By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–Crews with the Paris Board of Public Utilities, the Henry County Highway Department and Paris Public Works are busy this morning with calls of downed trees and poles as heavy thunderstorms continue to move through the county.
Emergency Management Agency Director Ron Watkins said a flash flood warning continues through 10:30 a.m. this morning and motorists who must be out should slow down on all roads.
Rainfalls in Henry County by mid-morning have ranged from 3-5 inches, with some on Cottage Grove reporting rainfall totals of 7 inches.
Watkins said a vehicle flipped over on 79N near Bull Durham Rd. and a car hydroplaned on Hwy. 69N. He said trees are reported down all over the county, from Old Springville Rd. to Hwy. 641S, Hwy. 69N and a van drove off the roadway on 79N.
Board of Public Utilities CEO Terry Wimberley said at the height of the storm last night, 11,000 customers were without power “and that’s half of our service area”.
By bedtime, he said, “We had everybody back on, but then that second round came through around 3 a.m. and knocked power out again.”
Wimberley said, “There’s not been a lot of actual damage to poles. There are maybe three poles down, but we have power out at 80 different locations. I think this will be an all-day deal.”
A call has been made to the Benton Co. power company “and hopefully, they can send some guys over here to help us get power back on with all the outages we have.”
In addition to the lightning strike causing a fire at the Security Bank & Trust Co. branch at Lakeway Shopping Center, Wimberley said there also was a lightning strike at a residence at Jackson Forest (near Elkhorn Rd.) “There was some fire and smoke from a tree that a line fell on,” he said.
The Highway Department continues working on removing trees from roadways and with trees mixed in with the electric lines, it should take longer to repair.
During the height of the storm, Watkins said several car accidents were reported in the county and he advised motorists to use caution.
Photo: Livestock huddled under a tree during heavy rainfalls this morning at Westfalia Farms outside of Paris. They reported trees down, shop flooded, and two fences will need repaired. Westfalia Farms photo.