FirstEnergy Offering Free Ice/Water at Certain Giant Eagle Stores for Those Still Without Power
As of 1 p.m. Aug. 28, the National Weather Service confirmed three tornados touched down in Geauga County during last week’s severe thunderstorm — in Middlefield, Claridon and Bainbridge townships — which resulted in a large number of downed trees, road closures and power outages across Ohio.
As of 1 p.m. Aug. 28, the National Weather Service confirmed three tornados touched down in Geauga County during last week’s severe thunderstorm — in Middlefield, Claridon and Bainbridge townships — which resulted in a large number of downed trees, road closures and power outages across Ohio.
Work crews around Geauga County continue to recover from the storm, which also hit Erie, Cuyahoga and Lake counties hard, as well, with tornados confirmed to have touched down in Cleveland, Warrensville Heights and Bedford Heights, and Mentor.
FirstEnergy Corp serviced a total of 2,110, 142 customers in Ohio by 1:30 p.m. Aug. 28, with 9,591 customers still affected by power outages, according to the company’s website. In Geauga, 39,483 customers had been serviced as of Monday afternoon, and 1,590 remained without power.
Several schools were closed across the state and in Geauga County Aug. 25 due to power outages, including Chardon, Berkshire, Cardinal, West Geauga, Kenston and Chagrin Falls school districts.
“FirstEnergy’s Ohio electric companies have made significant progress restoring power to more than 310,000 customers in Northeast Ohio who were impacted by (last) Thursday night’s storm,” said Lauren Siburkis, supervisor of state and regulatory communications for FirstEnergy in a statement. “While they continue working 24/7 to restore service, free water and ice are available to customers without power at several local Giant Eagle locations beginning at 12 p.m. (Aug. 28) (Aug. 28) to 12 p.m. Aug. 31, or until supplies run out.
“With assistance from more than 2,000 outside resources, FirstEnergy crews continue working around the clock in 16-hour shifts to restore service to about 10,000 customers who remain without power in the region,” Siburkis added.
Customers who remain without power can pick up one bag of ice and two gallons of water free of charge at the Giant Eagle location in Bainbridge Township at 8515 Tanglewood Square and in Chardon at 351 Center St.
The EF-2 tornado in Middlefield began near the intersection of Burton-Windsor Road and lifted near the intersection of state Route 608 and Nauvoo Road, according to the NWS.
Middlefield Village Fire Department Chief Joe Tucholski said power was out from Lake Street to Glen Valley.
Several roads were closed throughout the county due to downed trees, and there was a house fire in Chester Township last night, as well, said Geauga County Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand.
“There was widespread damage to FirstEnergy power lines last night,” Chester Fire Chief William Shaw said. “I do not have an estimate on the number of homes without power. We also had a structure fire with lightning as the suspected cause.”
Chester Township Police Chief Craig Young added, “My officers did not report any tornadoes or notable damage. They did report flooding and several road closures.”
Newbury Township Fire Chief Ken Fagan said his firefighters have been out on the roads since 12:30 a.m. and they had to close Bell Street, Music Street and a portion of state Route 44.
“One large tree fell across 44. It took us 45 minutes to cut it up,” Fagan said. “We drove a little further and there was another tree down.”
The chief said one firefighter left his house on Munn Road and had trees down both north and south of his driveway.
“It was bad,” he said.
The EF-1 tornado just southeast of Chardon began near the intersection of Aquilla Road and Tewksbury Lane and lifted on the east side of Taylor Wells Road, according to the NWS.
In Chardon, Fire Chief Justin Geiss said his crews were “still out here trying to get roads closed” on Friday.
“At approximately 12 a.m. Aug. 25, 2023, severe storms with the potential of producing tornados moved through Geauga County. The Chardon Fire Department responded to over 27 calls for service in the following 12 hours,” Geiss said in a statement. “These calls included people trapped in vehicles, power lines down, trees on buildings and small fires caused by downed powerlines. Thankfully, no injuries were reported from the storm, however, many residents have a long road ahead of them to clean up and repair their property.
“We have ensured all residents have access to their homes by assisting with clearing downed trees and debris from driveways. This also allows emergency vehicles to access the homes in the event of an emergency,” Geiss added. “As the clean-up continues, many roads are still closed due to hazardous conditions and (we) would like to remind motorists to please respect road closed signs and find an alternative route.”
Geiss said his staff’s thoughts are with all the residents who sustained property damage.
“Please take the time to check on your neighbors, especially the elderly,” he said. In the event you have a medical condition that may worsen due to lack of electricity, please don’t hesitate to call for assistance. We will continue to monitor the situation and will update the public with any new information we receive.”
Bainbridge Fire Chief Lou Ann Metz said her crew responded to 24 calls over a two-day period after the storm, which included an EF-1 tornado that began over the west part of Laurel Springs subdivision and dissipated along Taylor May Road just west of Haskins Road, according to the NWS.
“It’s just been normal storm clean up,” she said. “It’s basically the utility companies that are having to do everything. We don’t have any part in that. I know there was a lot of damage on Taylor May Road there. There were a lot of people without power.”
