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Click Here for Photo Gallery of Yesterday's StormSam Penrod and Samantha Hayes Reporting
Lots to clean up today all along the Wasatch Front and hundreds of residents in northern Utah are still in the dark this afternoon after yesterday's powerful storm. The storm pounded several communities along the Wasatch Front. The worst hit was Provo.
The cleanup in Provo has come a long way in just 24 hours. But there is a lot to do, most importantly getting the power back on to more than 600 homes. Utility crews worked through the night, getting power back on to most of the five-thousand homes that were in the dark last night. The hard part now is the remaining 600 homes, where the damage is the worst.
More than 45 major power lines fell in yesterday's storm. Hundreds and hundreds of trees were uprooted or lost limbs in the storm. City crews are gathering it up, if residents take it to the curb. Almost every house in South Provo lost trees.
Steven Lewis, Provo Resident: "You look down the street and we feel blessed, luckily we didn't have any big trees or power lines fall on our house."
Tuesday's storm cause approximately 13.5 million dollars worth of damage in Provo. The city announced the estimate Wednesday evening. It includes damage to the airport, public parks, public and private buildings and power outages.
But neighbors say the cleanup is going fast.
Clerissa Lewis, Provo Resident: "We're doing pretty good, they've cleaned it up really well. It's fast, faster than I thought it was going to happen."
No one was seriously hurt in yesterday's storm and city leaders want to keep it that way. They are concerned people could get hurt while cleaning up and are asking for everyone to be patient for city crews to do the dangerous work.
Lewis Billings, Mayor of Provo: "We are going to work just as fast as we can to make this safe. And in the meantime, we need the help of our people to make sure kids and they themselves don't take on things they shouldn't."
Provo has set up a help line for residents who need volunteer help, or for people who want to volunteer or have resources such as trailers and chain saws. That number is simply 211.
As far as the 637 homes still without power, Provo says it may still be another day or two before they have the power back on to the majority of those homes.
Clean up efforts are also in full swing in Salt Lake County. In the Millcreek area, people are trying to take care of debris from fallen trees. Cars, structures and power lines were all slammed by the storm. Rocky Mountain Power reports that about 300 customers are without power, mostly in the Millcreek area.
