COLUMBIA, S.C. — In the town of Newberry, things are finally getting back to normal as electricity has returned to shopping centers, gas stations, and traffic lights.
But for many of those in the rural portions of Newberry County, Wednesday was another night in the dark.
Alyssa Wedaman said her community, just outside of Pomaria in rural Newberry County, lost power Friday morning, just as the strongest winds from Helene were cutting across the midlands.
“It was very ominous and very scary to be out there at night. You know you couldn’t see. All you could hear was the popping and the snapping and not know which direction (the trees) were headed and how they were going to fall,” Wedaman said.
Wednesday evening, power lines lay across her driveway, and she had no idea when her power would be restored. Wedaman said the only thing to do was to be patient.
“I think they’re out there doing everything that they can, and we just have to trust in that and just wait it out,” Wedaman said.
Meanwhile, in the City of Newberry Wednesday, Sheriff Lee Foster and his team were busy at their headquarters, handing out bottled water and ration meals to anyone who needed them.
Foster said he had never seen a storm cause as much damage as Helene.
“I was astonished at the damage. I’d never really seen anything like this in Newberry County. I did work Hugo when it came in and there was a lot more building damages than Helene, but the tree damage and the electrical power grid damage, was just catastrophic here,” Foster said.
The Sheriff said most people have been understanding of the situation, but he understands that frustration can set in.
“When you’re without power for five days, frustrations, anxiety, it sets in and that’s natural. And we just ask people for patience because, I’m telling you, those line crews are working hard,” Foster said.
The Sheriff has once again placed Newberry County under a curfew until 6:00 a.m. Thursday, due to the large portions of the county still without power.
The curfew will remain in place each evening beginning at 10:00, until lifted by the Sheriff.
Representatives from Dominion Energy as well as the local Co-Ops in Newberry County promised residents that help was on the way and urged them to continue to be patient.
Click Here for the latest outage numbers for Newberry County.