Oak Ridge Today

Woman injured by falling tree during Sunday storms

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A woman was injured by a falling tree at a home on Nesper Road during the storms on Sunday, April 14, 2019, Oak Ridge officials said. A fallen tree damaged a quadplex near Nesper Road and New York Avenue. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

A woman was injured by a falling tree at a home on Nesper Road during the storms on Sunday, Oak Ridge officials said.

A storm at about 4:15 p.m. Sunday hit Oak Ridge with heavy rain and strong winds, the city said.

“As a result, there were widespread power outages across the city with downed power lines and fallen trees,” the city said.

Emergency crews responded to many storm damage calls, including a roof that was partially blown off a building on Warehouse Road. Trees fell on buildings and houses and across roads.

[Read more…]

Storm damage delays opening of city pool in Clinton

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Information from WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today

Strong storms that rolled through the area over the weekend caused widespread damage and power outages across East Tennessee.

While this area appeared to escape the brunt of the storm’s damage, there were numerous reports of trees and power lines down. In Clinton, a tree fell across the fence at the Municipal Swimming Pool at Jaycee Park, damaging the fence and dropping limbs, branches and leaves in the pool itself. A second tree crushed the gate at the park’s main entrance as well.

The pool had been scheduled to open for the summer today (Tuesday, May 30), but that opening date has been pushed back to tomorrow. City crews will spend today removing the trees and repairing the damage.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said public safety agencies were very busy during the Saturday evening storm. The Sheriff’s Department handled 37 storm-related calls Saturday evening through Sunday, mostly due to trees and power lines blocking roads, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Guest column: Anderson communications center very busy during Tuesday storm

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Anderson County Commission and Mark Lucas

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas is pictured above at right during a special County Commission meeting in November. Also pictured are Anderson County Commissioners Rick Meredith, center, and Jerry White.

To All:

(Tuesday) evening was very, very busy. From 3 p.m. until 11 p.m., our communications center received 589 telephone calls, of which 143 were on 911. The overwhelming number of calls were between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., when 365 calls came to our dispatch center. Of these 365 calls, 109 were on 911.

Comparing to last Tuesday from 3 p.m. until 11 p.m., we received 156 total telephone calls, of which 20 were on 911. The two-hour period from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. last week was only 41 total calls, of which five were on 911.

For the entire shift from 3 p.m. until 11 p.m., that was a 288 percent increase. For the two hours from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m., the increase was 790 percent.

We had four communications officers working (Tuesday) when the storm hit. A fifth came into work on her own to help out. Many of these 911 and non-emergency calls required dispatching of emergency personnel from law enforcement, fire, or EMS. Others required notifications to the state and county highway departments and the utility companies. It was non-stop for hours. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge: 4,000 lose power, 70 homes damaged

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Wadsworth Circle Home Tree

One of two trees that fell on a home on West Wadsworth Circle. The second tree, visible on the ground in the background, punched a hole in the roof and displaced a mother, grandmother, and two children.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2:40 p.m.

Roughly 4,000 customers lost power in the Tuesday evening storm, and about 70 damaged homes will require repairs by an electrician before power can be restored, an Oak Ridge official said Wednesday morning.

Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs said he doesn’t recall ever having 70 homes damaged in one storm, although the Electric Department has experienced worse storms when many utility poles were broken. But the brief, fierce Tuesday storm, which brought severe winds and driving rain, was significant in terms of its damage to homes and its far-reaching nature, from Blair Road on the west end of town to east Oak Ridge and beyond—into Clinton and Anderson County, Suggs said.

“It was pretty widespread,” Suggs said.

Janet Bowker on Plymouth Circle and Storm Debris

Janet Bowker, left, walks through debris on Plymouth Circle in front of her home, where a tree fell into her bedroom during the Tuesday evening storm. Her home is at right but not visible in this picture. There were no injuries, but Bowker does not have power now.

 

The storm, which ripped through Oak Ridge at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, left a trail of debris: scattered branches and limbs, broken trees, fallen power lines, and damaged buildings and homes. It also triggered a flood of calls to the city’s 911 call dispatch center.

