Power restoration efforts made significant strides between sunset Friday and sunrise Saturday after damaging thunderstorms rolled through the area early Friday morning.
Over 9,600 Westar Energy customers lost power between 1 and 2 am when storms blasted the area with high winds and cloud-to-ground lightning. Westar spokesman Andrew Baker says crews continue their work, but it still might be Saturday before all power is restored.
Less than 250 Westar customers are currently offline in Emporia.
Meanwhile, Lyon-Coffey has been working to restore at least 1,000 outages, according Chief Operating Officer Mark Doebele. That number is now under 100, with about 80 still left in Lyon County.
Both companies have brought in crews from elsewhere in Kansas to help restore power.
Lyon County Emergency Management Director Jarrod Fell says we’re not used to these lengthy outages.
While the outages may be causing disruptions to many resident’s daily routines, local hardware stores, such as Bluestem Farm and Ranch Supply and Waters True Value, have seen a rise in traffic. Bluestem manager Bruce Burnheide tells KVOE News they have seen a steady flow of individuals, both local and not, purchasing backup generators to combat the ongoing outages.
Additionally, Waters Manager Angelica Barajas says they haven’t seen the same traffic for generators, however, there has been a large increase in demand for chainsaws to clear debris from homes.
With the large number of downed lines in the area, Fell urged residents to be extremely cautious. That warning took on another focus after a Lyon-Coffey worker was shocked by an electric line near Roads 130 and H around noon, according to Emporia Fire Battalion Chief Rich Gould:
An investigation continues, but Gould says trees carry a lot of water, which is an excellent conductor of electricity — and sometimes the best-laid plans don’t always work in situations like this. The man suffered non-life-threatening injuries
Damage reports have been coming in steadily throughout the day today and includes damages to Emporia State’s Visser Hall which, according to ESU facilities Director Mark Runge, had a section of the north roof separate from the deck during the storm and land in front of the building’s entrance. Runge says the section was roughly 1,000 square feet of roofing which separated.
Runge says they will need to replace the entire roof at this point and he’s hopeful they’ll have a temporary fix in place by the end of the day Friday. Plans for a permanent solution are in development.
Additional damage reports included:
Emporia
*Wind gusts 89-93 mph, estimated by Westar above 100 mph
*Numerous tree limbs and power poles downed
*West 12th still closed between Garfield and Grand
*Shed blown onto Road 205 and Burlingame Road
*2.4 inches of rain at KVOE, rain totals from 1.7 to 2.5 inches in town
*Emporia Golf Course closed
*Emporia Public Library closed until 1 pm
Americus
*3.2 inches of rain
Council Grove Lake
*Marina store damaged
Eureka
*Awning pulled from Greenwood County Hospital
Hartford
*70 mph wind
*1.2 inches of rain
Lake Kahola
*Boats, docks, cabins, sheds, garages and “hundreds” of trees damaged or destroyed
New Strawn
*63 mph wind
Olpe
*89 mph wind
*Severe damage reported to a Davis Ag silo
*Concession stand blown into a softball field backstop
Chase County
*Pole building was pulled out of the ground and lifted falling into a nearby pasture. The building did not effectt an additional building nearby.
USD 252 canceled classes after power outages at Neosho Rapids and Olpe. Superintendent Mike Argabright says there was notable tree damage, but he says the district escaped serious damage to buildings. That’s not to say the district escaped entirely.
Numerous Lyon County roads and intersections were closed Friday due to storm damage, whether from downed trees, downed power lines or flooding. Here is the latest list from the Lyon County Highway Department, with reasons for closure posted if announced:
*Road H south of 210: Trees blocking the road
*Road J from 190 to 215
*Road S between 20 and 30: Trees blocking road
*Road 90 about 0.25 miles east of H: Power line
*Road 107 about 0.2 miles east of L: Power pole leaning with lines attached
*Road 140 about 100 yards west of Kansas Highway 99: Tree across power lines
*Road 170 between F and G
*Road 200 east of Kansas Highway 99: Water over road
*Road 210 about 0.7 miles west of Kansas Highway 99: Power line broken in half
*Road 215 from F-5 to J-7: Power line hanging near J
*Road 240 between D and E-5: Water over road
*Road 250 between D and E: Water over road
In other storm-related news, a semi was also blown over on the Kansas Turnpike nine miles southwest of Emporia around 1:20 am. The Turnpike Authority says the driver, 36-year-old Justin Kubecki of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and a passenger, 52-year-old David Donaldson of Bell Vernon, Pennsylvania, were both taken to Newman Regional Health for treatment after possible injuries.
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