Omaha residents still without power work to clear debris, brace for long repair wait
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Thursday, there were still thousands of people in Omaha without power in their homes while others continued working to repair damge to their homes and clean up their yards from all the tree debris.
Army veteran Darron Culberson has been dealing with all three problems.
At the city dump site, he was dumping pieces of a tree that fell on his North Omaha home. One thing working in his favor: He has plenty of help to get the job done.
“I got some very, very good help. Some life-long friends pitched in and helped me out,” he said. “Life-long friends: high school together, then back here in Omaha together.”
The weather is another thing working in Culberson’s favor. It’s cooling off from the red-hot tempertures we’ve been dealing with.
“Still no power. I don’t have any power yet,” Culberson said while he and his friends were finshing one job — but there was more work wating for them.
Back at his house, there’s a big mess from a big tree that fell during the storm.
“Ex-military, so it sounded like — of course, I’m going to say ‘a bomb going off’ — you know, a daisy cutter or something like that,” he said.
In a matter of minutes, Culberson has gone from the dump site to the top of his home, repairing his roof. The tree that fell knocked a hole in it.
“I went back up, put a piece of plywood over it, and then a tarp over it just in case it puddled,” he said. “I have a brand new kitchen on the inside, so there goes that. So much for that project.”
The tree also tore away the electrical hook-up to his house. The storm left him a lot of stuff to fix — and none of it will be cheap.
“Just trying to wait on the insurance company. Then wait on contractors. I’m sure I’m going to have to get in line,” he said.
Culberson said that while he waits, he will get the tree out of his back yard. That will mean more trips to the dump site.
Omaha’s tree dump site at Levi Carter Park is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. There are city workers on site to guide you through the process.
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