ST. FRANCISVILLE - Residents in St. Francisville lost power around 9 a.m. Wednesday as thunderstorms rolled through the area, bringing high winds and a tornado. 

Down a whole row of houses, residents say they are still without power. One resident was told power would be restored in an hour, but now he’s expecting to be in the dark it for at least 10 to 14 hours.

One parish official said he believes power outages could last into the weekend, but that’s not what Anne Hawes with DEMCO says.

“Crews are out right now working, and as far as when we can expect power back on, it’s going to be a busy day. Outages are going to be longer duration than normal because there is a lot of damage,” Hawes said.

Nearly 10 hours after the storm, more than 9,500 DEMCO customers were still without power. In West Feliciana Parish, downed power lines sat on streets, broken by battering winds and fallen trees.

“Gusts of up to 75 miles an hour and just like any severe weather system, you know, we expected widespread outages. You never really know where they are going to hit,” Hawes said.

One of many electric power poles was left barely standing and somewhat lopsided off of Samuels Road. 

“Power crews have eyes on the ground," Hawes said. "We are mobilized in every area where we have outages. We’re doing everything we can to gain access to these areas when it’s safe to do so.”

Residents say they plan to keep cleaning up trees and debris, trying to bring their town back to normal, until the power comes back on