By Pat
Reavy Deseret News staff writer
High
winds "blew out the candle" in thousands of homes and businesses in northern Utah
late Wednesday night and early Thursday, leaving tree branches and debris strewn
in neighborhoods and many homes damaged throughout Salt Lake and Davis counties.
And more is coming, according to local weather forecasters.  | | Josh
Jones inspects wind-caused damage at the house he rents in Farmington. A large
tree crushed part of the roof. Ravell Call, Deseret News |
Power
outages began hitting the Salt Lake Valley about 9 p.m. Wednesday, reaching their
peak between midnight and 2 a.m. Thursday. Nearly 20,000 Utah Power Co. customers
from all over Salt Lake County and stretching up into Farmington were without
power, said company spokesman Dave Eskelsen.
By 7 a.m. 8,000 people were
still without power, mainly in the Sandy, Emigration Canyon and east bench areas.
Eskelsen said it would probably take crews most of Thursday to restore all the
power lost when tree branches and other debris were flung into power lines.
The
Utah Highway Patrol closed I-15 between Bountiful and Layton to high-profile vehicles
from 1 a.m. to 5:20 a.m.
The strongest winds hit between 11 p.m. Wednesday
and 1 a.m. Thursday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Struthwolf.
He characterized the powerful windstorm as typical of the area's weather pattern.
"We get one of these storms once a year in the spring," he said.
In March
2000, 70- to 80-mph winds were noted in Davis County, and in April 1999 a 113-mph
wind gust was recorded in Brigham City, Struthwolf said.
 | | An
uprooted tree lifted a car near 6600 South and 1900 East in Salt Lake County.
Marcus Wittwer, front, and Ryan Reimann look at damage. Ravell Call, Deseret News |
Power
outages forced Utah Transit Authority to run a portion of TRAX on a backup generator.
But spokesman Chris McBride said it did not cause any delay in service.
The
Salt Lake County Operations Division, which has charge of clearing all the downed
trees and tree limbs in the county, said most of the calls they were getting were
from the Cottonwood Heights and Holladay areas.
From 7-10 a.m. the office
received between 50 to 100 calls, division office coordinator Jodi Stinson said.
Sandy
Public Works Department said by 10 a.m. they had received several reports of significant
property damage due to trees falling on homes. Most of the damage occurred near
2300 East between 8600 South and 9800 South, department spokesman Chris Hillman
said.
Late Wednesday night a home in Farmington at 517 N. Main had significant
damage when a nearly 80-foot tree fell into Jessica and Josh Jones' bedroom around
10:45.
"It's just scary to think what could have happened if we had been
in bed. . . . That tree was so heavy," Jessica Jones said.
The tree crashed
through the roof and window, landing on the couple's bed and pushing it down into
the floor while Jessica Jones was getting ready for bed in the bathroom and her
husband was in the other room on the couch.
"We were totally shocked,"
she said. "We can't find our cat. It scared our cat so much it just bolted."
Centerville
had 77-mph gusts of wind at 1 a.m. Thursday, the last reading the National Weather
Service received from its sensors in that area, Struthwolf said. Other strong
wind gusts recorded Thursday morning included 74 mph at Francis Peak above Hill
Air Force Base, 60 mph at Knudson's Corner, 57 mph at the University of Utah and
54 mph in Alpine.
 | | Fortunately,
Josh and Jessica Jones hadn't yet gone to bed when an 80-foot tree fell onto their
roof at about 10:45 p.m. during Wednesday's high winds. Ravell Call, Deseret News |
The
high wind warning that was issued at 3 p.m. Wednesday was expected to extend through
Thursday night, Struthwolf said. "Conditions are still favorable for strong winds,
especially tonight. It will be more of a canyon wind tonight. Bountiful and Hill
Air Force Base will see stronger winds tonight."
The nighttime storm left
many homeowners and public entities cleaning up Thursday. In the small park and
ball field south and east of Salt Lake's Liberty Park, a tree snapped and fell,
dragging down a large section of fence.
Bountiful police were kept busy
responding as house alarms were triggered, but they reported no extensive damage.
The
hardest-hit Salt Lake County areas were Sandy and Holladay. Reports of trees,
power lines and fences being blown over flooded the Sandy Police Department and
the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.
A 30-foot
pine tree fell across Falcon Way near 2300 East and 9300 South, said Sandy police
Lt. Kevin Thacker. The area east of 2100 East and south of 9000 South was a "hot
spot" for wind damage, he said.
The wind knocked out power to Alta View
Hospital at 1 a.m. The hospital immediately switched over to generator power,
said hospital spokesman Jess Gomez. The main power was restored at 8:30 a.m. Phone
service was also knocked out for seven hours. From 1 to 8 a.m. no calls could
be received or sent from the hospital, Gomez said. Winds during the night blew
down a large tree over the baseball stands and field at 800 East 1300 South. |
