Storms leave thousands in Valley without power

By Sue Loughlin
The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE July 22, 2008 10:28 pm

— At first, Tuesday’s thunderstorms didn’t seem too bad to Wesley Owens, that is, until he saw a tree had smashed his Toyota Corolla on 16th Street near Sixth Avenue.
“It didn’t seem that windy,” he said as he surveyed the damages later in the day.
He also got the day off work because his place of employment — Goodyear at Plaza North — had no electricity.
Severe thunderstorms left thousands of Wabash Valley residents without power, while downed trees and limbs damaged many cars, garages and homes.
Downed trees also left many roads impassable.
A woman in Vermillion County had to be extricated from her home when a tree smashed through it.
At the peak of the storm, 92,000 Indiana customers were without power, including 21,000 in Vigo County, 6,000 in Clinton and 2,000 in Brazil, said Rick Burger, Duke Energy district manager.
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, 9,000 in Vigo County, 4,000 in Clinton and 500 in Brazil were still without power. Duke Energy brought in staff from across the state as well as contractors.
For some individual customers, “It will be Friday before we get the power back on,” Burger said. “We’ll work 24/7 until the last customer has power restored.”
Some major industries along Fruitridge Avenue were affected by power outages as well as businesses and restaurants at Fort Harrison Road and Lafayette Avenue — including Plaza North.
The hardest hit areas were north and east of Terre Haute as well as Clinton, Burger said. High winds broke utility poles and caused problems with some major transmission lines. “There are a lot of wires down,” Burger said.
In response, the American Red Cross Wabash Valley chapter opened a shelter Tuesday in Maryland Community Church at 4700 S. State Road 46. It was opened at 6 p.m. for residents displaced from their homes because of power outages.
WIN Energy REMC customers also had some power outages, including about 600 in Vigo County and 210 in Sullivan County. “Everything was back on by about 5 a.m.” Tuesday, said Tom Gregory, spokesman.
The National Weather Service reported severe thunderstorms that produced wind gusts as high as 85 mph in Clinton and 70 mph in Terre Haute about 12:30 a.m., said Joseph Nield, meteorologist. The storm also produced some hail, including a report of one-inch hail in Vermillion County
There was a chance of additional thunderstorms Tuesday night.
In Clinton, many streets south of Elm Street were impassable because of downed trees, said Fire Chief Chris Strohm. “It looked like a tornado went through,” he said.
Firefighters, police and Street Department employees worked through the night to clear streets and provide traffic control because of downed power lines.
Strohm estimated that 100 to 200 trees had fallen from the storm. Several homes and cars were hit by trees, he said.
Several Terre Haute businesses also were affected.
A Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet and other restaurants near Plaza North had to turn away customers for hours Tuesday because of the outage. Some of the KFC food had to be moved to the Wabash Avenue store, said Theresa Watts, general manager. The business reopened later in the day.
At Applebee’s on Fort Harrison Road, several employees and kitchen manager Annie Swan sat in the dark around 1 p.m. waiting for the lights and power to come back on. They had moved refrigerated and frozen foods to a truck equipped with a refrigerator and freezer that kept the food at appropriate temperatures.
The toughest part would come when power returned. Normally, it takes about four hours to prepare for the restaurant’s opening each day. But on Tuesday, once power was restored, they’d have to move much more quickly not just to open, but also to haul the food back inside.
“Everybody here works as a team,” Swan said. “They all pitch in.”
The restaurant reopened at 4:30 p.m.
Also affected was the Deming Elementary summer school program, which had to be canceled Tuesday because of a partial power outage.
Both the Vigo County Highway Department and Terre Haute Street Departments had a long day clearing roads and streets of downed trees, according to representatives of each department.
Kevin Murphy of Vigo County Central Dispatch also reported storm damage in parts of West Terre Haute and Terre Town.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.


Shelter opens
• The American Red Cross Wabash Valley Chapter has opened a shelter in Maryland Community Church at 4700 S. State Road 46, Terre Haute, to give shelter to those still without power.
At 5 p.m. Tuesday, Duke Energy was reporting that 9,000 customers in Vigo County still were without power from the effects of Tuesday morning’s storms.
The shelter opened at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Residents displaced from their homes are encouraged to bring identification, change of clothing, critical medications, hygienic supplies, blankets and pillows.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free. To donate to the Red Cross, contact the American Red Cross Wabash Valley Chapter, 700 S. Third St., Terre Haute, IN 47807, or go to www.redcross.org.

School closed
• Deming Elementary will not conduct summer school classes today because of a power outage, said school Principal Susan Mardis.
Tuesday morning’s storms left thousands of Terre Haute homes and businesses without power.

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