It's been almost a week since a bridge construction crew sliced through cables that send power to Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands, forcing an evacuation of tourists. Officials are now saying it could be this weekend or early next week before the power is back on.
To get some perspective on the economic impact of all this during what is the Outer Banks' peak season, we reached Wit Tuttell. He's the executive director of Visit North Carolina. That's the tourism arm of the state commerce department.
Tuttell says it's still too early to know just how much this power outage will cost, but says it will be felt statewide.