MINERSVILLE, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The severe storms that came through our area Thursday caused power and phone outages, including 911 services in Schuylkill County that forced first responders to scramble to find a backup plan.
The storms left more than 6,000 people without power for more than five hours Thursday in Schuylkill County.
911 lines were also down, forcing all firehouses to be manned throughout the evening.
The clock at Minersville Pharmacy in Schuylkill County struck 3:45 p.m. and stayed that way for hours.
“That’s when the power went out. We were in the house getting ready to start super and that’s when everything went off,” said Minersville resident Linda Bybell.
Bybell and her family were outside on their porch for hours during the outage. Their priority was making sure their 6-month-old was okay.
“We are just keeping him out here and make sure to keep him entertained,” Bybell said.
Other nearby residents decided to make the most of the stormy situation.
“After spending much time at home, I decided to take a look and a walk to get the fresh air,” said Gopal Shah of Minersville.
Minersville Fire Department told 28/22 News no serious calls were made to the department when Reporter Gianna Galli was there, and according to PPL power was expected to be back on around 10:00 p.m.
