Thousands Still Without Power in NJ

Thousands of South Jersey residents continue to not only deal with the extreme heat but also the loss of power after last Friday’s massive storm.

Thousands of South Jersey residents continue to not only deal with the extreme heat but also the loss of power after last Friday’s massive storm.

Residents in Vineland, NJ tell NBC10 it has been an extremely stressful time.

“It’s been horrible,” said Joe Santiago of Vineland. ”It’s been horrible trying to keep your sanity.”

It’s been seven straight days without power for Santiago and his family.

“No electricity, nothing,” said Santiago. “You don’t know what to do.”

Residents at the Cedar Crest Village Mobile Home Park are frustrated and exhausted as well.

“Drained, can’t cry no more and I’m just emotionally wiped,” said one resident.

Another resident, Olga Perez, spent nearly $600 on a generator but says she can’t afford to pay the $30 a day for the gas it requires.

“I don’t have money because I’m not working,” said Perez.

Another resident named George is disabled and takes medication for a heart condition. He says the heat is taking its toll.

“The longer it is, it definitely gets frustrating,” said George. “Hopefully there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Crews with the Salvation Army have checked on residents in the area while Vineland Police say they’ve stepped up patrols in the hardest hit areas. Lieutenant John McCann tells NBC10 there have been at least three reports of stolen generators within the past week.

“The best thing is to make sure they’re chained to something and locked.”

Some of the residents finally received the news they were waiting for late Friday night however. After a long, hot and brutal week power finally came back on for many of the Vineland residents.

“And then there was light, thank God!” said Santiago. “Thank all the electric people that came out here and got this done because it’s been hell. “

While it was a happy ending for those residents, many others in the area are still in the dark. Vineland Municipal Utilities tells NBC10 1100 customers are still without power. AC Electric also reported the following for counties across South Jersey.

Per AC Electric

County Customers Affected Customers Served
Atlantic 552 139310
Burlington 39 15259
Camden 48 70248
Cape May 582 90946
Cumberland 1308 39733
Gloucester 66 94990
Ocean 5784 52931
Salem 19 31090

In the midst of Saturday's extreme heat, Vineland has set up cooling centers where residents can go. The Red Cross also set up a shelter at Wallace Middle School where residents can stay and have access to food and water.

In a statement released Saturday, Atlantic City Electric advised customers to prepare for the possibility of more outages caused by severe storms, which are forecast to sweep through the area Saturday and Sunday.

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