A fallen tree on West Broad Street snapped four utility poles and left many homes and businesses in Smithville and parts of the county without power for several hours Friday evening.
Charlie Parker, Smithville Fire Chief and DeKalb County Emergency Management Coordinator, says the tree fell after the severe storms had passed. The first reports of power outage to Central Dispatch came around 5:13 p.m.
The Smithville Police Department closed West Broad Street from near Juniper Lane to Anthony Avenue and re-routed traffic as workers of Smithville Electric System, Caney Fork Electric, the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, Comcast, and the City of Smithville worked to clean up the debris and restore electric and Cable TV service.
The power outage was widespread across the city and parts of the county forcing many stores and restaurants to close early for the day and with red lights out at two of the city’s major intersections, Smithville Police and DeKalb County deputies stood by to direct traffic at West Broad and Congress Boulevard and at South Congress and Bryant Street.
Severe storms rumbled across the midstate Friday afternoon spawning tornadoes, and producing high winds, heavy rains, and some hail. DeKalb County was placed under tornado warnings at least twice during the day but according to Parker, there were apparently no reports of tornado touchdowns in the county and no widespread storm damage.