Crews ask for patience as storm cleanup reaches day 5 across Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Four days after high winds tore through Kentuckiana, Louisville crews are still cleaning up the mess.

Some were working off Dixie Highway, near the intersection of Maryman Road and Nancy Lane, on Tuesday.

Salvador Melendez, with Louisville Metro Public Works, said crews have been sent out on about 275 calls for trees down or other debris blocking roads and other areas.

They still have about 65 spots to get to, but said cleanup can sometimes take hours.

"The neighbors, they only see when their stuff is not clear, so they're inconvenienced by that and they think their neighborhood is not being addressed. That's not the case," Melendez said. "Our crews are working 10-hour shifts, making sure that the work is ongoing, so be patient with us. As you can see, this is a slow process."

Public Works has had 10 crews out across the city since Friday. Leaders added that LG&E crews have to handle any debris entangled with power lines before Public Works crews can clear it.

As of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, there were still more than 14,000 LG&E/KU customers without power in Jefferson County, part of more than 33,000 statewide, according to LG&E/KU's outage map.

Hundreds of people have been without power since the storms on Friday, many of whom lost al of the food in their refrigerators. Tuesday, some of those families went to the Portland Avenue Community Trust for a food pantry set up by Dare to Care.

The storms and the aftermath also forced Jefferson County Public Schools to close Monday amid ongoing power and internet outages. Students went back to class Tuesday after power had been restored to all schools.