North Texas crews, volunteers go to East Texas to help residents without power beat the heat
GREGG COUNTY, Texas - Electrical crews are slowly making progress in Gregg County, about 120 miles east of Dallas, after severe storms from last week knocked out the power.
The county judge said power likely won't be restored until Friday.
The public library in the city of Longview has transformed into a cooling station.
It is one of a handful of public places in Gregg County with electricity after the severe weather that moved through East Texas Thursday night left thousands of residents without power.
READ MORE: EF-2 tornado leaves 3 dead, dozens injured in Perryton, Texas
"I basically came here to cool off, but also I do some stuff on LinkedIn," said Dean Lavay, whose home didn't have power. "There's no electricity at my part of town. It is hot, so I'm just going to do what I can do."
Brookshires and Super One Foods are providing bags of ice to residents.
This is now day four for many East Texas residents suffering at home without power.
In Camp County, Leesburg was severely hit by the storm.
Texas Baptist Men sends more crews to help tornado victims in Perryton and East Texas
A second wave of volunteers from North Texas is on the ground helping with recovery efforts in Perryton. Others are heading to East Texas to help tornado victims there.
A chainsaw team from Texas Baptist Men (TBM) assisted homeowners overwhelmed by the cleanup.
"We do this for the glory of God and without it we're just a bunch of guys," said Bruce Slaven with the TBM chainsaw team.
Another TBM team departed from North Texas on Monday morning.
The crew is hauling a feeding truck and other supplies to assist East Texans in the recovery effort.
Many residents have lost their homes.
"Everything can be replaced, our lives are what's most important. My friend and I just have each other," said Melissa Bernal.
Evacuations are also underway.
The Flower Mound Fire Department is part of the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force in East Texas assisting with the relocation of the elderly and disabled stuck at facilities still without power.
The Frisco Fire Department AMBUS is on its way to East Texas to assist with relocating nursing home residents and patients to other facilities due to widespread power outages and hot temperatures.
Residents are grateful for the help pouring in from across the Lone Star State.
"We have these beautiful here helping clear it all up, and we're so grateful, so grateful," said Bernal.