Hurricane-force winds topping 100 mph in some places ripped through Utah Thursday, overturning semi-trailer rigs on Interstate 15, toppling trees and triggering widespread power outages affecting nearly 50,000 homes and businesses.
The Utah Highway Patrol reported 16 semis overturned by the wind on the state’s highways Thursday, including three on Legacy Parkway and 10 more on Interstate 15 in Davis County, where winds lashed at 102 mph, said Cpl. Todd Johnson. None of the drivers suffered more than minor injuries.
The winds weren’t quite as fierce by Thursday afternoon, but still gusting at more than 55 mph in places, the Utah Department of Transportation reported.
In Davis County, the winds had slowed to 30 mph by Thursday afternoon and were expected to continue to slow, according to the county sheriff’s office.
But the wind damage left behind prompted the county to issue a disaster declaration Thursday night saying infrastructure damage exceeds $3.5 million. It will also close all schools in the Davis School District on Friday. Twenty-eight of those schools were closed Thursday as the wind knocked out power, downed trees, damaged rooftop equipment and shattered windows in 30 school buses.
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Published Feb 22, 2012 03:48:03PM
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"Our main focus is to make sure that our students and employees are safe," superintendent Bryan Bowles said in a press release. "We know families have been affected by this storm, not only students who go to schools, but also staff members who work in our schools."
Blowing snow closed Interstate 80 at Evanston, Wyo., early Thursday, and parts of the FrontRunner train route were closed from Layton to Salt Lake City Thursday morning due to power outages, debris on the tracks and damage to stations, including 15 toppled light poles in Farmington.
The Utah Transit Authority also advised passengers using its Paratransit service in Weber and Davis to cancel trips Thursday.
Winds toppled trees, power poles and electrical lines in both northern and southern Utah, said Dave Eskelsen, spokesman for Rocky Mountain Power. An estimated 14,500 Salt Lake Valley residents were without power as of Thursday afternoon, along with roughly 20,000 in the Ogden area and another 14,500 in Davis County.
The outages included the Davis County sheriff’s office, though the building continued to operate on a generator.
Eskelsen said the outages were massive and widespread, taxing the utility’s repair crews to their maximum. With that in mind, Rocky Mountain Power was warning those without service to brace for being powerless for about 48 hours.
"All our crews are out. We’re going to have, literally, thousands of damage points to repair," he explained. "Our first priority is safety, but obviously we want to be able to get everyone back in service."
Rocky Mountain Power crews were also called out late Wednesday night in Ivins, where two toppled power poles left 3,000 homes without electricity, but service was restored within a couple hours.
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