Utility crews continue to restore power to Southwest Louisiana after Hurricane Laura struck the Gulf Coast two weeks ago.
Power outages are proving to be a contributing factor to the rising death toll from Laura. At last check, more than 137,000 power outages were reported in Southwest Louisiana; that's down from a high of 615,000 immediately after the storm.
More than 17,000 workers are trying to repair the grid that powers Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes. While it could be weeks before power is restored to the worst hit areas, there is progress to report Tuesday from Calcasieu Parish.
Some people in Sulphur say they were shocked when their lights came on for the first time since Laura hit. Electricity is the first sign of normalcy for Lori Cooke, who says it's been a long two weeks.
"I was ready for a month, because they said it was going to be a month, but I'm very happy," she said.
Cooke says that for the last two weeks, she has been running a generator and is relieved it's turned off.
"It's quiet," she added. "It was so noisy, just having all the generators going in the neighborhood. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but you appreciate so many things. I do."
Besides running her dishwasher and washing clothes, Cooke said she's glad to see her TV working.
"Hooked the TV up, turned on the WiFi to see if it's working, and it was."
Now Cooke hopes she can help others.
"Now that's my plan, since I got power going. I'm going to get in the car and see who I can help."
She said that, according to Entergy, she may lose power on and off for the next several days, but she'll be okay.
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