A Hernando County woman is still without power one month after Hurricane Irma.
- Hernando County woman still without power
- Power pole fell during Hurricane Irma
- Woman has to get power pole replace to get power restored
Trees knocked over her power pole and now she says she has to front the bill to replace it.
Diane Kratschman took shelter with a family in Hudson during Irma. When she returned, she found her house covered in trees.
"As I came around the corner I noticed my neighbors home at the corner a tree had come down and gone through half their house well at that point my heart sank because I had another corner to turn knowing my house was full of trees,” Kratschman said.
A total of seven trees fell on and around Kratschman's house. Luckily though there was no damage to the roof. Neighbors helped her cut down all the limbs on her house.
But, her power pole was also knocked over in the storm, cutting off all power to her house.
When she called the power company she they told her because the power pole was on her property, she had to pay to replace it.
Kratschman has been able to get a new pole to replace the old broken one she says the next step now is finding someone to help her get it set up so her power is being restored.
But, with a set budget she says she hasn't been able get help quickly.
"We had a couple of weeks where we tried to get help from different people and unfortunately it was always the same question how much," Kratschman said.
She's applied for FEMA assistance but so far she says her case hasn't been assigned. And while she's thankful her house wasn't badly damaged, she's eager to get home. For now, she's staying with her family until the power gets back on.
"I do understand the policies you know first pole in is power companies responsibility pole after that is your responsibility. I feel that there should be some kind of a program where you could have a monthly budget or something to help cover disasters like this," Kratschman said.
She also said some of her grandkids' playground equipment in her backyard helped break the trees' fall, which is why her roof wasn't badly damaged.