By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Two firefighters were hit by lightning, people crowded into local shelters, trees and power poles were downed and power was out in several locations from Wednesday evening’s storms. Tornado warnings were issued in our area as severe thunderstorms moved through.
Beyond all that, it appears the local area escaped serious damage from what was forecast.
Oakland Volunteer Fire Department Chief James Martin and Firefighter Kaylob Morgan were jolted by lightning at exactly 5:24 p.m. Martin said the pair were on standby in the fire station during the storm when they heard a loud explosion and felt electrical shocks go through them.
“I heard the explosion and the room lit up immediately, then I could feel the shock go through my knee and into my computer,” Martin said. “It fried my computer and my printer and tripped a breaker.”
Both Martin and Morgan were feeling some aftereffects, but both said they were fine.
After last December’s tragic tornado strikes in our area, people seem to be taking storm warnings more seriously now.
Some 250 people took shelter in Dresden in Weakley County and some 75 people took shelter in Henry County’s shelters.
Henry County EMA Director Ron Watkins said, “We certainly were lucky from what was expected. We have trees down and a couple of power poles down, but nothing major, thank goodness.”
In Obion County, Union City Energy Authority lost power to about 850 customers Wednesday afternoon due to the storms that came through the Union City area, according to Energy Authority CEO Kyle Ross.
“Union City Energy Authority’s crews worked to restore power and change out a damaged 3 phase pole well into the night on Reelfoot Avenue that effected the eastside of town,” Ross said. “The Pleasant Valley area sustained a loss of power due to a broke high voltage wire. Almost all 850 customers had restored power in about an hour and a half.”
In Henry County, the Paris Board of Public Utilities reported around 7:30 p.m., “As the storms taper off here in Henry County, we currently have 3 outages. At the worst part of the storms we had less than 100 customers out at any given time. While outages may continue to be reported through the night we will be working to restore those as quickly and safely as possible.”
The afternoon’s severe weather has caused 1,265 Gibson Electric Membership Corporation members’ homes and businesses to lose power in Obion County, Tennessee and in Fulton County, Kentucky. Crews have been dispatched and will restore service as quickly as they safely can.
Gibson Electric Official Nick Guttierez said, “Our crews have found that the storm has left broken electric poles and downed wires; these repairs will be time-intensive. If you see a downed line, please stay far away. Always assume electric lines are energized and extremely dangerous.”
Photo: Over 250 took shelter in Dresden. Weakley Co. EMA photo.