering! That's because almost 6,000 homes and businesses in Bradford and Sullivan Counties lost power overnight.

"Minus 13 in Laporte at 3 a.m. when I was woken up because it was very cold,"Peterman said.

According to first energy corporation, a downed wire at a substation caused equipment to malfunction, which resulted in a power outage on one of the coldest days of the season.

"You get your candles out, you get your flashlight out, and you sit there and try to stay warm," Peterman said.

"I was actually in the shower when I lost power. I was taking a shower and everything just went dark," Jubril Onaneye said.

Many people used generators to stay warm, while some headed to local fire stations that set up warming stations with free coffee and hot chocolate. The Laporte General Store even opened in the dark, using calculators to add up purchases so customers could get basic necessities.

You deal with what you got to and you move on, you just dress a lot warmer," Jason Owens said.

In addition to being cold, Jason Owens says his schedule was affected.

"You don't have internet, you don't have TV so you don't know what the schools are doing. And then you have appointments to make and it causes such a disruption," Owens said.

Some people say they're also disappointed because many businesses here in Sullivan County were forced to close because of the power outage.

"Everybody's been going and looking and nobody is able to walk in," Owens said.

As of early this afternoon, power had been restored to most areas in Bradford and Sullivan Counties.

 

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