AEP crews worked double shifts to restore power to the hardest hit communities.
Hundreds of thousands of residents were left without power in central Ohio after last week's storms. Since then, AEP crews have been working 16-hour shifts to restore power to the masses.
Progress is steady, with power restored to more than 80 percent of residents by Thursday evening. However, many residents have suffered through a frustrating wait as temperatures reach record highs.
Many residents without power in Licking County gathered inside Cherry Valley Elementary School, in Newark, for shelter from the heat.
Donald and Kathryn Tyo have suffered through nearly a week of miserable conditions.
Kathryn Tyo said that she does not know how she tolerated the heat for so long.
"I really don't," Tyo said. "I think it's because I sit down and it all puts me to sleep."
Melissa Ellis brought her two sons to the Red Cross Shelter to wait out the heat of the day.
"The heat is just unbearable," Ellis said. "We have no electric, no water."
There is little relief in sight, as AEP projects it will be days before power is restored to the area.
"They told us it would be Sunday before they even got out to our house," Richard Ellis said. "So, 10 days with no power."
AEP officials said that they would dispatch 200 AEP workers to the Newark area on Friday.
The flood of workers will be a welcome sight to many.
“It makes me feel good,” said resident Marcella Powell. “We saw them on Granville Road and back in one of the side streets. We were hoping they would get over this way, but we haven’t got touched yet.”
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