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Thunderstorms cause local power outages

Tuesday, July 30, 2002


Ohio Edison expected power to be restored by noon today to 100 customers still without electricity this morning.
Power was interrupted for some 5,900 customers throughout Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties in Ohio and Mercer County, Pa., as a thunderstorm with high winds rumbled through the area Monday night, said Paul Harkey, area manager for Ohio Edison.
The storm also knocked down tree limbs.
The first power outage was reported at 8:50 p.m. Monday in Middlefield in Ashtabula County, Harkey said. It affected 395 customers.
The second outage occurred at 8:56 p.m. in the Salt Springs Road area of Trumbull County. Some 3,000 customers were affected by that momentary outage caused by a lightning strike, Harkey continued.
Most of the outages, which were scattered throughout Northeast Ohio, were caused by lightning, he said.
A Niles police dispatcher said some residents were without power after 11 p.m.
Pa. Route 18 in Pennsylvania, just south of state Route 60 in Shenango Township, was closed at 9:15 p.m. by tree limbs blocking the road, according to the Mercer County 911 Center.
Shenango Township police and firefighters were at the scene, and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation workers cleared the road and left the scene at 10:45 p.m.
A tree fell onto an apartment building on Idlewood Avenue on Youngstown's South Side, but damage was minor and there were no injuries.
Power outages hit the city's North Side, with wires down on Dennick Avenue, Seneca and Scott streets.