Less than 30 minutes after emergency alerts inundated cell phones, the Pittsburgh area was in the middle of a disaster with winds upwards of 70 mph and blanketing rain. The powerful storm hit during rush hour traffic, knocking down massive trees and power lines, throwing debris at high speeds, and inundating emergency responders, to the point where Allegheny County 911 lines briefly shut down.

At the height of the storm, more than 250,000 people were without power. Duquesne Light, one of the largest energy providers in the region, called the storm “unprecedented” and said it may take 5-7 days to restore electricity to all homes. In Mt. Lebanon, thousands of homes are still without power as of Thursday morning.

Driving through Mt. Lebanon, the damage is evident. A mature oak tree crashed through the roof of a home on Oxford Boulevard. Dozens of trees are down, tangled in power lines, blocking streets and driveways.

During the initial 24-hour response, Mt. Lebanon fire and police deployed on 169 calls to help residents. Volunteer firefighters came straight to the station as the event began, donating 182 hours to the community in a 7-hour period, said Deputy Fire Chief Sean Daniels.

At the same time, Mt. Lebanon responders were faced with two other emergencies: a fire at Bower Hill Apartments and a SWAT call in West Mifflin. Several Mt. Lebanon police officers are on the South Hills Area Council of Governments Critical Incident Response Team (the South Hills version of SWAT) and people who were not immediately needed during the storm were deployed for that call. At the high rise, the smoke was a result of overheated generators, so luckily, no active fire. Still, first responders had to clear the building, assist a resident that suffered a health event while evacuating, and assess the situation. All while the rest of the community was undergoing a once-in-a-lifetime storm.

When it rains, it pours.

“We will be dealing with the residual effects from the storm for the next month or so,” said Municipal Manager Keith McGill, who declared a disaster for the municipality. Such a declaration can help with reimbursement from state and federal agencies and loosen rules on procurement that help us get emergency equipment and other items quickly.

Two days after the storm, public works crews are still working tirelessly to clean up debris and clear roadways, while Duquesne Light works to restore power one transformer and one line at a time.

At this time, Duquesne Light is overwhelmed with service requests and unable to inform the municipality when they’ve restored service to an area and cleared any live wires.

Daniels said it’s important that residents stay away from wires, no matter what. “Just because a wire is down and the power is out, doesn’t mean that wire isn’t live.”

The Mt. Lebanon Public Information Office posted continuous updates on social media and through LeboALERTs during the storm to keep residents informed and safe. A new trending item on our website has up-to-date information on storm-related news, including street and building closures, and public places with power for residents to go. We encourage residents to sign up for LeboAlerts, which are emails and texts from the municipality with important safety information, as well as community news. You can choose which types of alerts you’d like to receive.