THE KING OF CAPE
A lingering power problem in Southwest Florida’s largest city is nearly two weeks after Hurricane Jan, and some people in Cape Coral are still without power.
Generators can be seen everywhere around Cape Coral, but Estelle Oren, a resident of the town, told WINK News that she doesn’t have a generator, so she decided to use the heat instead.
“We have nowhere to go to the old people sitting at home. Hot couple,” Oren said.
Oren told WINK News they got power a week after the storm while they were in Fort Lauderdale.
“We immediately collected her things and came home. And we had electricity, Oren said.
Although it wasn’t a hurricane, lightning knocked out power and knocked out lights on Sunday.
Oren’s reaction to the disappointment was understandable.
For me, it was bloody awful. I’ll be honest, because I’m going for an operation. And I have to keep my knee clean. And I need ice to freeze it every hour. So, I can’t tell you how horrible it is. It was. It was absolutely devastating for me,” Oren said.
Determined to get the lights back on, or at least explain, Oren tried calling LCEC, but no luck.
“You can’t get through to anyone no matter how hard you try,” Oren said.
The Oren family had power back on Monday night, but Estelle’s husband, Michael, said the second power outage caused even more stress.
“I was in the military and stuff like that,” Michael said. “I went through more difficult times. But you know, I have to keep an eye on her. And of course I’m hot. Hot and sweaty.”
“You know, financial problems, when we got back we replaced everything, the fridge and the freezer, and then you went to the store and you spent all that money, especially with the current inflation, replace everything. And there you are again, same old routine, you throw it away,” Michael said.
WINK News reached out to LCEC and said the outage was caused by a severe thunderstorm. As of Monday evening, about 2,252 LCEC customers remain without power.
