Cleanup continues across Tuscarawas County after Friday’s destructive high winds — and more rough weather is possible.
Roofs were torn off the Broadway Brewhouse in New Philadelphia and Superior Clay in Uhrichsville, and first responders spent hours dealing with downed trees, power lines, brush fires, and outages. A semi even tipped over on the I-77 north on-ramp in New Philadelphia.
Fire Chief Jim Parrish says his department handled roughly 30 storm-related calls between Friday lunchtime and Saturday afternoon — but fortunately, no serious injuries were reported.
“We’ve been fortunate we haven’t had many storms like this. It was certainly challenging for everybody but as usual everybody worked together.”
In Sugarcreek, Chief John Meek oversaw the response where a snapped power pole brought down utility lines and streetlights, shutting down State Route 39 for several hours.
“If you see any power lines, even if you think they’re telephone lines, they can still be charged. Do not touch them and do not drive through them.”
The National Weather Service recorded wind gusts up to 65 miles per hour at Harry Clever Field. PowerOutage.US shows just under 2,500 outages still in Tuscarawas County. AEP expects most customers to have service restored by six this evening.
Tuscarawas County Emergency Management Agency Director Jennifer James says the EMA plays a major role following storms to see if municipalities have any needs.
“For the most part it’s going to be more on the response aspect after the fact, and now that the main threat has passed, we’re going to contact jurisdictions, see if there are any needs, what kind of debris is out there, and if they need us to assist.”
Another high wind advisory remains in effect until 11 this morning, with thunderstorms possible — followed by plunging temperatures and a chance of snow Monday night.
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