About 500 customers remained without power around noon Wednesday, including the 70 damaged homes. [Read more…]

Storm damages buildings, knocks down trees, knocks out power

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Passtime Garage Storm Damage

Passtime Garage on South Main Street in Clinton was damaged by a fast-moving storm and severe winds early Tuesday evening. (Photo courtesy WYSH Radio/WGAP Radio)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:15 a.m. June 11.

There are reports of trees and power lines down throughout Anderson County, and some roads are still blocked after a fast-moving storm ripped through East Tennessee, authorities said early Tuesday evening.

There have been reports of trees that have fallen on homes, but so far no injuries have been reported.

Tractor Trailer Blown Over near Lake City

A tractor-trailer was reported to have been blown over on Lake City Highway. (Photo courtesy WYSH Radio/WGAP Radio)

The short, fierce storm whipped through Oak Ridge and Anderson County with severe winds and driving rain at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. It left a path of debris: scattered branches and limbs, broken trees, fallen power lines, and damaged buildings and homes. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said there was a semi truck and trailer that apparently was blown over by high winds on Lake City Highway at Old Lake City Highway.

“It has now been removed and the roadway is open,” the Sheriff’s Department said early Tuesday night. The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

At about 8:30 p.m., the Clinton Utilities Board reported that 6,173 customers had been affected by the storm, and 4,068 were still without power. [Read more…]

Faith column: Letting pain be pain (Part Two)

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Last month, I wrote about the problem Western civilization seems to have with pain as evidenced by the plethora of outlets we’ve created to avoid it. Central to part one is understanding the paradox of pain: that while pain certainly is no one’s friend, the laws at work on our planet are such that pain is everyone’s friend: Life depends on pain and without it, we wouldn’t be here.

It would be hard to maintain our humanity if we didn’t ask spiritual questions about pain. The Bible is loaded with “heroes” who did this very thing, including Christ himself, who from the cross issued the famous phrase found in Psalms 22: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Questioning in this way is not only natural, but also appears in both the Jewish and Christian texts as an affirmation of our human need to wrestle with the “why” of pain.

I have only one real issue with the questioning of God and pain in our modern world. It comes when a person has rejected the faith life because of the problem of pain and yet, simultaneously, accepts the story of evolution as a beautiful thing, despite the clearly painful history it details. I don’t believe these two world views are mutually exclusive and personally hold to both as examples of beauty rising out of pain. [Read more…]

Storm knocked trees onto homes, woman reports possible lightning strike

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Tree on Delaware Avenue Home

A tree fell on a vacant Delaware Avenue home during a severe Monday night storm. (Photo by Brad Jones)

A strong storm that blew through Oak Ridge on Monday knocked two trees down onto homes. One fell onto a firefighter’s house and caused several thousand dollars worth of damage, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.

Firefighters also responded to a call from a woman who called 911 and said she thought she had been struck by lightning during the 7 p.m. storm.

“Upon arrival, the fire department found her in the living room of her home complaining of chest pain,” Kerley said. “She stated she was standing looking out the window when lighting hit in front of her, and she began experiencing chest pain. She was transported to Methodist Medical Center for evaluation.” [Read more…]

Faith column: Storm thoughts

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As I write this, the death count is 24, happily down from 91, following the massive EF5 tornado that recently ripped through Moore, Okla. Since I used to live in that state, and traveled through that area of Oklahoma City, the video of the devastation was of places I recognized. I mourn the loss of life, the property damage, and the disruption of the lives of those who survived.

Natural calamities like this prompt many questions, many of which cannot be answered, but some of those questions reveal some of our faulty thinking as well. No one can say why God allowed this disaster; no one can say why one person was spared and another was taken. But the fact that questions like this are even asked assumes that we somehow believe that we have a right to live, or, stated conversely, that God has no right to take our lives before we have had the opportunity to live most of our “three score and ten.” [Read more…]

Storm blows down trees in west Oak Ridge

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Tree Falls on House

A large white oak fell on a home in west Oak Ridge on Sunday afternoon, damaging a garage and deck railing.

Trees fell on several roadways and at least one home in west Oak Ridge during a short, severe storm Sunday afternoon.

There were reports of hail in some parts of East Tennessee, and the storm brought high winds. In Oak Ridge, trees fell on or along Gum Hollow Road, Mason Lane, and Westover Drive. [Read more…]