Ezra Nanes, mayor of State College, Pennsylvania, joined AccuWeather to discuss how the town is responding to a derecho that claimed a young man's life and left thousands without electricity.
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00:00Here at AccuWeather, last night's severe weather truly hit home.
00:04The deadly storm claimed a life right here in State College, Pennsylvania.
00:07And joining us now is Ezra Naines, Mayor of State College and Director of Strategic Account Management here at AccuWeather.
00:14Ezra, can you tell us the latest? What are you telling you?
00:18Thanks, Anna. Thanks, Damian.
00:20Yeah, honestly, like I said earlier, with Bernie and Ariella, this is an unprecedented situation.
00:27In all my years at AccuWeather, I don't remember us getting hit so hard at home.
00:31I would love to say that as the day's gone on, things have started to improve,
00:35but I think we're still finding out the extent of how bad the damage really is.
00:39We don't have estimates on restoration of power at this time.
00:45It is expected to be a multi-day restoration.
00:51Reception is very choppy, I think, because there's just so much demand for information,
00:56which, of course, at a time like this is so important.
00:59So I think we're going to be in, we've got to dig in a little bit here,
01:03and people are going to need to sort of think this could be a day or two,
01:07or who knows, in some cases, three days.
01:09So we're going to have to prepare for that.
01:13So many trees, they were down last night in the storm.
01:16What are the biggest challenges for, you were talking about not just today,
01:19but for tomorrow, maybe even the next several days.
01:21So what are those biggest challenges going to be during that time period?
01:24Right. I think right now the biggest challenge we're facing is getting the power back on.
01:29Our public works teams here in the borough are working around the clock to clear trees,
01:34but some of the streets that are closed, and as I understand it,
01:38all nine of the streets that we had to close are still closed because there are power lines down,
01:44and that really is the biggest danger.
01:47Now, I will say the one thing that's been working for us today is it's an absolutely beautiful day,
01:52and there are no extremes of temperature.
01:55The winds seem to be fairly calm.
01:56We're not having any heavy rain, so crews can continue to do the work,
02:01and there aren't additional crises necessarily unfolding because of the weather at this time,
02:05but those crews have to keep prioritizing their work and figuring out where all the lines are down,
02:11and it's just going to take a little while.
02:13And getting information is difficult, as I said.
02:15So the best thing we can do, let's not open those refrigerators.
02:19If you can put your food on ice or find a neighbor who may have power.
02:23I mean, the crazy thing about this storm is that, you know, one house, completely fine, power,
02:29everything's fine there across the street, tree down, no power.
02:33Those winds just hit really hard, and they cause some very extreme damage in some spots.
02:38So look in on your neighbors who may be a little bit older, who may be unable to care for themselves very well.
02:45There may be medical devices.
02:46So if you're having trouble, try to reach out to neighbors, get that help that you may need,
02:51and stay away from downed power lines.
02:54Don't go anywhere near them.
02:55Don't try to clear them.
02:56Don't move trees.
02:57That is really dangerous.
02:59You've got to stay at least 30 feet away from those hazards right now.
03:02And that really kind of brings us into the next thing I want to talk about, Ezra.
03:06Unfortunately, there was an electrocution death last night.
03:09So how are your teams and the utilities staying safe while they make these needed repairs?
03:15Absolutely.
03:16It is such a tragedy.
03:17A young man really just trying to be helpful, and we, you know, you honor him for that effort,
03:23but sadly went out to put out a small fire that had started as a result of a power line going down
03:29and got too close to that line and was electrocuted.
03:31And we all mourn him and wish only the most sympathy to his family and friends.
03:37And the best thing we can do is just leave the work to the professionals.
03:41They are trained extensively on how to deal with this.
03:44And honestly, if you see public works, if you see line workers, if you see your first responders
03:49working on a situation, give them space.
03:53Don't get up next to them because it could be a dangerous situation, unless, of course, you need help.
03:58But when the work is done, when the power is back on, when everything's safe,
04:02make sure that you take the time to thank all of those workers because they are putting their lives on the line
04:07so that we can get power back so that we can stay safe.
04:10If you do see a power line that's down, call 911.
04:14That's the best thing you can do.
04:16And make sure you don't go near it.
04:17Make sure your friends, neighbors, children, pets, just try to keep everything away from that
04:22because those wires are hot and they can cause damage.
04:25So that's really the best I can say.
04:28Public works teams are clearing trees.
04:30They are trying to get streetlights back on.
04:33So also, if you're out driving, and I know we have to get to and from work.
04:38We have children at daycare.
04:39We need food.
04:41Everybody's trying to figure out how to do the essentials of life when things are really partly shut down in this way.
04:47Drive very safely.
04:48Some of those streetlights are not working.
04:52So go very slowly as you go up to them and really look in all directions so you don't accidentally have a collision out there
05:00because that's the last thing you want at a time like this.
05:03Some important reminders there.
05:05As Renane's Mayor of State College and Director of Strategic Account Management here at AccuBother,
05:09thank you for all of those details.
05:12Of course.
05:12It's my pleasure.
05:13And thanks to you for getting the word out about the damage of this storm.