A large tree came crashing down Monday night onto the Mahanoy Township home of Anthony and Sherry Whitecavage. Tangled in wires, it started to burn and Anthony fled the home into the wind and rain.
"I was asleep and all I heard was 'crash,' " he said.
While he was sleeping in the front bedroom, his wife was at work.
Mahanoy City firefighters were called to the home at 32 Ann St. in Buck Mountain just after 11 p.m. and could not remove the tree or put water on the small fire. Police and firefighters blocked power to the area and the home sustained light damage.
The Whitecavages' story was just one of the havoc across Schuylkill County caused mainly by wind.
In Pine Grove, street department Supervisor Len Clark said Tuesday morning there were many small trees and branches that came down but he wasn't aware of any large fallen trees.
"We had some slight street flooding in normal places due to bad lines," Clark said. "We're working it into the budget for the spots that were flooded, to put a project at both those places for 2013."
Clark said that although short-handed, the borough workers were out nonstop to ensure drains were unclogged so major flooding wouldn't occur.
There were two crews out working Friday, then again Sunday evening and from early Monday.
Although Pine Grove was hit hardest during the 2011 storms, this time, the Rush Township and Hometown area of the county suffered the most. More than 5,000 people were without power there.
Wayne Grube, Rush Township, said that while he lost power between 9 and 11 p.m. Monday, he had a generator to survive until his power came back.
"The damage was not as much as I expected," he said. "There were trees down but down the road there was more."
At the Hometown Fire Company on Tuesday afternoon, which was set up as a shelter for the responders and was also running on a generator, responders were still there after spending all night on call.
Jeanine Motroni, township supervisor and volunteer firefighter at the company, said that the company mostly responded to fallen trees and blocked and closed roads.
Responders arrived at the station about 3 p.m. Monday.
She said that while there weren't any major incidents or rescues, there was a minor crash Monday evening when a car hit a tree.
"The wind was pretty wild at times," she said. "Luckily, everybody (residents) sat tight and didn't move around."
Rush Township police Sgt. Duane Frederick, who was also at the company, said that in addition to the homes without electricity, nearly every business was without electricity.
He suggested that anyone who doesn't need to be out stay at home. He also said any residents without heat or electricity who need a place to go can go to the Rush Township Municipal Building, which is set up as a warming center. Residents planning to go to the warming center are asked to call the Hometown Fire Company at 570-668-0274 before going to the municipal building.
"If anyone needs any emergency (assistance), just call 911," Frederick said.
The Tamaqua Salvation Army, 105 W. Broad St., was also open as a shelter.
Maj. Margaret Johnson said doors were open since Monday to those who had either no electricity or heat in their homes.
She said six people stayed overnight Monday because they had no heat and young children. Breakfast was then served from about 10 a.m. along with lunch later on. Including takeout, the Salvation Army fed about 29 people by Tuesday afternoon.
"We'll be here until people start getting their electricity back up," she said.
Among the people at the shelter was Jacki Sotomayor, Tamaqua, who said her electricity went out about 9 p.m. Monday.
She took her children to her father's house for the night so they would be warm while sleeping.
Sotomayor said she then brought her children to the shelter Tuesday to warm up and to eat a warm meal. She wasn't sure how long she was going to stay at the shelter since her children were enjoying the various activities available, such as games and movies.
She also didn't want to open her refrigerator at her home, hoping at least some of the food wouldn't go bad.
"My feet are like ice cubes, so I'm just trying to warm up before I go back to the cold," she said. "I'm hoping my electricity comes on soon."