NEWBERRY COUNTY — Early Monday morning there were widespread power outages and trees down in Newberry County, due to storms blowing into town.
According to Sheriff Lee Foster, at least two houses had trees fall on them, with other homes having damage from either falling trees or high winds.
“A great deal of the tree damage was in the Stoney Hill area from the Bush River to areas surrounding St. Luke’s Lutheran Church. Fortunately, no one was directly injured in these storms. Numerous roads were blocked due to falling trees and power lines. We were told we did not have a tornado, but was the result of straight line winds. These winds are as strong, if not stronger, than a tornado but do not have rotation. Fire/Rescue, Department of Transportation, power crews and private residents worked together to ensure roads were opened quickly,” he said.
The Newberry Electric Cooperative service area was hit hard by the two storms that rolled through in the early morning hours Monday.
Downed powerlines, broken poles and fallen trees were scattered from the areas of Prosperity and Little Mountain, to Pomaria and Kinards.
The co-op had around 2,300 members without power around 4:00 a.m., shortly after the storms came through. Around 9:00 a.m., there were still just over 1,000 members without power. As of 2:00 a.m., the number of outages were down to around 500.
There were actually two rounds of storms that rolled through, making it difficult for linemen to make repairs from the first round, according to Debra Shaw, vice president of member, public and government relations.
“How ironic is it that the electric cooperatives around the state are celebrating Lineman Appreciation this week? NEC normally honors the linemen with a luncheon, but due to the coronavirus, that luncheon will be put on hold and a celebration scheduled for a later time,” Shaw said. “Our linemen have been working continuously since the storm arrived, restoring power, replacing poles and making necessary repairs. They will continue to work as quickly and safely as possible until all power is restored.”
Shaw added that the lineman are dong what they do best, making a difference in the communities in which they serve.
“They truly are our heroes, we want them to know how much we appreciate them, not just this week, but every day,” she said.
