SULLIVAN COUNTY — For the third time in three months, severe weather knocked out power for residents throughout the county, leaving thousands in the dark.

A series of severe thunderstorms struck the area on Tuesday and left a path of destruction in its wake. Downed trees and power lines made roads impassable and stranded motorists for hours.

A State of Emergency was declared by County Manager Josh Potosek that was in effect from 4 p.m. on Tuesday and extended through 5 p.m. on Friday for the townships of Cochecton, Forestburgh, Highland, Lumberland, Tusten, and the Town of Bethel.

“Damage in some parts of the County approaches what we saw during the March 2 blizzard, so I have declared a State of Emergency in Sullivan County,” County Manag- er Josh Potosek said in a statement. There were no travel restrictions associated with the State of Emergency,but Potosek still advised people to avoid unnecessary travel. “In speaking with the involved town supervisors and in traveling to the hard- est-hit areas to view the damage firsthand, it is evident that we have a major cleanup and power restoration effort on our hands once again.”

On Thursday, the National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado in Wayne County north of Honesdale. There were unconfirmed reports of a tornado in Yulan and funnel clouds spotted In the Towns of Liberty and Thompson.

Also as of Thursday, a team of meteorologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were scheduled to travel to Narrowsburg to survey damage.

Eric Kubenik, who lives in Wayne County and works for Kohler Lumber in Jeffersonville, was particularly affected by the storm. His family and him were without power on Wednesday. He said the utility company hasn't told him how long it will take to restore their power, but he didn't expect it to be restored soon. “Last time we were out for six and a half days, so who knows,” Kubenik said. “The poles and wires are pretty well-mangled.”

Kubenik said his girlfriend's sonwasonhiswayhomeina Wayne Highlands School Dis- trict van when severe straight winds blew over a tree that fell on top of the vehicle. Kubenik said his house is one of the last stops, and the school vehicle wasn't far away. There were two stu- dents inside the vehicle. “They managed to crawl out through the windows and race to my house with trees

falling down all over the place,” Kubenik said. “We took him to the emergency room just as a precaution. Everyone was pretty much ok, except for being covered in glass and having some minor cuts.”

According to NYSEG, there were still at least 300 customers without power in the Town of Fremont as of Thursday as town crews still work to clear downed trees and de- bris from roadways. “Everything is so saturated ... It's been a horrible spring,” said Fremont Board member Louis Milucky.

Milucky said Fremont residents are no strangers to power outages, and that's why he's got a whole house generator. “For us it's old hat. Here on the western end of the county we never have power ... patience is the biggest thing right now,” Milucky said. ”Milucky said the Town of Fremont probably has the most highways and back roads of any other township, so the town crews have their work cut out for them.

According to Vicky Simpson, deputy supervisor in the Town of Bethel, approxi- mately 50 percent of power was restored as of mid-morning on Thursday. “Our highway crews are out working with the county and NYSEG,” Simpson said. “There are national guard troops helping to clear trees in our Smallwood region, which got hit the hardest.” Simpson said dry ice was available at the White Lake Fire House while supplies lasted and they antici- pate 90 percent power restoration by Friday morning.

For more photos visit: www.scdemocratpics.com/Fires/2018/May-StormTornado.