Deer Park family living without power uses backup generator purchased after Hurricane Ike

DEER PARK, Texas (KTRK) -- As residents in Deer Park dealt with a second night of no power after Tuesday's strong tornado, the grill was working overtime at Bo Owens' house.

"No power," he said as he turned steaks over a hot grill in their backyard.

Out front, the four-way stop at the corner was illuminated only by headlights, and many of his neighbors' homes were eerily quiet. The tornado took out transformers and power lines as it moved across Deer Park.

Tuesday afternoon, Owens was on a towing vessel on Cedar Bayou. He's a boat pilot. His wife was at work, and their children were home alone, huddling in the bathroom and a closet when the tornado came barreling through.

"Really helpless," Owens said about it all.

The children are OK. Their home was damaged in the tornado's path, but it's nothing compared to his neighbor's house next door, which was practically leveled.

"It's hard to wrap my mind around everything that happened. We're just really thankful it passed over our house. Our neighbor's got it pretty bad," Owens said.

Wednesday night, he and his family were managing with the generator they bought after Hurricane Ike, and they're eating well, prepared to live without power for as long as they have to.

ABC13 saw CenterPoint Energy crews working into the night in the hardest-hit areas in Deer Park and Pasadena.

For more on this story, follow Jessica Willey on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.