BURLINGTON — A downed power line on Briarcliff Road has been returned to its original position after the forces of Hurricane Michael knocked it down around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
That power line has cut off electricity to surrounding homes and, according to Duke Energy workers on site, "could be the one affecting Elon."
But it isn't any longer. As of 7:15 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, power has returned to all areas of Elon's campus.
Since Thursday afternoon, the Station at Mill Point and South Campus were without power. According to Mill Point staff, there are an estimated 55 students staying at Mill Point over Fall Break, and for the last two nights, Elon had opened the Moseley Campus Center as a shelter for students without power.
According to an email sent by Jon Dooley, vice president for Student Life, the new location for students without power would have been the Alumni Gymnasium in Koury Center. The university had planned to provide mattresses, blankets and pillows and had encouraged students to bring their own sleeping bags.
Duke Energy and LineTec Services crews work to repair a downed power line on Briarcliff Road.
On their current outages website, Duke Energy estimates that power in Alamance County should be fully restored by 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16. As of Saturday evening, 9,637 residents in Alamance County are still without power.
Two of those affected residents were Elon alumni David Vaughn '79 and David Pinson '82, who were both without power since the power line on Briarcliff went down.
Pinson, who lives on Saddle Club Road, was prepared to lose electricity.
"We've got battery-powered fans and lights, and we've just been eating stuff out of the freezer," Pinson said. "My wife and I have been okay, just hunkering down and enjoying the quiet. Going to save a lot of money on our power bill next month."
Despite being without power, both men stayed optimistic that they'd have electricity back before Tuesday evening.
"I'm grateful that no tree fell through the roof and that everyone is OK," Vaughn said. "A power outage is what it is. It's an inconvenience, but at the same time, we deal with it and do what we can with what we got."
David Vaughn '79 and Tori, his 13-year-old canine, sit on their front porch enjoying the sun. Their electricity was knocked out when a power line on Briarcliff was knocked down by Hurricane Michael at around 4 p.m. on Thursday. Saturday, Oct. 13.
Vaughn spent his last few days without power reading and spending time with his 13-year-old dog, Tori. The two spent Saturday afternoon watching the crews from Duke Energy and Linetec Services work on the downed power line.