RIPLEY, Miss. (WTVA) -- It could have been worse.
Residents in Tippah County weathered the severe conditions that blew through the county Sunday night.
Everything happened so fast for Billy Morton.
"As soon as I walked in, I heard a loud boom and then looked outside and sparks were flying everywhere. I guess that's when the line hit the roof of the house," Morton said.
In the light of day as line crews work to restore power, Morton thinks back on what could have happened.
"Well, that was pretty scary, but the worst was when we discovered that we had a couple little smoldering fires. Had we not been here, it would have been over with by Monday morning. I'm convinced it would have caught fire," Morton added.
Not far away, another resident feels spared from this storm.
"Definitely dodged a bullet. It knocked a tree down in our yard that was a pretty old tree. I can't believe the tree came down, but the house didn't have any damage at all," Ripley resident Matt Gray said.
He says his neighbor lost their roof--the most damage he has seen.
Back at Morton's house, he anxiously waits for his power to be restored.
Sunday night, 5,500 customers lost power. As of Monday afternoon, most had electricity.
"[There were] a lot of lines down, a lot of residential damage, so it just takes time. We're at the part now where we call it the nitty gritty-where it's just the slow part. I would say within a couple of hours we should have most everybody back on," Tippah County Electric Power Association General Manager Tim Smith said.
Smith says line crews consisting of 18 employees have worked throughout the night and day to restore power.
