UPDATED: 7:12 a.m., Tuesday:
PECO reported about 7,000 customers remained without service as of Monday morning. Most of the outages in Bristol Borough and Bristol Township’s Croydon section has been repaired overnight.
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UPDATED: 10:05 p.m., Monday:
Credit: Kathy Brophy
Downed branches, limbs, and trees littered the area following a strong Monday evening thunderstorm.
As of 10 p.m., more than 16,000 PECO customers in the Levittown area remained without service, a slight decrease from about four hours earlier.
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The storm caused problems around the area and was to blame for fires that damaged several homes in Bristol Township’s Levittown section.
Kevin Dippolito, Bristol Township’s fire marshal, said a large tree fell behind a home in the 700 block of Winder Drive and brought down high voltage lines. Those lines then charged lower voltage lines along with cable and phone lines, which led to fires in the ceiling and walls of two homes in the 800 block of Winder Drive. A third home in the 700 block was also damaged by fire.
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Firefighters from multiple companies put down the flames and no injuries were reported.
Several other homes in Winder Village suffered burn damage due to lines having to much power, Dippolito said.
In Falls Township, a tree fell on a home on Hedgerow Drive, while a home on Andover Drive suffered similar damage, fire marshals Rich Dippolito and Jim McGuire said.
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A home was left uninhabitable in the 200 block of Blue Ridge Drive in Bristol Township’s Levittown section after a tree smashed through the roof, Kevin Dippolito said.
Numerous roads were closed and blocked due to downed trees, limbs, and wires. Newportville Road was blocked between Route 13 and Ford Road due to numerous downed branches and wires in Bristol Township. On I-295 west in Middletown, a downed tree blocked a lane and Main Street in Hulmeville had a pole leaning over it.
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Jefferson Bucks Hospital in Falls Township sent away new patients Monday night because there was a power outage.
McGuire said public works had put out a number of generators to power traffic signals due to the power outage.
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Public works crews from Bristol Township were spotted helping clear downed trees and limbs from neighborhoods. They used chainsaws and a backhoe.
The storm rushed through around 5:30 p.m. following extremely hot and humid weather.
Credit: Patricia Martin
Credit: Amy Shue Berridge
Credit: Connie Davies
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Original Story:
Credit: Stacy Henshaw
Storms Monday evening wrecked havoc across the Levittown area.
As of 6:40 p.m., about 18,300 PECO customers were without service in the region. The outages were spread across the area.
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From Bristol to Middletown and everywhere between, downed branches, trees, and utility wires were reported. Downed wires and branches caused problems along Newportville Road at Ford Road, Edgely Road, and in Winder Village in Bristol Township, while a large limb blocked a lane of I-295 west (toward Philadelphia) in Middletown. In Hulmeville, downed trees and branches were reported along Main Street.
Firefighters, police, and fire police from across the region were busy as they worked to manage scene and respond to the next call. Many of the calls were for downed wires, some that were sparking. On Winder Drive in Bristol Township, there were multiple small fires reported following power issues at the time of the storm.
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https://twitter.com/phillywx/status/1153423227391238145
Credit: Fairless Hills Fire Company
The bulk of the problems came just before 6 p.m. when strong winds accompanied the thunder and heavy rain.
The strong storm followed a number of similar weather events in recent weeks that have caused damage throughout the area.
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