Wind knocks out power, damages buildings
Updated: January 30, 2013
ASHMORE -- Many buildings saw some serious damage after Tuesday night's storm. The rain continued off and on through the day while people were cleaning up.
Ameren spokesperson, Jeni Hagen, said they expect to have electricity back by 7 pm Wednesday, but people there will still be cleaning up for awhile after that.
"I was laying in bed and it woke me up about ten o'clock and it sounded like a train had gone over," said Rex Richey, of Ashmore.
But it wasn't a train. It was wind blowing close to 70 miles per hour. Those gusts knocked down power lines and left people in the dark.
"We've got crews out working in the rain and the mud and the muck to put the poles back and restore the service because we know a disruption in service is always an inconvenience," said Hagen.
Crews worked to fix dozens of downed power lines while the rain continued to fall.
"This is what they do," said Hagen. "This is what they are wired to do. They restore service and they do it safely."
The wind also blew grain bins over and caused more damage around the village.
"First thing I see when I pull in is the roof torn off of our showroom," said Josh Long, who is the store manager at the John Deere dealership. "I come around back and there's a door blown in, a shop wall blown out."
Long said the roof of the showroom knocked into other buildings after it got ripped off.
"We knew there was a storm coming in but wasn't expecting anything like this," said Long. "We'll keep on trucking."
People who live nearby said they were concerned about not having heat as they go into the evening. But they're grateful the storm wasn't worse.
"We were lucky it didn't do more damage than it did," said Richey.
Ameren crews had CAT trucks riding along with them. They were on hand to pull their cars out in case they got stuck.
Ashmore Elementary will be open Thursday. The school was closed Wednesday since power was out. Some students and their parents came in to help clean up storm damage.
Classes will still be in session Thursday even if the power is still out. Buses would take the students and staff to Jefferson Elementary in Charleston.
Ameren spokesperson, Jeni Hagen, said they expect to have electricity back by 7 pm Wednesday, but people there will still be cleaning up for awhile after that.
"I was laying in bed and it woke me up about ten o'clock and it sounded like a train had gone over," said Rex Richey, of Ashmore.
But it wasn't a train. It was wind blowing close to 70 miles per hour. Those gusts knocked down power lines and left people in the dark.
"We've got crews out working in the rain and the mud and the muck to put the poles back and restore the service because we know a disruption in service is always an inconvenience," said Hagen.
Crews worked to fix dozens of downed power lines while the rain continued to fall.
"This is what they do," said Hagen. "This is what they are wired to do. They restore service and they do it safely."
The wind also blew grain bins over and caused more damage around the village.
"First thing I see when I pull in is the roof torn off of our showroom," said Josh Long, who is the store manager at the John Deere dealership. "I come around back and there's a door blown in, a shop wall blown out."
Long said the roof of the showroom knocked into other buildings after it got ripped off.
"We knew there was a storm coming in but wasn't expecting anything like this," said Long. "We'll keep on trucking."
People who live nearby said they were concerned about not having heat as they go into the evening. But they're grateful the storm wasn't worse.
"We were lucky it didn't do more damage than it did," said Richey.
Ameren crews had CAT trucks riding along with them. They were on hand to pull their cars out in case they got stuck.
Ashmore Elementary will be open Thursday. The school was closed Wednesday since power was out. Some students and their parents came in to help clean up storm damage.
Classes will still be in session Thursday even if the power is still out. Buses would take the students and staff to Jefferson Elementary in Charleston.
