Irma leaves a mark

THOMASVILLE – The community’s emergency personnel returned to service at 11:15 a.m. Monday after wind gusts of 60 miles per hour took them off duty.

Sustained wind of 40 mph returned 90 minutes later, and crews responded to power outages and downed trees throughout the community.

Some 7,300 Thomasville Utilities customers were without power late Monday morning. “Right now, we’re at our peak. We expect it to come down from that,” said Sheryl Sealy, City of Thomasville communications director.

In the city, 15 to 20 trees were toppled by high wind. A lot of the trees took down power lines.

Two traffic signals fell during high wind.

Sealy said 14 city streets were blocked by fallen trees.

The Thomas County Sheriff’s Office reported 57 trees down outside the city. Some trees fell on houses.

The clearing of trees from roads began at 4:30 a.m. Monday.

Chris Jones, Thomas County emergency management director, said citizens should be patient while tree removal is underway.

“Crews are working around the clock to remove them,” he added.

“Thankfully, we have daylight to work in now,” Jones said Monday morning.

A curfew went into effect at 9 p.m. Sunday to keep people off streets while workers restore power and remove debris. The curfew remains in effect.

“We expect to work throughout the day and into the night to maintain roads,” Jones said.

Shelters opened at First Baptist and New Covenant churches. Some churches opened shelters for their congregations.

Thomas County Emergency Medical Service Director Tim Coram said EMS made 10 to 15 calls during the storm, but not to Irma-related injuries.

The calls were to people frightened by the storm and became short of breath,  Coram explained.

No injuries were reported as a result of the storm.

Information for this story was provided by the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820