Thursday, June 28, 2007
About 5,000 FirstEnergy customers in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys lost power because of a storm that hit the area in the midst of hot and humid weather.
The hardest hit Wednesday evening were those in Kinsman and the surrounding area, where 1,500 people lost power, and those in Salem, where 1,400 people were without electricity, said Paul Harkey, area manager for Ohio Edison, a FirstEnergy subsidiary.
Also, 1,000 Mercer County, Pa., residents, 600 in Lake Milton and 500 customers in New Castle, Pa., experienced power outages.
The lost power was caused by high winds and tree limbs on power lines that tripped electrical fuses, Harkey said. Most customers were expected to have their electricity restored shortly after midnight.