Hurricane Ida is long gone, but the storm’s impact lives on from Louisiana to the Northeast.<\/b>
\nResidents of Louisiana could be sitting in the dark \u2014 and baking in the heat \u2014 for weeks in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Full restoration of electricity to parts of the battered Bayou State may not come until the end of the month, a power company bigwig warned Saturday. Ida, which roared ashore last Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane damaged or destroyed a \u201cstaggering\u201d 22,000 power poles, more than hurricanes Katrina, Zeta and Delta combined, Entergy President and CEO Phillip May said. More than 5,200 transformers failed and nearly 26,000 spans of wire were down. \u201cThe level of devastation makes it quite difficult or near impossible to get in and fully assess some places,\u201d May said of five southeastern Louisiana parishes facing the longest delays. He estimated full power restoration by Sept.29 or even longer for some customers, although May said that was a \u201cno later than\u201d date with the hope of earlier restoration. By Saturday, power had been restored to about 282,000 customers from the peak of 902,000 who lost power after Ida. About a quarter of New Orleans residents have had power restored, including all the Big Easy\u2019s hospitals, said Deanna Rodriguez, Entergy New Orleans president and CEO. Sizzling temperatures and no air conditioning has made some tempers boil. A dispute over cutting the line in a gas station turned deadly, authorities said. Walter Sippio,20, was charged Saturday with murder for the slaying of Dwayne Nosacka,36. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said Sippio allegedly cut through the gas line ahead of Nosacka on Friday afternoon. Sippio\u2019s girlfriend, who was in his car, tried to de-escalate the situation but couldn\u2019t. The accused claims the shooting was self-defense, but Lopinto said that doesn\u2019t jibe with witness statements or other evidence from the scene. Lopinto said it was the second time Friday his office received a report of a gun being pulled at a gas station. He said tempers are flaring over gas shortages and other circumstances arising from Ida\u2019s aftermath. \u201cUnbelievable that people can\u2019t act like adults in this situation,\u201d he said. The problems aren\u2019t limited to the land. The U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday that cleanup crews are responding to a sizable oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida. But there was at least one piece of good news: The Lower Mississippi River was reopened to all vessel traffic in New Orleans and key ports throughout southeast Louisiana. In a news release, Coast Guard Capt. Will Watson said the successful removal of several power lines that had blocked the waterway due to a downed transmission tower after the storm and a survey of the ship channel allowed the river to be \u201cdeemed open for all marine traffic.\u201d The Northeast is also cleaning up after Ida\u2019s remnants brought deadly levels of rain on Wednesday. New Jersey saw the highest death toll of any state, with 26 fatalities. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy toured a flood-wrecked apartment complex on the banks of the Raritan River Saturday in Piscataway, and warned residents about the potentially harmful contaminants left behind. \u201cYou have to assume the worst,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re in there, you want to have windows and doors open.\u201d And in Connecticut, funeral arrangements were set for State Police Sgt. Brian Mohl, who was swept away with his vehicle while on duty early Thursday in Woodbury. A wake for Mohl is scheduled for Sept.8 in Hartford, where the funeral will be held on Sept.9. In the busy tropical-weather season, Hurricane Larry is churning in the Atlantic as a Category 3 hurricane, but it is not expected to strike the United States, forecasters say. With News Wire Services<\/p>\n