BATAVIA, Ohio — Fallen trees that toppled utility poles and power lines are keeping a number of Clermont County roads closed as storm cleanup stretches into a third day, the county said in a Facebook update Thursday.
The county posted photos of several blocked roads, showing large trees down across pavement with splintered utility poles leaning into the branches and lines tangled overhead. In many cases, the county said, Duke Energy crews must clear the trees before the roads can reopen and before power can be restored to the surrounding homes.
“We can assure you that Duke is working diligently to get power restored to our area,” the county said in the post.
The road closures are the latest complication in a recovery effort that began after severe thunderstorms swept across the county Tuesday evening, knocking out power to tens of thousands of Duke Energy customers. The outages forced closures at several county offices this week, and about a dozen government offices, including Common Pleas, Domestic Relations and Juvenile courts, the county Records Center and the Animal Shelter, remained closed to the public as of Thursday morning, the county said.
Several townships have also reported extensive damage. Stonelick Township closed eight roads after the storm, and crews across the county have spent the week clearing debris from roadways and parks.
The county urged residents to check its website and Facebook page for further updates as restoration work continues.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Clermont County.