As power outages from Sunday's wind storm persist, Butler County today declared a state of emergency.

County officials were told that power might not be restored to all residents for a few more days.

County Emergency Services Director Frank Matis said that the designation will allow the Red Cross to open temporary shelters for county residents at Slippery Rock High School and Knoch Middle School, as well as allow the county to purchase any emergency supplies without going through normal purchasing practices.

Mr. Matis said he did not expect state or federal assistance for the county because most of the damage was done to utility lines. The last time a state of emergency was declared in Butler County was after flooding from Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

KDKA-TV also reported that East Brady has declared an emergency because it may not get power back until Saturday.

As of 2 p.m. today, Duquesne Light had about 22,000 customers still without service, down from a peak of 105,000 on Sunday, according to spokesman Joseph Vallarian. The hardest hit areas include Center, Hopewell and New Brighton in Beaver County and Bellevue and Hampton in Allegheny County.

Central Electric reported that 1,400 customers remained without service late this afternoon. They are scattered throughout portions of Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Forest, Mercer and Venango counties. The company hoped to have all customers restored today.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reported that a number of roadways in PennDOT District 11 (Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties) remained closed, including sections of Saltsburg Road and New Texas Road in Plum, and sections of Sunflower Road, Salem Church Road, Independence Road, Marion Hill Road, Mercer Road, Zelienople Road in Beaver County; sections of Union Valley Road in Lawrence County. Motorists are urged to call 1-800 FIX ROAD to report roadway concerns.

Read today's story, "Utilities struggling to restore power," for a complete report on storm damage.