CHURCHILL, Pa. — Some neighbors in the Borough of Churchill still without electricity will have to wait a little longer for the lights to come back on.
There is still a lot of damage along Georgetown Place and neighboring streets.
Lou Anne Caligiuri’s front yard has a big crater in it where a more than 60-foot-tall tree once stood until last Tuesday’s destructive storm brought it down.
“We loved the mature trees,” Caligiuri said. “It was a beauty. It was about 100 years old or so.
The tree was sitting in the middle of Georgetown Place until it was cut up and hauled away earlier on Tuesday.
Not even half a mile away, there were downed wires stretched across the street and tarps covering holes in roofs.
“It’s really sad,” Caligiuri said.
It’s been one full week since Caligiuri’s family and many of her neighbors lost power. Instead of getting it back by Tuesday night as promised, they’re now being told they’ll have to wait at least another day.
Caligiuri isn’t surprised.
“We were having bets within our family, and I realistically said I didn’t think it would be,” she said. “Everybody else thought it would be. Too bad we weren’t betting for money.”
Caligiuri’s nephew’s patience is wearing thin.
“I’m ready for the power to be cut back on,” Chris Caligiuri said. “Hopefully it’ll be sometime soon.”
A Duquesne Light spokesperson told Channel 11 the weather over the past week has delayed response times.
“I think that’s been the hardest part is that there’s been very little communication,” Lou Anne Caligiuri said.
The power company has faced criticism from many people still in the dark about the long wait.
“It’s been very slow,” Chris Caligiuri said.
As the Caligiuris wait a bit longer for the lights to come back on, they say they’re making the most of it.
“We’re all wearing, at night, the little lights on our foreheads. We’ve been playing games. We’ve been reading books and painting,” Lou Anne Caligiuri said. “We’ll survive.”
Duquesne Light expects to have electricity back on for everyone by 11 p.m. Wednesday.
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