Power Outages Continue to Vex North Baltimore

Thup thup thup thup—the sound of generators.

Verinng verinng verinng verinng—chainsaws start and cut into downed tree limbs.

These sounds could be heard throughout North Baltimore Monday evening as many neighborhoods were still cleaning up from the "Derecho," "land hurricane" or really powerful thunderstorm that pounded the area on Friday night.

Many residents—more than 58,000 according to BGE’s website—were still without power, and were trying to get through another hot night with the temperatures only expected to drop to 75 degrees. 

Frank Pierce stood outside his Hampden home, in the 3500 block of Buena Vista Avenue, drinking a large cup of water. He said he’s been without power since 11 p.m. Friday night.

"It’s hot and everything, and I can hardly sleep at night time, cause it’s hard to sleep without the air conditioner," Pierce said.

He said that he’s seen BGE crews in the neighborhood and heard rumors that the power might be on by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Just around the corner, in the 1300 block of Berry Street, John Wise said he lost power on Saturday, and that it came back on late Monday morning.

"It’s pretty trying, lets put it that way. Especially at nighttime, you’re trying to go to sleep and there’s no air, and it’s hot and sweaty. It wasn’t comfortable at all," Wise said.

Norman Carvens was taking advantage of the cooling center at Northern Community Action Center, located at 5225 York Road.

Carvens, 68, was wearing a straw hat, a polo shirt and drinking a bottle of water in the center. The Woodbourne-McCabe resident said he hasn’t had power since Friday night, and can’t remember ever being without power this long.

"It was just getting a little too hot. So I heard the center was open and everything. So I said ‘I might as well come up and get some water and sit in the air conditioning a little while,'" Carvens said.

Carvens, who is a diabetic, said despite the heat and being inconvenienced, he had sympathy for the BGE crews.

"They’re doing their best, I know how it is, they got a whole lot of them out there, they out there working 10-12 hours a day. I know how it is, because I worked that hard myself. It takes time. You just got to be patient, that’s all," Carvens said.

Sheila Peter, who lives in The Orchards, was one of the lucky few in the area who didn’t lose power. While her house still had juice, her neighbors on the west side of Kenmore Road still didn’t have electricity.

She said the last she heard there were still about 200 people in the neighborhood without power, but was sympathetic toward BGE workers trying to restore power. 

"They’re doing as well they can. And to work—you know the last couple of days were so hot—I feel sorry for them. I’m sure their houses were without power," Peter said.

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