PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Duke Energy linemen are working around the clock to restore power in Pinellas and Pasco Counties.
Hurricane Milton caused power outages for thousands of customers.
"It's out of the norm, and it puts you on edge a little bit," said Laura White, a resident who lost power during the storm.
When you're a kid, it's easy to think your teacher lives at school, but for White, that's become her reality.
"They were like, 'Bring an air mattress. Come, we've got air, we've got internet,'" said White.
Her bed is an inflated air mattress, surrounded by kids' books and learning curriculums.
"For me, it's just been…I hate to say life-changing, but in this moment, it is," said White.
She's been sleeping at her job, Grade Power Learning, since last Thursday and said it's been difficult without electricity.
"We are so dependent on so many different things, charging our phones, just air-conditioning, all of those things we take for granted," said White.
While living without power is difficult, she knows her community needs more than just the lights on.
"I've cried with a couple of my kids…one of my babies just got her first car, she got her license, she got her first car. She's a senior this year, and she lost her car and her house," said White.
Duke Energy said roughly 95,000 people are without power in Pinellas County, and linemen are working around the clock to restore it.
"As you get into this point in the storm, we are working much more smaller outages in the backs of neighborhoods. Still just as complicated, a downed tree that can take several hours to repair, even a whole afternoon to repair, but you're only bringing up 20 to 30 customers at a time," said Jeff Brooks with Duke Energy.
Officials said the goal is to restore 95% of customers by Tuesday night.
Duke Energy leaders said that once the majority of power is back on in Pinellas County, crews will shift their focus to harder-to-reach areas that might have had more damage and flooding.
"A lot of these guys are on their second and third week; they worked Helene, and now they are working Milton. It's just what they do, it's what they are wired for, they want to serve, they want to help people," said Brooks.
As the Tampa Bay Area recovers from Hurricane Milton, White hopes the community can regain some sense of normalcy.
"I hope that everybody gets some kind of relief soon," said White.
With thousands still without power in South Florida, TECO is continuing to work day and night on getting the lights back on. "We know how frustrating it is, how inconvenient it is not to have power, and so the team is really committed to the cause," says CEO Archie Collins.
