AT&T is expecting to have finished today fixing phone lines that were down since the Aug. 4 storm, affecting Westchester residents and businesses.

Phone lines were affected in a half mile by half mile area bounded by Canterbury Street on the north, Mannheim Road on the east, Cermak Road on the south and Mayfair Avenue on the west after a lightning strike to the St. Joseph High School parking lot just west of Mayfair, near Oxford Street.

Many of the large telephone cables routed though a main access vault underground on Mayfair and Oxford were burned when the lightning struck the ground.

Westchester resident Joe Pokorny was relieved to get his landline phone service restored Tuesday afternoon; before then, he had AT&T reroute calls to his cell phone.

“I live with my mom, who just came out of rehab, and she has nurses and physical therapists visiting regularly. It would’ve been hard to communicate and make appointments,” Pokorny said. “But many of my elderly neighbors don’t have cell phones ... they were in more of a pickle.”

He added that not being able to immediately call 911 was a concern and wishes there was some sort of back-up plan.

Burns on the blacktop mark the spot of the lightening strike, and part of nearby vinyl picket fence is charred.

Pokorny said the phone company first promised restored service by Aug. 8, but that changed to Aug. 11. The last word from AT&T pointed to Aug. 15.

“I understand the magnitude of the problem and that it’s a lot of work,” he said. “I don’t know if anything could have been done much better, but there was a lack of communication.”

Trustee Bill Buikema, who’s home phone was affected, said he was happy with the communication from the phone company.

“It’s frustrating, but AT&T has done very well and called three times to keep me informed,” he said Tuesday.

Ryan Monahan, manager of installation and repair of the AT&T Illinois office in Bellwood, said residents were upset but the company was doing its best in the given situation. He said the lightning strike damaged the phone cables in five spots, and 2,400 lines were affected.

“Unlike a power company that just has to deal with a few lines, we have to deal with 2,400 lines,” he said. “We have to repair each individual one.”

Monahan said six to 10 men have been working around the clock since Aug. 5, the day after the storm.

Service to the Jewel-Osco at 2128 S. Mannheim Road was restored Aug. 9, its their fax line was back up Aug. 10. An Osco pharmacist, who wished to remain anonymous, said sales were down at the pharmacy and customers mentioned not being able to get through by telephone.

“But no one complained. Everyone seemed pretty understanding because a lot had the same problem,” the pharmacist said.

Only one line was working at Giordano’s, 10410 W. Cermak Road, and its main line was being rerouted to a cell phone Tuesday.

Manager Greg Dimitropoulos said business was only slightly affected.

“Getting one of our lines working didn’t help much because it wasn’t the main line,” he said. “But our customers have been patient with us.”