HAMPSTEAD, Md. — Stacie Leister describes it as a "loud crack."
A tree came crashing down onto power lines outside her house in Hampstead during Monday night's storm.
The three days that followed will be remembered for the ice cold showers, a fridge full of food gone bad, and constant phone calls to find out who was going to clean up the damage.
"We were having trouble getting to the right person to understand the ramifications of what we had going on - the dangers of it. I wasn't overly like, oh I have to have my power back. I was more like, this isn't safe," Leister said.
STORM DAMAGE: Days later, the clean-up continues. Carroll County was hit hard by Monday night’s storm. People on this street in Hampstead have been without power since then, after a tree fell on power lines. BGE just arrived this morning to get started on repairs. @WMAR2News pic.twitter.com/M4pAceHbxN
— Elizabeth Worthington (@ElizWorthNews) August 10, 2023
Thursday morning, BGE got to work here on West Street.
Spokesperson Nick Alexopulos called it an "extraordinarily complex" job.
And it's just one of many.
About 3,000 people are working to restore power in this area - 1,500 of them coming from "sister" utility companies outside Maryland.
The bulk of the damage is on Route 140 in Westminster, where winds took down 20 utility poles, and damaged 10 others.
"It is a damage event that utility workers who spend their entire careers in this industry may only see one time," Alexopulos said.
BGE says the goal is to have this job on Route 140 done by early next week. Materials needed for the rebuild of the infrastructure had to be ordered and manufactured this week.
Businesses without power along Route 140 will have temporary solutions by tomorrow to last them until the work is complete.
There's about 2,400 homes and businesses in Carroll County waiting for the lights to come back on. The hope is to have power restored for everyone by the weekend.
As far as road closures go, the DPW says it's taken care of all but three of the original 120 closed roads.
"Our first goal was to cut and clear and open the roads. We've done that, but it could take up to a month for us to come back and get all the tree and debris off the side of the roads. So we just ask their patience as we do that," Douglas Brown, Deputy Director for the Carroll County Department of Public Works, said.
If you have questions about your power, BGE has set up a mobile command center at the Townmall in Westminster.
