Tulsa-Area Residents Tough Out Heat As Power Crews Continue To Work

Many have been sweating through power outages after this week's storms.

Right now about 6,700 PSO and OG&E customers are still without electricity.

Utility crews are making good progress after more than 100,000 lost power on Thursday.

Landon Johnson, who is 8 years old, slept outside in a tent Friday night while waiting for PSO utility workers to make their way into his Coweta neighborhood.

"It was actually pretty good because, inside it was pretty hot, and outside it was way cooler than inside," he said.

Hundreds of crews, some from out of state, are working to bring the power back throughout the Tulsa metro.

"We've been working about 16 hours a day so far,” PSO’s Greg Haire said.

But losing power isn't the only problem. Some are dealing with the mess left behind after trees snapped and uprooted.

Sandy Durham, Homeowner

"We had power the whole time,” Sandy Durham said. “I think [the tree] fell very gently because it didn't punch through the house.”

The Durhams say an oak tree had been in the yard for 40 years. Now crews are working to remove it from their roof.

“We're gonna live with it for a while and see what happens,” Durham said. “It's really sad to lose the trees, but we're lucky everybody's OK, and even the house is really in good shape."

Durham's parents built their South Tulsa home in 1976. She says the outside view she grew up with won't be the same.

"We just love it, and it's gonna look a lot different,” she said. “We had these two huge, huge oaks, and now we're gonna have a lot of sun."

PSO says most customers should have power by the end of the day on Saturday, so Landon doesn't plan on sleeping outside again.

“Probably watch TV, get in the AC,” he said.