Avon Lake One of Cities Hit Hardest by Ice Storm

Thousands of residents in Avon Lake woke up without power on Feb. 21, while thousands more sustained property damage ranging from minor to moderate.

According to Karen Goodson, an external affairs manager with FirstEnergy, Avon Lake reported 2,132 power outages. The entire city of Cleveland, including Cuyahoga Height and Newburgh Heights, reported 5,488.

Nearby, the city of Avon only reported 168 outages while directly east, Bay Village reported 2,291 and Westlake reported 2,043. Some towns, including Berea, Brook Park and Olmsted Falls only reported 1 outage each.

In an email to Avon Lake Councilwoman Jennifer Fenderbosch, Goodson said FirstEnergy had 52 crews in Greater Cleveland out working to restore power.

“At this time we estimate all customers to be restored by Wednesday at midnight,” Goodson said.

Most Avon Lake customers had powered restored by late Tuesday afternoon.

FirstEnergy spokesperson Mark Durbin said earlier Monday that one reason Avon Lake was hard hit was because of the number of trees.

"Avon Lake is a beautiful area with all those trees, but when an ice storm comes along, it's going to take limbs down on our equipment," Durbin said.

Power outages weren’t the only problems. Trees toppled over, downed power lines closed streets and in one instance a tree limb crashed through a parked car’s window. Many residents found their cars encased in ice. No injuries were reported from the storm.  

The city’s again put in overtime, but main roads in Avon Lake remained totally passable. Side streets and sidewalks remain icy.

Here’s the breakdown of outages in the Greater Cleveland area, reported Monday morning by FirstEnergy.

Avon: 168

Avon Lake: 2,132

Bay Village:  2,291

Berea: 1

Brook Park: 1

Cleveland (which includes Cuyahoga Heights & Newburgh Hts): 5,488

Fairview Park: 818

Garfield Heights:: 2

Independence (including Valley View and Brooklyn Heights) 1

Lakewood: 1,368

Maple Heights: 2,208

Middleburg Heights: 2,198

North Olmsted: 1,502

North Ridgeville: 68

Olmsted Falls/Olmsted Twp: 1

Rocky River: 327

Strongsville: 0

Westlake: 2,043