After

a long Tuesday night dealing with extensive storm

damage, emergency personnel in Fayetteville were

preparing for another possible hit late

Wednesday, although they hoped it wouldn't come.

The

first call Tuesday came just after 4 p.m. when

lightning struck a local residence and caused an

attic and wall fire, according to Fire Chief Alan

Jones. It was put out in about two hours, then

the real busy work started.

About

8:10 was when word came of a tree down on Ga.

Highway 85 in front of Dunkin Donuts, just a few

feet north of the Courthouse Square. That was

followed less than ten minutes later by the call

concerning a motorist trapped in her car by

downed power lines at E. Georgia Avenue. (see

related story on this page).

structure fire call came before 8:30, Jones said,

as an outbuilding on Holly Avenue was completely

destroyed. The exact cause has not been

determined yet, but it is likely the fire was

storm-related, Jones said.

large tree went down on Church Street and damaged

a house and several cars, while First United

Methodist Church on the square took a hit from a

tree as well, and the face of the clock tower on

the square was cracked slightly.

After

the initial calls were handled Tuesday night,

Jones said emergency personnel were assembled and

went out to assess damage citywide. The

structural damage appeared to be mostly confined

to Hwy. 85, reaching as far north as the Midas

muffler shop, which sustained some roof damage.

Jones

said a police officer called in at one point and

said he spotted a funnel cloud up in the air

Tuesday, but he did not see it actually touch the

ground. That was the only actual sighting

reported, as far as he knows.

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