Storm downs trees, knocks out power

Tuesday, July 22, 2008
This house on Bloomington Street sustained damage as a result of winds of over 75 mph Tuesday morning.

By MARIBETH WARD

Staff Writer

The Greencastle Street Department aided in cleaning up trees on Jackson street near Blackstock Stadium in the yard of Paul Sanders Tuesday.

JAMIE BARRAND

Editor

Trees took the hardest hit from storms that blew across Putnam County in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

Power lines also suffered damage, making for a troublesome morning for thousands in Putnam County and surrounding areas.

Tuesday's storm brought down power lines on Bloomington Street.

Weather officials estimated the straight-line winds that hit Greencastle at between 75 and 80 mph. The storm brought back memories of one that hit in February of this year, leaving similar damage.

"Mostly, we had a lot of tree damage from the storm," Putnam County EMA Director Kim Hyten said. "We have confirmed that it was straight-line winds with no tornadic activity. Luckily, there were no injuries reported."

Greencastle Police direct traffic around felled trees on Bloomington Street this morning.

Butler's Propane, located in Greencastle, lost a structure during the violent storm. Tree limbs and leaves blanketed the city streets immediately after the storms passed.

North of town, a tree fully blocked U.S. 231 a mile north of Brick Chapel. Nearby, Shortcut Road was also said to have been almost impassible right after the storm.

Crews worked throughout the day Tuesday to remove trees from city streets in Greencastle.

The area along Washington Street and Bloomington Street saw a lot of damage.

Reports of power outages began coming in to Duke Energy, the county's main power supplier, late on Monday evening, according to the company's Web site (www.duke-energy.com) said.

At the height of the storm, 7,505 Putnam County customers were without power. As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, 1,931 customers were still waiting for power restoration.

Witnesses at the Putnam County Fairgrounds said several chickens were killed as a result of the storm, but operations seemed to continue on a fairly normal basis by later in the day. Water also was a problem.

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  • I am so happy no one hurt last night. I am especially grateful that no children or anyone for that matter was injured at the fairgrounds. I feel bad for the kids who may have lost their chickens during fair week. Chickens are a minor loss unless you are a kid showing your chicken at the fair.

    -- Posted by citizenoftheworld on Tue, Jul 22, 2008, at 1:40 PM
  • I live in the area of Indiana and Berry Streets.

    We had quite a bit to do first thing this morning!

    That storm was a DOOZEY!

    There were a lot of limbs ripped from the trees but we had no property damage for us or our neighbors.

    We've been watching lots of trucks rush by in an effort to tend to clean up since early this morning.

    I want to thank D&S Tree Service, Duke Energy, the Fire Department, town police, the Department of Public Works and all the other public services that have been rushing to and fro to help those in our community.

    I am sure people in your houses are tired and busy. Your efforts are appreciated greatly.

    -- Posted by WhoaNellie on Tue, Jul 22, 2008, at 1:54 PM
  • Nellie- I cant let you be the only one thanking our local responders for assisting. The fire department as well as the city police did an excellent job with the storm aftermath, especially noting that the storm occurred in the early morning hours. As always, the fire deparment did an excellent job handling not only the storm, but a devistating, and potentially dangerous fire. I know for a fact that several GPD officers were in town off duty in personal clothes assisting those in need. Seems like those of you that have recently complained about GPD and take home cars probably owe GPD a thanks and "Im sorry", especially if they were one of the ones running a chain saw and cutting the roads open. Thanks GFD and GPD for your excellent service!!!!

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts=idiot on Tue, Jul 22, 2008, at 2:15 PM
  • Not to worry...no poultry was lost at the fair. Our barn SUPERintendents Clint and Dana Maddox were on top of the situation. All is well.

    -- Posted by auntmeme2 on Fri, Jul 25, 2008, at 9:10 AM
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