GARLAND, Texas — UPDATE: Power returned to all residents shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday, according to Garland Power & Light.
Phil Philip of Garland literally camped out on the lawn to watch the long line of cranes crowding his street.
Living along Wynn Joyce Road in Garland could get slightly interesting over the next several days. "I enjoy watching stuff like this," Phil said.
Neighbors tell WFAA it only took a storm 10 minutes to completely uproot and snap 18 power poles in the city. It's cut off power to 400 homes, according to a spokesperson with (GPL) Garland Power and Light. "I've been in monsoons in Vietnam and nothing like what happened yesterday," Phil said.
Garland Power and Light is working around the clock scrambling to get power back on. The latest estimate is that power should return by Friday. "It just appears the winds came up in line with the top level of the trees," said Tom Hancock with GPL.
Meanwhile Phil is going to ride this out. Candles have been set up through out the house and he carries a lantern in one hand. The work will continue through night and day. Garland Power and Light tells WFAA that the poles and the distribution underneath the lines need to be replaced. Hancock says that is no easy task.
The following release was sent to WFAA from GP&L:
GP&L and contractor crews are working around the clock to rebuild the transmission and distribution power lines that were destroyed by high winds Sunday afternoon. While some progress has been made, a significant amount of work remains to restore service. At this time, GP&L anticipates that it may be Friday, Oct. 12, before power is restored to all affected customers.
While the neighborhoods without power have underground service to the individual homes, the lines that carry the power to the point that the service goes underground must be rebuilt. These lines are on Wynn Joyce Road from Larkin Lane to Bluffview Drive.
The damage includes 18 tall poles, which carry high-voltage transmission power lines at top and distribution power lines about halfway below. Some shorter poles that carry only distribution wire in between the taller poles also need replacing. For the safety of the lineworkers, the transmission cable at top must be replaced before the distribution lines can be energized to serve individual homes.