As northeast Indiana residents continue to clean up after a derecho tore through the area on Monday, power crews are finishing up and municipalities are still figuring out how to help.
Indiana Michigan Power anticipated having all power restored to its customers in the area by 3 p.m. Friday.
Northeastern REMC – which provides electricity to customers in Allen, Huntington, Kosciusko, Noble, Wabash and Whitley counties – had a great number of outages. As of noon Friday, there were still roughly 20 customers without power in southwest Allen County.
The Allen County Health Department has also issued advice on how to dispose of food that may have spoiled, and what to avoid if you are trying to decide what food can be saved.
According to the USDA, refrigerators generally will keep food safe for up to four hours during a power outage. Perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers should be discarded after four hours without power.
Freezers generally will hold a safe temperature for food around 48 hours (24 hours if the freezer is half full and the door stays closed). Food can safely be refrozen if it contains ice crystals or is at 40 degrees or colder.
Charts at foodsafety.gov outline types of food in each storage setting and whether the food should be thrown away following a power outage.
To help Allen County residents, the health department is distributing two food disposal kits each to affected households. Those are being distributed at Fort Wayne Fire Station No. 5 in Waynedale and the Aboite Township Volunteer Fire Department.
The City of Fort Wayne will be providing assistance in cleanup to city residents beginning on Monday, June 27. City crews will target the Waynedale and Aboite areas to collect tree debris set at the curb.
They will be making one pass through the affected areas.
Residents who are able make drop offs at the Allen County Biosolids facility, 6202 Lake Ave., or Republic Service’s compost site at 6231 MacBeth Road are encouraged to do so.
Allen County residents outside the Fort Wayne city limits can turn to the Allen County Highway Department for help in collecting storm debris. The department will be accepting requests for pickup for the next three weeks. According to county officials, tree and yard debris should be placed in the property right of way and household waste cannot be mixed in.
Residents living in the Eel River and Lake Townships can call the highway department’s north barn at 260-449-4781 to request storm debris removal. Those living in the townships of Aboite, Lafayette, Pleasant, and Marion Center should call the south barn at 260-449-4791.
