Storm debris hauled off as lights come back on

PROVO — Provoans continued Thursday to clean up the mess left in the wake of the storm that walloped Provo on Tuesday.

But there was some good news — most of those who were left without electricity after the storm now have power.

Still, the supercell thunderstorm that surprised Utah Valley on Tuesday left a path of destruction that gave citizens plenty to do Thursday afternoon.

Truckbeds were loaded with branches and trash cans were filled with yard debris as Provoans tried to beautify their neighborhoods.

"Cleanup is going well," said Wayne Parker, Provo's chief administrative officer. "It's been two days and we only have 250 houses left to restore power to. We'll keep working until everyone has their power back on."

According to officials, some 8,500 of Provo City Power's 33,000 customers experienced outages Tuesday.

On Wednesday, some 2,000 residences still didn't have power.

Now, according to Parker, all of Provo's streets are open and volunteers are helping private property owners clean up the storm's aftermath. Provo officials said Wednesday that the storm caused $13.2 million in damage.

Robert Michie, who lives in American Fork, owns a home near Center Street in Provo where lightning struck a pine tree in the back yard.

When it fell, the tree missed the house but landed on the power line, knocking out power on the entire block. Michie spent Thursday afternoon cutting the pine tree apart with a chainsaw so it could be hauled away.

Michie said the power in the neighborhood came back on early Thursday morning.

Most of Michie's neighbors had not returned home as of Thursday evening, as they had been staying elsewhere until they had electricity.

Most homes weren't severely damaged in the storm. Only a few had been declared uninhabitable.

Many residents said they are thankful that the only reminders of Mother Nature's wrath are the large amounts of foliage lying across their lawns.

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