It's taken over 5,540 extra hours but the city of Aiken continues to make progress as it recovers from Tropical Storm Helene.

Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh detailed the city's response to the storm during an Oct. 14 city council meeting.

The powerful eastern side of Tropical Storm Helene -- the storm was transitioning from a hurricane to a tropical storm at the time -- moved through Aiken early Sept. 27, Bedenbaugh said.

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Meteorologists estimate Aiken received wind gusts of up to 90 mph and sustained winds of over 70 mph.

With the ground already soaked from the outer bands of the storm, the wind began to uproot and break trees across the city.

Four people in Aiken County died from falling trees, Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables reported.

The Aiken Department of Public Safety received 67 calls for trees on homes and five calls about residents trapped in their homes according to a city memo.

As the trees broke and fell, they knocked out powerlines across the city and Aiken County.

Dominion Energy and Aiken Electric Cooperative, the two main power providers to Aiken County, reported 91% and 95% of their customers were without power early Sept. 27, Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh said Monday evening.

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The city's water treatment plant -- located north of the city on Columbia Highway -- lost power at approximately 3 a.m. Sept. 27, Bedenbaugh said in a memo to the council.

The city's wells and sewer lift stations also lost power, Bedenbaugh continued.

"Our water and sewer services were never non-operational," Bedenbaugh said.

The city's staff kept the system operational with generators until power was restored. It took 646 staff hours and more than 3,500 gallons of fuel to keep the water and sewer systems flowing.

Since the 2014 ice storm, the city acquired generators to power the plant, wells and lift stations in an extended power outage, Bedenbaugh said.

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Fallen trees also blocked roads all across the city.

The Aiken Department of Public Safety received 29 calls about trees on roads according to the memo.

City staff cleared trees from nearly every street by Sept. 29, Bedenbaugh continued. The only exceptions were fallen trees with entangled powerlines that required specialized power crews to remove, he added.

Around 35 city traffic lights were rendered inoperative by fallen trees.

All lights except one have been temporarily restored, Bedenbaugh said.

The traffic light at Whiskey and Berrie roads won't be operational again for an extended period of time because it needs to be rebuilt almost from scratch, Bedenbaugh added.

Temporary poles have been installed at the intersections Richland Avenue and Chesterfield Street, and Whiskey Road and South Boundary Avenue until replacement masts can be ordered and installed.

Around 15 city streets signs need repair.

City staff have replaced 30 visors and 23 section heads.

Some city parks didn't reopen until Oct. 2 due to power outages impacting 59 rentals, 89 athletic events and 92 programs.

However, all activities expect those at Hopelands Gardens, the Rye Patch, the Carolina Bay and the clay tennis courts at the H. Odell Weeks Activities Center have resumed.

Rye Patch is nearly clear and Hopelands should be clear in a couple of weeks.

Approximately 100 trees fell at Carolina Bay and the observation deck and trails remain closed until repairs can be made.

The clay tennis courts at the Weeks center remain closed because the clay surface was washed away and needs to be replaced.

Resurfacing is expected to begin this week.

The next step is to remove the debris.

City staff and several contractors are working to remove the debris now, Bedenbaugh said.