(Radio Iowa) – Everyone who sees the damage from last week’s derecho is coming to the same conclusion — it is one of the worst natural disasters ever in the electrical industry. Hundreds of crews have traveled from across the U-S and Canada to help restore power in the wake of the storm that caused extensive damage to the electrical grid and left hundreds of thousands in the dark.

Alliant Energy’s Joel Schmidt has spoken with many of the utility crewmembers. “Comments we’re hearing from contractors, frontline, tree-trimmers, people that are working in emergency ops centers that have come from long distances: worst I have ever seen, unbelievable, toughest conditions by far,” he says.

Schmidt says some homes are so damaged it’s still unsafe to restore their electricity. As of this (Friday) morning, more than 14,000 customers across the state were still without power.

(reporting by Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)