Mike Schaefer wants his "creature comforts" back.

Schaefer is one of nearly 1,500 Merrick residents who are still waiting for their power to be restored.  

"I've had it," said Schaefer, who lives on Hewlett Avenue, where utility crews called in from Tennessee were working this afternoon to repair fallen poles and wires in the area.  "I need my TV, my computer, my warmth."   

Schaefer's wife, Karin, said she saw a "big blue flash" Saturday afternoon from inside their home on the corner of Woodbine Avenue and then looked outside to see a utility pole snapped in half.

The Schaefers have moved all of their perishable food to a friend's home and have been using extra blankets to deal with the lack of heat.  

"The kids are going nuts with not being able to go on the Internet," Mike Schaefer said of his children, Kari and Tyler.

As to the response time from LIPA in restoring power, Schaefer said:  "I wish it was a little faster, but it is to be expected.  This has been incredible."   

Another Hewlett Avenue resident without power, Karen Vieni, arrived home this afternoon to the sight of several utility crews.  Vieni said that while four days without power hasn't been easy, her family has gotten by just fine.  

"We knew the damage was bad," she said.  "If it was in January, it would have been worse."  

Trees remained sprawled across the road this afternoon on State Street and Thomas Street near Calhoun High School.  

The Merrick area was one of the hardest hit on Long Island from Saturday's storm, with 1,206 Merrick residents, as well as 260 in North Merrick, still waiting for their lights to go back on as of 9:30 p.m. today.

LIPA officials said they expect power to be restored to most residents by tomorrow evening, but it could take even longer for people who are still calling in new outages.

"Broken branches are hanging on wires and those wires are coming down," said Vanessa Baird-Streeter, a LIPA spokeswoman, of what's causing the new outages.  "It also doesn't help with the weather we have been getting as far as restoring power."

An additional 15,000 outages were reported yesterday, Baird-Streeter said. 

When residents attempted to reach LIPA on Saturday to report outages, many were told that no one was available to speak with them and to call back later. 

"Over the course of the day, we had 100,000 calls and we have don't have 100,000 representatives," Baird-Streeter said.  "We understand people's frustration. They want to speak with someone."

LIPA currently has about 2,000 crews, with help from workers in Canada, Indiana and Pennsylvania, all attempting to restore power in Long Island homes, Baird-Streeter said.

Amid complaints that LIPA should have been more prepared to deal with the storm's aftermath, Baird-Streeter said they never expected the storm to be as devastating as it was.

"When there's a hurricane coming, you know 4-5 days in advance and you make some preparations, but being out of hurricane season, this was not forcasted as that," she said.  "But there were hurricane force winds and with the saturated grounds, it's easy for trees to be uprooted." 

In the meantime, for those still living in the dark, Baird-Streeter suggested that people who call LIPA's outage line follow all of the prompts to leave a callback number so they can be notified when power is expected to be restored.  Also, if you see a neighbor's lights go on and yours don't, call LIPA because there may be an additional problem, Baird-Streeter said. 

"We are asking people to be as patient as possible," she said.  

In other storm-related news:

Lakeside Elementary School and the Progressive School of Long Island both reopened today after having been shut down because of a lack of power yesterday. 

The Merrick Fire Department responded to about 125-140 calls when the storm hit on Saturday, with the bulk of them for fallen wires and trees.  A Merrick fire chief said that on a typical Saturday, the department responds to about four calls.

The North Merrick Fire Department, which serves one of the smallest fire districts in the county (2.1 square miles), responded to 37 calls on Saturday.  There were also 10 alarms Sunday, said David Ward, the department's district clerk, before adding that things were improving.

"LIPA is catching up," Ward said.  "They are actually returning our calls now."

While a number of properties and vehicles have been damaged, there have been no reports of injuries around town.

With power out for many residents Sunday, the Merrick Library saw a surge in visitors, library director Ellen Firer said. 

The library had 445 visitors during the four hour period it is open for on Sunday's from 1 - 5 p.m., with more than 90 people using the library's computers, Firer said. 

"For a four hour day, these statistics show just how much the library is still a vibrant part of the community," she said. 

The library did have to close for a two hour period Sunday when the power failed, but it has since reopened.