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“It’s a little bit cold at night, for one thing. You gotta put blankets on you. And, of course, you can’t open up your refrigerator, can’t watch your TV, can’t use your cellphone,� she lamented. “Just modern conveniences you get used to, but I know they’re working hard to get it done.�

Tuesday’s storms left more than 100,000 people without power across West Virginia, in addition to fallen trees, downed power lines and other damage. By 5 p.m. Wednesday, just over 72,600 remained in the dark.

‘This crew’s been working nonstop’

On Virginia Street East in downtown ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Wednesday morning, crews had already removed a tree being propped up by power lines. A few yards away, they had to dig a hole and install a new utility pole to replace one that had snapped at its base. Crews then had to transfer all of the equipment and lines from the old pole to the new one — all under the watchful eye of Quarrier Street resident Carl Propson. Propson was one of more than 600 customers hoping to get their power restored as soon as the crews finished their work.

“I’m concerned about my food most, and I’m concerned about people who need electric to live,� he said. “But they’ve been doing a great job. This crew’s been working nonstop.�

On Highland Road, in the Edgewood community of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, Fred Vance felt lucky not to have been a victim of the storm.

“The neighbor next door [came] out and told me there was a storm coming,� he said. “I was weed eating under the power lines, with my back turned to it all.�

The utility pole he had been standing under Tuesday lay supported by power lines in Vance’s front yard on Wednesday. Just up the block, a massive tree lay across multiple lines.

“What we have to do is call in to underground utilities, make sure there’s nothing in the ground before we start digging,� Jordan Cornette, a foreman with the Davis Elliott utility contractor out of Lexington, Kentucky. “Where the pole is broken, we’ll have to replace this one and the one behind it ... and fix the wire going up the hill where the tree fell.�

He estimated that the two incidents were responsible for roughly 1,300 customers losing power in the area.

Report your outage

Appalachian Power spokeswoman Karen Wissing said most customers will have power restored before the estimates. Check current outages on an available on Appalachian Power’s website.

According to , West Virginia had the highest percentage of customers without power than any other state in the country — 8.05% — far exceeding second-highest Wisconsin’s 3.28%. As of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Clay and Nicholas counties were the hardest hit, by percentage of customers with no power, at 50%. Clay, Nicholas, Kanawha, Fayette and Lincoln counties all had over 30% of customers with no power, according to .

If you had property damage from the severe weather in Kanawha County on Tuesday, you were encouraged to fill out a Weather Damage Survey at . If you can’t fill out the survey, call Kanawha County Planning and Development, at 304-357-0570, to report damage.

You’ll need to provide:

• Name
• Physical address
• Phone number
• Email address
• Details about the damage

Take photos of your storm damage, which will help with potential federal assistance. Additionally, if you have private insurance, the Kanawha County Commission urges you to contact your insurer about coverage.

Beware of scammers

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey encouraged residents with damaged property to be wary of scammers. Consumers should get written estimates from multiple companies, research companies and their reviews and ask for references. Call 304-558-7890 to reach the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board and verify that the contractor has a valid license.

Under state law, contractors must allow consumers five days to cancel roofing contracts without penalty for any portion of repairs not covered by the consumer’s insurance policy. The consumer also must notify the contractor in writing of the cancellation. The written notice may be via email, letter or return of the company’s notice of cancellation. The clock begins with the consumer’s receipt of the insurance notice.

Anyone with questions or a potential storm-related home repair scam should call the Consumer Protection Division, at 800-368-8808. To file a report online, visit .