Strong winds from passing thunderstorms downed trees and power lines in parts of DeKalb County Thursday afternoon. Many customers of Caney Fork Electric and Smithville Electric reported being without power after the storm and during the night.
A tree fell across highway 70 near Sligo bridge, bringing down utility lines and hampering traffic.
Central dispatch also reported trees or tree limbs down on a home at V.L. Wilson Loop Road off Holmes Creek and on Petty Road off Adcock Cemetery Road, along with a church building on Bright Hill Road. Another tree fell across the road at Wolf Creek.
High winds also posed some problems for several setting up booths and tents around the public square in preparation for the fiddler’s jamboree, which starts today.
Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker said the winds toppled over a few tents. Some reported minor injuries but no one had to be transported to the hospital. “We had a pretty good wind gust that came through. We had a lot of people setting up their tents on the square. A lot of them (tents) were flipped upside down or blown over. They were hanging onto them. We had a couple of injuries with debris flying around. One person was hit in the head by a two by four. It was a little chaotic there for a few minutes while the wind came through town followed by a short burst of rain. Nobody was hurt seriously. There were only minor injuries. Nobody was treated. We also had some power lines that were down. Some tree limbs took some power lines down. A couple of transformers blew, one on Main Street and the other on Congress Boulevard, all about the same time this storm was going on. It kind of caught us by surprise. We were really lucky,” said Chief Parker.
Later, a fire was reported in the Johnson Chapel, Backbone Ridge Road area, where a campfire had reportedly spread to the woods.
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