Nearly 600 PECO customers without power after snow squall, strong winds impact region

The winter weather is not over yet, with a snow squall moving quickly through the area from Warminster, Newark, and Fairmount Park.

In West Oak Lane at the intersection of 69th Avenue and North 15th Street, a tree limb snapped and landed on a power line, knocking out electricity to nearly 600 PECO customers.

“I was in my apartment, and then the lights just went out, so I came out the house and went to the store,” said Glen Govan of West Oak Lane.

Govan says this isn’t the first time a tree has fallen in his neighborhood, and it causes a massive inconvenience.

“You can’t cook without power, there’s no electric, and you can’t do much of anything,” said Govan. “You can’t charge your cell phone. Thank God my cell phone was charged.”

As winter weather continues to blast through the region, experts say it’s important for homeowners to monitor the trees surrounding their homes, especially before the region gets straight-line winds.

“If people are looking at their trees and they see a lot of broken limbs like that on the ground, that’s something that they’re going to want to have the trees have a closer inspection,” said Jason Gaskill of the Davey Tree Company. “To make sure there are no cracks in the trunks, uprooting, broken limbs, or anything else. That can be dangerous.”