Storm cleanup begins

 

Thursday, Mar 26,2009, 1:44:49 PM   Click:

Copyright: The Salina Journal, Kan.
Source: Salina Journal (KS)
Wordcount: 1048


Mar. 25 - The cleanup and fixup were underway Tuesday after strong winds Monday, and power was restored to most customers by early Tuesday morning Salina, a spokesman said Westar Energy.

Meanwhile, Salina glass shops were busy repairing broken car windows, Salina and many insurance agents have already disappeared from the receipt of reports and siding shingle roof, broken windows of the vehicle, which damaged trees fallen gutters and siding, fences broken and hail damage.

Tom Sydow, regional director for Westar Energy, said line 18 poles Schilling who fought long way between Ohio and Ninth streets Monday were replaced and the power of the region was restored by 7:30 am Tuesday. Additional support has arrived, and crews worked all night to restore power more quickly than expected, "he says.

Westar has continued to deal with isolated power outages throughout Salina on Tuesday, but most of the repairs were completed early in the day.

"We'll get some sleep tonight and get rearranged and get back to the projects we worked on the past," he said.

Derrick Rutherford, marketing and key accounts manager for DS & O Rural Electric Salomon, said the power company, the services in rural Saline County, had only scattered outages due to high winds.

"We weathered the storm pretty good," he said.

Not a drop of rain

The wind was blowing at a constant speed of 40 miles per hour on Monday and gusted as high as 62 miles per hour, according to measurements taken at the Salina Municipal Airport. A still, dry night with frequent flashes of lightning tracking sheet the day of strong wind in Salina, but forecasts of hail and rain fell in the surrounding area.

"I was impressed by the fact that Salina is not a drop of rain all that," said Chancy Smith, director of emergency management of the County of Dickinson. "I had an inch and a watch in my rain gauge.

Spotlight

At the target, which ran on Monday over a gas generator, the light came back on first thing in the morning Tuesday, said an employee of a store. The restaurant inside the store re-opened, and it was back to normal.

The wind blew Monday on eight semi-trailers and a camping trip on the highways, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported.

Joe Larson, owner of the tow truck service and Transport Salina, said the research firm one of the semis, who went on the west side, and blocked traffic on Interstate 70, one mile east of the Niles Road exit. Larson said that at 12:15 pm, the group asked its teams to move the semi of the road, but will not attempt to mail out until later.

He said it was possible to move the semi in the wind, but the crew would have had difficulty communicating, and dangerous situations have been created if the vehicles to become distracted by looking at the crew members. Thus, the crew towed off the high platform on 9:30 pm, after the wind had died and there was less traffic.

"It was a late night, but we are accustomed to this," said Larson.

Wind spreads fire

Strong winds Smith, Dickinson County, director of emergency management, is concerned about grass fires. He said the fire probably started by a discarded cigarette butt, oats began near the road and Old Highway 40. The wind of the rapid spread of flames, and burned 200 acres before firefighters in Dickinson County District 1 Fire Department, with the help of grants from the township and Sherman Fragrant Hill Township, were able to extinguish the flames, he said.

Another small grass fire occurred near Smolan, where a power line was shot and captured some arcs ditch grass on fire, "said Larry Hall, head of the Saline County Rural Fire District No. 6 . Firefighters had to contain the fire until utility workers arrived to kill the power of the line, he says.

In Abilene, pea-sized hail fell from more than five times during the afternoon and evening, said Rick Elliott, a clerk at City Hall.

"My daughter lives in Salina, where I kept his call by saying:" This is the casting. What is it doing here? "And she said:" Nothing, "she says." Then I called her when it was hailing, and it was not yet done anything. "

The rain and hail pelting Elliott did not prevent the plans of his dinner Monday evening.

"I try to roast last night, of all things," she says. "It was hard enough between rain and hail."

Dianne Carter, Allstate insurance agent, said Tuesday she had heard from customers who were without electricity because of broken power lines poles. Some asked about frozen in their insurance policy. In general, she said people have not had enough of the loss of the spoilage of food to cover their deductible.

Vehicle broken glass

Storm and vandals with BB guns ensured a busy week for Mr. Windshield Auto Glass Center, 304 S. Santa Fe

"The boys are working hard," said Diane Lilak, customer service representative. "We try to put people back in their car, as soon as we can."

She said that the company will replace 30 to 40 sides and rear of the car windows this week, most of them broken in the storm.

"No his mood at the moment, so it's a good thing," she says. "They do an excellent job. They knock 'em out right after the other."

She said that some customers told him they were sitting at a red light when debris blew up on a nearby building and broke a window, and others returned to their car after shopping to find a window broken.

"We have a drawer full of nothing but crushed glass," she says.

Mary Snyder, Bureau Chief of glass, 161 S. Broadway, commercial and residential, where the glass is replaced, said that there were few calls about broken glass, but many calls about problems with bears.

"The client opens the door, the wind and grab the tire and out of their hands," she says.

This has resulted in damage to door frames and broken hinges and door closers. It has sent teams of several companies to address problems Salina door Tuesday.

"I lived in Kansas a long time, and I thought the wind was pretty wild," she says.

n Reporter Erin Mathews can be reached at 822-1415 or by e-mail to emathews@salina.com.



This is an information service of Thomson Business Intelligence Service © 2006. This content is only for your personal use, subject to the terms and conditions. No redistribution allowed.