Motorists waited for up to three hours at one gas station, while people stood in line for hours hoping to buy a generator at a Lowe’s store in Sebring, CNN affiliate WFTS reported.
“It’s kind of a low-income area anyway and they’re not even looking at the price,” a Lowe’s manager, Krzysztof Rogowski, told WFTS about the customers’ desperation for generators.
After the storm, 99% of power customers had no electricity. Now it’s about 76%.
A small army of utility crews – about 1,000 people – from states as far as Texas are working around the clock in this central Florida county with 100,000 residents.
There is hope that many more people will get their service restored in three days.
In other areas, days after Irma, a major hurricane, tore through Florida, residents are slowly returning to find ruins in some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods.
Recovery is only getting started, and some areas remain flooded. Utility companies are working to restore power to the battered Florida Keys as frustrated evacuees emerge from shelters ready to go home.
About 1.9 million utility customers still were without power in the state on Friday morning, officials said. Parts of central and southern Florida will be a sweltering 90 degrees for several days, with humidity making it feel like the mid-90s.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Children clean a dirty mattress from a flooded home in Immokalee, Florida, on Thursday, September 14. Hurricane Irma laid waste to beautiful Caribbean islands and caused historic destruction across Florida. The cleanup will take weeks; recovery will take months.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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On September 14, President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and first lady Melania Trump hand out food to people impacted by Hurricane Irma in Naples, Florida.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Debris litters the area around a group of homes in the Florida Keys on Wednesday, September 13.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Lake County jail inmates fill sandbags in Astor, Florida, on September 13.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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A classic Volkswagen sits in floodwaters September 13 in Middleburg, Florida. Flooding from the Black Creek topped the previous high-water mark by about 7 feet.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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James Wade checks for water-damaged items as floodwaters recede in Middleburg on September 13.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Floodwaters surround vehicles in Callahan, Florida, on Tuesday, September 12.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Jose Encarnacion pulls a chicken from a cage as he gathers belongings from his flooded house in Bonita Springs, Florida, on September 12.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Joseph Dupuis III stacks boxes off the floor in his parents' water-logged apartment in Jacksonville, Florida, on September 12.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Motorists in Estero, Florida, fill gas cans September 12, moments before police shut the station down because of a curfew.
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Mike Gilbert and his daughter Brooke embrace in front of a relative's destroyed condominium building in the Florida Keys on September 12.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Members of the US Coast Guard operate in floodwaters during rescue missions in Hastings, Florida, on September 12.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Waist-deep in floodwater, Shelly Hughes gets her first look at the inside of her camper in Arcadia, Florida, on September 12.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, a house slides into the Atlantic Ocean in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Monday, September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Richard Shieldhouse maneuvers through storm-surge floodwaters in Jacksonville on September 11.
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Mario Valentine sits in his badly damaged home in Immokalee on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Boats are partially submerged in Key Largo, Florida, on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Chris Stokes works in the mud as he helps clean up damage to his father's convenience store in Everglades City, Florida, on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Ashley Tomberg drags a tree branch from the roof of a neighbor's house in Gainesville, Florida, on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Floodwaters inundate a car in Jacksonville on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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A crocodile appears at the Dinner Key Marina in Miami on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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John Duke tries to salvage his flooded vehicle in Jacksonville on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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A van sits in a sinkhole that opened up in Winter Springs, Florida, on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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People check out floodwaters at Jacksonville's Memorial Park on September 11.
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Kelly McClenthen and her boyfriend, Daniel Harrison, walk through floodwaters in Bonita Springs on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
Wilfredo Lee/AP
A truck drives through a flooded street in Key Largo on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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A man walks by damage in Palm Shores, Florida, on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Catharine Taylor Woods cleans up a broken awning outside her building in Wauchula, Florida, on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
David Goldman/AP
The roof of a home is damaged in Marco Island, Florida, on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Rick Freedman checks damage to his neighbor's home in Marco Island on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Boats are partially submerged in a marina in downtown Miami on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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People step out of their flooded home in Fort Myers, Florida, on September 11.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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A felled tree blocks a street in downtown Miami on September 11.
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Irma damaged this gas station roof in Bonita Springs.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
Eve Edelheit/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA/Newscom
Michele Snelling sleeps on couch cushions next to her 4-month-old daughter, Lauryn, at a middle school in St. Petersburg, Florida, on September 11. The school was filled with evacuees.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Hotel guests navigate a dark stairwell after they lost power in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
Gerald Herbert/AP
People in Cape Coral, Florida, tend to a car that flipped over during Hurricane Irma on Sunday, September 10.
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A manatee lies stranded September 10 after waters receded during Irma's approach in Manatee County, Florida.
