The series of thunderstorms that roared through Fayette County on Wednesday left one house damaged in Peachtree City and plenty of power lines down and trees in roadways, but no one injured during the storm.
The storm, coming in from the southeast in the late afternoon hours, brought high winds, heavy rain and hail to some locations around the county.
In Peachtree City, a tree fell on a house in the Wynnmeade subdivision on the city’s west side.
Peachtree City Fire Rescue spokesman Wil Harbin said fire crews assisted the woman in exiting the home after the tree blocked her exit. The woman was unharmed in the event that did cause significant damage to the home, Harbin added.
Storm conditions also caused the closure of the northbound lanes of Ga. Highway 74 near Kelly Drive, Harbin noted.
Harbin said the fire department received a total of 34 calls for service during the storm period, with most of those in response to downed trees and power lines, and with firefighters waiting for Ga. Power crews to arrive at multiple sites around the city.
Many in Peachtree City lost power at about 6 p.m., just as the battering rain, high wind and hail began. Though many areas had power restored within a few hours, the Ga. Power Outage Map at 11 p.m. showed more than 1,500 customers still without power at 11 p.m. in the central area of the city. Power was restored to that area at approximately 11:47 p.m.
Elsewhere in the county, Fayette County Emergency Management Director Mike Singleton said there were a number of trees and power lines down in roadways.
And in Fayetteville, Fire Chief Linda Black said the city was fortunately spared any ill-effects from the storm.
The National Weather Service earlier in the afternoon began sending alerts about severe thunderstorms moving in from the east and southeast, with the potential for hail and wind gusts of 40-60 miles per hour.
Time to address the tree removal ordinance again, though most falling trees are on City property. There’s no fulling around with falling trees and the resulting damage. Plant, plant, plant … but get rid of undesirable trees (and undergrowth, as well).