MARSHALL COUNTY, W. Va. (WTRF)

More than 500 households in the Ohio Valley are still without power after a strong windstorm that hit the area Saturday.

At the height of the power outages, 5,500 households were reportedly in the dark.

Many of those have had power restored, thanks to AEP crews from this area and from other areas who came here to help.

At last count, 684 customers remain without power in Marshall County.

AEP says all power should be restored by Tuesday night.

And most will actually be back on sooner.

AEP crews have been working 18 hours a day since the windstorm.

“The Wheeling area, meaning Ohio County and Marshall County—what we know as Wheeling Power—was one of the hardest hit areas actually from this storm,” said Joelle Moray, AEP External Affairs manager. “So additional crews were sent. That includes tree crews, line crews, engineers and assessors.”

For people using a generator, Moray advises using it only to power the most essential items, not the whole house.

“Unless it is specifically a whole house generator that is designed for this, when your power comes back on, it can create a back feed through whatever circuit you live on which can create a very dangerous situation.” Moray noted.

“Even now, she says if you see a downed tree or power line, assume it is live, keep your distance, keep children and pets away and call it in.

“You can call 911 first of all to secure the scene,” she said. “Then you can call it in and report the approximate location and tell them there’s a wire down on the ground or a tree blocking the road.”

She says wind is a unique type of storm that creates damage that sometimes takes longer to remedy.

If you have an outage that you have not yet reported, they still want to hear from you.

You can go online to the Appalachian Power website or call 1-(800) 852-6942.