Historic black oak tree falls in Chester County during storm; outages, damage spread across Pa.
The black oak dates back to the 1700s, according to locals.
WEST CALN TWP., Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A massive and historic black oak tree in Layton Park, West Caln Township, was no match for Mother Nature on Tuesday night when storms uprooted it, blocking a roadway.
A utility pole and street sign were taken down, and just yards away, another large tree -- albeit much smaller -- was also knocked over.
The black oak dates back to the 1700s, according to locals.
Across Chester County, residents saw power outages and cleanup is expected to take days to weeks.
On Clearview Street, neighbors were checking out the damage that lined the block.
Lenny and Patricia Smart had a huge tree uprooted in their backyard that fell smack on top of their roof. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
"Like an earthquake, my granddaughter said all she heard was a big boom," recalled Patricia.
Lenny said they're grateful no one was injured. Now, he has one thing on his mind.
"Clean up mode," he told Action News. "It has to get cut up, we can't live like that."
For businesses like Iccara Pizza, a generator is a must. The owners stayed up through the night but were operating at full speed on Wednesday.
"We're still doing the same stuff. The only thing is phones don't technically work, because it's connected to the internet but, it gets forwarded to my Dad's cell phone so I keep this in my hand because I can't hear anything with the generator," said Piero Locricchio with Iccara Pizza.
PECO estimated power would be restored by 6 p.m. Wednesday.
But over in Tredyffrin Township, Paul Morton isn't as lucky. He's still waiting for his power to return.
"The 19th at 6 a.m. was what the last update was," he said.
There are shelters set up for people who lost power. Norristown High School is one location where the Red Cross was helping people.
"All of the wires are down on Montgomery Avenue. All of them," said Thomas Hadrick, who was staying at the shelter after his apartment building lost power.
In Lafayette Hill, Montgomery County, the Carter family is grateful no one was hurt when a large tree split in half and fell into their garage.
They were sitting just inches away from where the branch collapsed, the family told Action News.
"All of a sudden we just heard a huge bang as it was pouring rain and the bang was enough that it was so loud, it scared all of us," recalled Kim Carter.
The tree also destroyed their patio furniture.
Montgomery County residents are also struggling as power outages hurt their chances of keeping cool.
"It was just blazing hot. I couldn't sleep because the air conditioning doesn't work," said Lindsay of Lafayette Hill.
PECO said it is working around the clock to restore power to residents in these areas.