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High winds split this large tree in half in Fort Lauderdale.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
David Goldman/AP
An American flag is torn as Irma passes through Naples on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
David Goldman/AP
A sheriff's deputy walks through a shelter in Naples after the power went out on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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A police officer walks over debris after a tornado touched down in Palm Bay, Florida, on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
Eve Edelheit/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Wire
Yaya Lopez holds her fiance, Howard Lopez, while they sleep in a middle-school hallway in St. Petersburg on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Geoff Rutland, a local volunteer from Crossing Jordan Church, helps other residents get ice from a vending machine in Tampa, Florida, on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
Gerald Herbert/AP
PJ Pike checks on his boat and one belonging to a friend in Fort Myers. Both were sitting in mud at their moorings due to an unusually low tide on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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People walk past a building in Miami where the roof was blown off by Hurricane Irma on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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An abandoned car sits in floodwaters during a storm surge in Fort Lauderdale on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Fallen trees block a parking lot in Fort Lauderdale on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Sailboats moored near Watson Island ride out the winds and waves on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Members of the Blinckman family use their personal devices in a stairwell utility closet as Hurricane Irma went over Key West, Florida, on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Evacuees watch the weather from a shelter in Naples on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Heavy winds and rain blow through Miami on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Seidel fights fierce winds and flooded streets while reporting in Miami on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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A man records the gusty winds going through downtown Miami on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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A tree lies on a pickup truck after being knocked down by the high winds in Miami on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Hotel guests eat breakfast by lamplight after the Courtyard Marriott was left without power in Fort Lauderdale on September 10.
Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida
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Part of this crane tower collapsed in Miami on September 10.
As Floridians pick through Irma’s ruins, President Donald Trump traveled to the stateto view damage, meet with storm victims and receive updates on recovery from state and local authorities.
After meeting with military members in Fort Myers, the President, first lady Melania Trump and Vice President Mike Pence stood under a tent in Naples and handed out food to storm victims.
The Trumps, Gov. Rick Scott, left, and Vice President Mike Pence serve food to storm victims in Naples.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
“I just want to tell you, we are there for you 100%. We’ll be back here numerous times,” President Trump said in Naples.
Gov. Rick Scott urged first responders to check health care facilities after eight patients died at a nursing home with an air conditioning outage three days after Irma ravaged the state.
Relief may be days away. People on the west coast, where Hurricane Irma made landfall, will likely have power restored by September 22, according to Florida Power & Light Co.
Customers who lost electricity on Florida’s eastern side will likely have it restored by the weekend because fewer electrical poles came down than in other parts of the state, the company said.
A home left in ruins Wednesday in Big Pine Key shows how the Florida Keys bore the brunt of Irma.
Power outages hit other Southeastern states, including Georgia, where more than 125,000 homes and businesses did not have power Thursday.
‘I didn’t think it would be that bad’
Jessica Gonzalez is back in her Florida neighborhood of LaBelle, but the heat is keeping her outdoors.
Her home was damaged by the storm and has no power. She celebrated her 20th birthday this week by waking up in her car with her husband and 2-year-old daughter.
“I honestly didn’t think it would be that bad. You hear a lot it’s Category 5, but you really don’t think it’s going to hit your house,” Gonzalez told CNN’s Ed Lavandera, referring to Irma’s strength in the Caribbean before the storm set its sights on Florida.
With no power and their house caving in, fellow LaBelle residents Bob and Tara Hahn have moved their 10 children into their oldest daughter’s two-bedroom house.
During the storm, a giant tree crashed into their home, sending whipping rain pouring inside. There are no answers on when the power will be back.
Officials told them it’ll take weeks, they said. As they wait, they have 17 people living under one roof.
‘Walking away … is very difficult’
Transportation officials offered positive news for some Floridians looking to return home: Interstate 75, a major north-south artery, will not be closed in the Gainesville area as once feared.
Officials had worried that a rising Santa Fe River might flood a portion of the highway, north of Gainesville, forcing detours that might have added hours to travel times. But the river has been receding, so the interstate will remain open, the Florida Department of Transportation said.
Brice Barr, who owns a charter fishing boat business in Key West, said he would like to head back south.
Barr and his wife fled to his parents’ home in the northern Florida ahead of the storm, he told CNN affiliate WCJB, and are watching for their moment to return.
“Walking away from a boat – that is one of my family’s main source of income – is very difficult to (do), especially when you secure all your property and everything else knowing that you may not see it again,” Barr told the TV station this week.
Monroe County Commissioner Heather Carruthers asked residents for patience Thursday, citing the high number of power outages.
“If folks don’t have power to boil water or don’t have fuel to boil water, we’re really concerned about health, which is part of why we’re not inviting everyone back yet” to part of the Keys, she said.
Deadly storm
At least 34 storm-related deaths have been reported on the US mainland, according to local officials. They include 27 in Florida, four in South Carolina and three in Georgia.
The nursing home deaths Wednesday in Hollywood prompted officials to call for action. Florida has the largest percentage of residents age 65 or older – 19.1%, according to the Pew Research Center.
Ryan Young reported from Sebring. CNN’s Miguel Marquez, Jason Hanna, Chris Boyette, Tina Burnside, Rene Marsh, Joe Sutton, AnneClaire Stapleton, Darran Simon and Keith Allen contributed to this report.
