NEWBERRY COUNTY — “It was one heck of a storm,” that was what everyone was saying in Newberry County after a severe thunderstorm blew into the county — leaving thousands without power.

The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office said they received 245 911 calls between 8 p.m. Saturday and 8 p.m. Sunday, in comparison the weekend before during the same time period they received 77 calls — he said the majority of which involved power being out.

“There were no major injuries during the storm, I think some minor injuries from car accidents, but nothing major that we are aware,” Sheriff Lee Foster said.

Foster added that the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office has requested the National Weather Service investigate the storm. The National Weather Service performed a damage survey in Newberry on Monday. They estimate straight-line downburst winds of 85-95 mph.

“We never got a tornado warning, we got a severe thunderstorm warning — it is possible to have a tornado out of a severe thunderstorm. Based on the damage, looked like straight-line winds from a microburst,” he said. “There was some severe damage in Downtown Newberry, majority of the damage from Glenn Street west, so Calhoun Street, Boundary Street — the most damage to property was actually on Drayton Street up in the upper end of Drayton.”

Foster said he lives west of Glenn Street, and the wind was so strong for such a brief period of time it was shaking his house.

“My wife and I were concerned the house might move, felt like it was moving off the foundation. Then there was this loud bang — I think that was when the microburst let loose, caused real damage,” he said. “When I went out and started riding around, that is when I saw the damage, trees down, power lines down, power poles smashed.”

During the course of Sunday, during the clean up, Foster said they had issues with individuals ignoring barricades. He pointed out that the barricades were for people’s safety, either because people could not travel that direction due to a fallen tree or power pole, or because of an energized power line.

He mentioned how half of the yard at one residence was energized, but they still had power in the house.

“No way of knowing which power lines were energized and which were not,” he said.

Foster complimented not only his people, but everyone involved in keeping the county safe this weekend, and getting the power back on.

“The shift people just worked tremendously hard under extreme circumstances. At the same time this storm was going on we had a suicidal suspect flee into the woods with a firearm, an off duty deputy came out and assisted the shift — able to get him before he did harm to himself,” Foster said. “Had a storm going on, but had other calls going on, they performed above expectations in their efforts. Our telecommunication officers did a stellar job on a Saturday night when city and county offices were closed, that is the only place people know to call for a problem — those folks that work in there, they did a great job keeping order and getting emergency service personnel where they needed to be.”

“The utility crews, Public Works people, emergency first responders, they all worked to clear the roads, get barricades set up, they did a phenomenal job. This is a small town, hit with something this major and to get that stuff back up and running and cleared that quick — absolutely phenomenal,” Foster said. “That goes to fire service, rescue, police, sheriff, utility workers, SCDOT — phenomenal job.”

The storm caused about 3,000 City of Newberry Utility and 2,500 Newberry Electric Cooperative customers to be without power. As of Tuesday, most residents had power restored.

Tim Baker, utility director with the City of Newberry, said they lost a transmission line, lost one of their substations, and had significant damage to the circuit near the other substations.

“Mostly trees falling down onto lines, once a tree hits a line, that can sometimes jerk the service off the home. In those cases, the customer needs to coordinate with an electrician to have it resecured to the home,” Baker said.

Debra Shaw, vice president of Member and Public Relations with NEC, said the cause of their outages included broken poles, fallen trees and power lines.

“We had a lot of lines go down,” she said.

The City called in numerous contractors and mutual aid from other municipalities. Crews worked nonstop to try and get power restored to customers.

Both Baker and Shaw applauded all the crews who put in countless hours this weekend.

“We applaud all of the lineman, appreciate our customers patience. Everyone gets frustrated when power is out, some customers showed us their appreciation, really nice of them to do that,” Baker said.

“We really appreciate the hard work and dedication of our lineman as they worked around the clock to restore power quickly and safely,” Shaw said.

Shaw said they estimate that the storm caused $6,500 worth of damage — including materials and labor. Baker did not have an estimate of how much the storm will cost the city.

Vehicles were damaged throughout the county when trees collapsed on them following Saturday’s storm.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_DSC_0842.jpgVehicles were damaged throughout the county when trees collapsed on them following Saturday’s storm. Andrew Wigger | The Newberry Observer

Some trees split right down the middle following the high winds.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_68351136_10219076853927792_8183865599034654720_n.jpgSome trees split right down the middle following the high winds. Samantha Baird Snyder for The Newberry Observer

This vehicle on Walnut Street had a tree come down on top of it.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_68415139_349419849331899_1953352208552558592_n.jpgThis vehicle on Walnut Street had a tree come down on top of it. Charlie Banks for The Newberry Observer

Some utility poles just crumbled due to the high winds and rain on Saturday.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_68439604_739638499788104_5638278043639218176_n.jpgSome utility poles just crumbled due to the high winds and rain on Saturday. Charlie Banks for The Newberry Observer

A few residents reported the utility boxes on their houses came off when their utility pole fell.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_69167706_421016901848157_7053114054184796160_n.jpgA few residents reported the utility boxes on their houses came off when their utility pole fell. Charlie Banks for The Newberry Observer

A car parked downtown was victim of a fallen tree.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_DSC_0820.jpgA car parked downtown was victim of a fallen tree. Andrew Wigger | The Newberry Observer

Crews have worked nonstop to restore power, and fix broken utility poles in the county.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_DSC_0822.jpgCrews have worked nonstop to restore power, and fix broken utility poles in the county. Andrew Wigger | The Newberry Observer

The storm caused the facade at the old Bergen’s to come down.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_DSC_0832.jpgThe storm caused the facade at the old Bergen’s to come down. Andrew Wigger | The Newberry Observer

With thousands without power in Newberry County, crews worked nonstop to get power restored to customers.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_DSC_0837.jpgWith thousands without power in Newberry County, crews worked nonstop to get power restored to customers. Andrew Wigger | The Newberry Observer

By Andrew Wigger

awigger@championcarolinas.com

Reach Andrew Wigger @ 803-276-0625 ext. 1867 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews. ori