Morgantown, W.Va. -Strong storms on Saturday triggered the electricity for almost half of the Mon -Power customers in Monongalia County and caused several reports on tree damage.
Jim Smith, Executive Director of Monononia County County Mecca 911, said that damage reports flooded at 6 p.m. on Saturday at 6 p.m. and achieved more than 250 calls. The calls came so quickly that first aiders had to prioritize the calls and first took care of the most serious problems.
“The respondents first tried the most critical calls,” said Smith. “You only worked so many responders, and if you get this call so quickly, start stacking.”
Smith said up to 48,000 inhabitants of the district were without electricity. No injuries were reported.
“We had 94 calls for trees, we received 15 trees in structures and we looked at 54 calls for down or wires,” said Smith.
The spokesman for Mon Power, Will Boye said, said her crews work as quickly and safely as possible to restore the service, but the crews need a lot of time to carry out repairs in the most affected areas.
While repairs in progress, Boye urged caution that the residents of generators had taken care of. Always keep the generators outside, far from windows and doors and ventilated to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
“At the moment we expect most of our Mon-Power customers today and on Tuesday at 11 p.m. for some of the most powerful areas in the counties in Monononia, Marion and Preston,” said Boye.
According to Boye, the crews have been working since Saturday and in some areas, the reviews continue when the restoration work continues.
“We had a lot of extensive damage. We had 40 to 50 broken poles, lots of wire, lots of tree damage and broken cross arms,” said Boye. “This system contained winds of 60 to 70 miles per hour.”
Chestnut Ridge Park and the campground superintendent Corwin Hoban said that a guest lived in the Klaer cabin when a tree was blown onto the roof. The occupants were able to escape unharmed. However, he said that the pine cabin had been damaged in detail by a tree and may not be saved.
“We have to see how much damage is done on the roof and at least replaced some windows and replaces other things,” said Hoban. “Pine Cabin? I'm not sure if we can be opened again. It could be done for.”
Eastern Panhandle retains storm damage
Thousands of people in the eastern Panhandle and in the north in Washington County, MD, lost during a heavy windstorm that blew the area on Saturday evening.
A severe thunderstorm warning came through shortly after 9:30 p.m.
Will Astle from West Virginia Eastern Panhandle Weather said that the national weather service confirmed that a “wind wall” of 60 to 75 miles per hour came through North Berkeley County.
According to first aiders in Morgan County, Berkeley County and Washington County, “several buildings” were damaged. According to the Hagerstown police authority, Lightning has reportedly triggered some house fires in the region that asked the public for patience, working as a first aider to respond to calls.
The wind supposedly tore off the roof from the town hall in Hedgesville and led to hundreds of calls for first aiders, including the structural collabia. Up to eight power poles were put down on the West Virginia RT. 901 and drivers reported on Interstate 81 on the street in the street.
The Eagles Nest on the NCTC in Shepherdstown was blown apart during the storm. The three Eaglets that had hatched last month did not survive the 90 -foot case.
Morgan County Emergency Services reminds drivers not to drive around from the road sections or to remove the cones, signs or precautionary measures, as we had several close calls with the electricity crews that work on restoring the road sections on closed road sections.
Marsha Kavalek from WEPM contributed to this story.