MOUNT VERNON — Austin Johnson brought his mother to the Mount Vernon YMCA after they lost power.
His mother has COPD, a disease that blocks airflow, often requiring oxygen.
“It’s a major issue without electric,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “We won’t have power ’til Friday night.”
The intense storm that brought a tornado barreling through western Knox County on Monday night left thousands without power.
Online outage maps and statements from Knox County’s four main electrical providers – American Electric Power, The Energy Cooperative, Ohio Edison (FirstEnergy) and Consolidated Electric Co-Op – indicate that more than 20,000 customers woke up without power Tuesday morning.
This led folks who were powerless to find alternative ways of charging electrical devices, taking showers, finding food and staying cool during this week’s heat wave.
Several cooling stations opened across the county, brought into affect by Knox County Emergency Management Agency.
“(We) came in the pool to cool down,” Johnson said. “We’re very grateful that the YMCA is doing. (They’re) helping out a lot.”
For food, the Johnson’s are eating out and feeling the affects of record inflation, too.
“I hope this stuff is over soon,” he said. “I have an aunt that lives over by Kentucky Avenue and their power is out too.”
Around 50 people used the YMCA’s showers on Tuesday and Wednesday, Director of Operations Cameo Quick said.
Fredericktown resident Julie, who requested her last name not be published, walked into the Y on Wednesday with a towel and shower tote in hand. Her power had been out since the storm ravaged the county, and she wasn’t expecting the lights to flicker back on anytime soon.
“For us it’s going to be longer because the telephone polls are down,” Julie said.
Knox Public Health served as another cooling center, offering water, soda, and snacks for folks to eat during the mass power outage.
People could come multiple times throughout the day, Public Information Officer Pam Palm said. “We don’t take attendance.”
One cooling station, nestled in Mount Vernon, was The Station Break Senior Center. The Station Break was able to check if senior citizens had power while bringing meals to their doorsteps.
Director Meredith Lowther received a call from Emergency Management Director Mark Maxwell asking if Station Break could be a cooling center for Wednesday and Thursday.
She obliged.
As of Wednesday, roughly a dozen people of all ages had come to cool off and charge their phones, Lowther said.
“This is the first time we’ve used (this building) as a cooling center,” she said.
In case Station Break ever lost power, a generator was available to keep the fridge and freezer cold. The center also had a contract with Mount Vernon City Schools to use their kitchen incase of emergencies, the director added.
