FAYETTEVILLE — On Thursday morning, the storm-induced crisis in Fayette County lessened a bit overall as county officials began turning their attention to individual complaints and highly isolated areas still without services. But another round of storms in the afternoon changed the game yet again.

“More and more we’ll start hitting the back roads asking, ‘How are you doing, what can we do for you?’ As the water and power start coming back, it should be easing down,” Fayette County Sheriff Steve Kessler said on Thursday morning.

At the time, power outages had dipped to 56 percent in Fayette County.

“On the grand scheme, problems are getting reduced a little bit. We’re getting more resources. But until everyone gets help, we’ve got to keep going,” said Fayette County Emergency Services Deputy Director Steve Cruikshank.

But the percentage of residents without power jumped up by 20 points to 76 percent by mid-afternoon.

At 5 p.m., Appalachian Power Co. reported 16,118 customers without power in Fayette, including those in Oak Hill, some of whom had only recently seen power restored.

Officials worried that in some outlying areas, people might not know where to go for relief supplies.

Fayette County Sheriff Steve Kessler says that on Wednesday his deputies unloaded water at a church at Harvey, where residents hadn’t seen anyone since the storm hit. He stressed a focus on churches in rural areas and suggested targeting pastors as point people for relief efforts.

“Is there any area we haven’t heard from?” he asked the Fayette County Commission, Emergency Services staff, Maj. Tom Mills of the National Guard, Sen. Bill Laird and other officials.

The group has been meeting every morning at the Memorial Building in Fayetteville to assess the latest in relief efforts.

Cruikshank opened Thursday’s meeting with a cautionary statement about clear communication during a crisis.

“The biggest problem we have right now is people going behind our backs ... directing assets and not knowing what the situation is,” he told colleagues. He included Sen. Joe Manchin, who visited the county on Wednesday, in that group.

Emergency Services leaders like Theresa White have been working to the point of exhaustion.

“I’m not sure if Theresa has left this facility since Friday,” says County Commission President Matt Wender. Finally, on Thursday morning, the Emergency Services director took a needed break.

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All PSDs in the county are reportedly operating now, albeit with generator power and under a boil water advisory.

“As far as we know, everybody is producing water,” says Cruikshank. “But for us the situation hasn’t changed. We still need to get the diesel to the generators.”

Bottled water continues to be delivered by the sheriff’s office to designated drop-off points in the county. Three trailers delivered Wednesday were gone by Thursday morning. Cruikshank says they need to keep coming.

The county now has more National Guardsmen on the ground. Until Tuesday, only two were in place.

The Guard’s health and wellness assessment teams are going door to door checking on those affected by the storm.

They are also helping deliver water and Meals-Ready-to-Eat (MREs) to points in the county’s outlying areas.

The Guard’s feeding stations at the Glen Jean Armory, Ansted Fire Department, Gauley Bridge Fire Department, Armstrong Creek Fire Department, and Page-Kincaid Fire Department are offering hot meals from 7 to 10 a.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. until further notice.

At Twin Oaks in Oak Hill, residents were running low on food on Thursday.

The subsidized housing complex provides homes for seniors and the disabled, many of whom are on fixed incomes.

“They got their money at the beginning of the month and spent it and then lost their food,” says Carol Sue Taylor, a manager at Twin Oaks.

“They are out until they can get resupplied.”

The facility, which normally does not provide meals, has been cooking for residents this week.

“We have made sure our residents had coffee and a roll and at least one meal a day,” says Taylor. “We can’t do it for an extended period, but we’re going to try to do it for the rest of the week.”

Taylor says the facility’s immediate need is food. She can be reached at 304-469-9938.

“Our residents have been absolutely wonderful,” she says. “They’ve pulled together and worked together.”

The Lewis Center in Oak Hill has been offering three meals a day and overnight accommodation to hundreds each day, largely on the city’s dime.

If the majority of Oak Hill had power on Friday morning, plans were to shut down after breakfast.

City Manager Bill Hannabass says he and other volunteers noticed a decrease in overnight stays on Wednesday evening, since power and water were largely available to residents of Oak Hill by then.

Those who remained, says Hannabass, were homeless prior to the storm or were using the facility out of convenience rather than need.

“I’m not saying there aren’t people with critical needs, but it becomes a matter of efficiency,” he says. “The number of people we’re taking care of becomes smaller than the number of staff.”

Overnight guests peaked at 100, while meals peaked on Wednesday with a feeding line of 400 people.

Water, ice and food were provided by private individuals, corporations, and the City of Oak Hill. The Lewis Foundation provided the facility.

Hannabass says the homeless at the shelter will be transitioned to another facility with the help of the Red Cross.

With power unexpectedly knocked back out in Oak Hill on Thursday evening, relief volunteers were taking the situation minute by minute.

— E-mail: cmoore@register-herald.com