Sunday night's storms in Crawford County led to road closures, loss of power and downed trees. It also meant a busy day for first responders and city officials.


City officials said even though the storm was short, it left behind a lot of damage.

Scott Brown, the Director of Public Works for the City of Titusville said, "We had some substantial flooding in town. I called out all our public works personnel, police and fire were both dispatched and we took time to make sure the public was safe."


Crews worked until 9:00 at night on Sunday and then it was back to removing trees and debris from the roadways on Monday morning.

Fire fighters also jumped in to help with the clean up as did community members. "It looked like a lot of power lines down, followed by trees, coming down on the lines. We appreciated all the help we were getting from the community", said James Brown.


Lt. James Brown, from the City of Titusville Fire Department said, "We were out this morning trying to tie up cable lines that were low hanging, trying to make sure that roadways that needed to be shut down to help Penelec with restoring power were shut down."

Clean up also involved making sure that trees that had fallen down were removed and properly cleaned up.

 As James Brown said, "You cannot control Mother Nature, when she comes through with fury she is going to create damage."


After flooding, downed trees and power lines, it was all hand's on deck for a fast clean up.


"As I was driving into town, people were out there with the basins making sure they were clear. Public works, they were right on it, everyone came right in. The group of guys I have working for us, they just sprung into action and everyone knows what they are doing", said Scott Brown.


One of the biggest issues that led to flooding in Titusville was blocked basins. "The winds were so strong, they just blew the leaves right off the trees and with the torrential downpour of water, it started clogging up the basins", said Scott Brown.

James Brown agreed and advised how residents can help the next time a storm hits, "One thing that is major help is when you are seeing these storm warnings coming out or even in the forecast when you are seeing these coming rains. Go out and check the storm drains, the storm drains around your house, the storm drain around the corner from your house. Make sure they are clear, make sure they are not blowing in the yard and leaves, because all the leaves do is create blockages and that means all that water is passing over that storm drain."


Thousands of residents were also without power on Sunday night, city officials hoped to make sure it was restored by Monday night.