This browser does not support the Video element.
More than a dozen dead in Hurricane Laura aftermath
At least 14 people have been reported dead in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, as many pick up the pieces of what the storm left behind.
TEXAS - The widespread power outages in Orange County could take up to three weeks to fully restore, county judge John Gothia told FOX 26.
The majority of Orange County is without electricity, and thousands of electrical power employees are working quickly, but the damage is extreme.
“Poles are broken, and so we’ve been having truckload after truckload—you’ve probably seen them in the roadway—of new utility poles coming in,” said Gothia. “They’re bringing them in as soon as they can get them here.”
RELATED: Service restored to Entergy Texas customers affect by rotating outages after Hurricane Laura
The county’s mandatory evacuation order was lifted at 5 p.m. Friday, as families trickle back into Orange to assess how badly Hurricane Laura hit their homes.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” said Joshua Provost who evacuated to Houston and returned to Orange Friday. “I just woke up early in the morning and came.”
His family spent the day removing debris from around their great grandmother’s home in Orange.
“That’s why I came with work clothes, ‘cause I know she wasn’t playing no games,” said Provost. “She wanted work to be done.”
RELATED: Cleanup continues, thousands without power in Orange day after Hurricane Laura
Provost says his family will stay in Houston a little longer until they can get electricity with a generator.
The property damage is widespread, and most people won’t have power for a while, but the county judge says through it all, in his county, no one was injured and no one died.
“We’re just grateful that we’re here to be able to see the damage, and nobody has lost their lives,” said Susie Wagner, an Orange evacuee. “For that, I am very thankful.”
County officials say they are coordinating several volunteer groups who are on their way in to provide help in the form of food, supplies, and repairs.
Entergy Texas said in a release on Friday that at its peak, 291,000 outages were reported with the hardest-hit areas in Jefferson, Orange, and Hardin County. Entergy said the majority of customers in Orange will have power restored by Friday, September 4.
Residents in Silsbee, Beaumont, and Port Arthur should see their power restored by the end of Sunday, August 30. All residents in Groves should see their power restored by Monday, August 31. However, depending on the extent of damage, the restoration times could change, according to Entergy.