Three months after the June 29 derecho, APCO storm coordinator Scott Chambers still marvels at the extent of the damage. "You see some destruction like that in ice storms and in locations with a concentrated wind event," he said, "but nothing as widespread as what we saw."

Laptop computers mounted in AEP service trucks provide field workers with immediate outage reports. GPS systems direct them to the site.

Thank-you notes from students at West Side Elementary cover a bulletin board at the AEP service center in North Charleston. The students expressed gratitude to workers for restoring power after the June 29 derecho.