Strong winds cause mess on western edge of county

By Kyle Mooty

LPR Editor

The storms which visited the western edge of Caldwell County with strong straight-line winds on the night of Thursday, May 9, wreaked havoc on a man’s trailer house and parking structure, an office building, and a couple of business’ roofs and signs, but was otherwise limited to downed trees from Martindale down to Luling.

Caldwell County Emergency Management Chief Hector Rangel said the National Weather Service had classified the straight winds and that a weather underground station had clocked them at 70 miles-per-hour.

Will Holford, Manager of Public Affairs at Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, said from Thursday at 8 p.m. through Friday afternoon, there were about 45 outages in Caldwell County affecting 2,754 members.

Holford said the average time to restore power was 3 hours and 15 minutes. Bluebonnet had about 75 crews working in the area to remove fallen trees, repair downed power lines, and replace damaged equipment.

“The severe storm that moved through Caldwell, Guadalupe and Hays counties caused extensive damage to our electric distribution system: Holford said. “Many of the outages were due to trees falling and debris being blown into power lines, which broke power poles and cross arms, and downed power lines. Those are the most time-consuming and labor-intensive outages to restore power. We greatly appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while we worked as quickly and safely as possible to make repairs and restore their power.”

Caldwell County Commissioner BJ Westmoreland said the Unit Road Department of the county had dealt with “a lot of trees” down.

Martindale Mayor Katherine Glaze posted the following response:

“In the wake of the devastating storm and extreme winds that raved our community on May 9, I and the City of Martindale hereby declare a state of emergency. The ferocious winds caused widespread destruction, resulting in significant debris obstructing our roadways and impeding essential services.

“In response to the crisis, I am calling into action all available resources from the City of Martindale to promptly clear the roadways of debris and ensure the safety and accessibility of our streets. This includes mobilizing emergency response teams, coordinating with local authorities, and enlisting the support of volunteers and relevant agencies.

“It is imperative that we act swiftly and decisively to restore normalcy to our community and provide public assistance to those in need. I urge all residents to exercise caution and patience during this challenging time and to cooperate with emergency personnel as they work tirelessly to mitigate the effects of this disaster.”

Rangel noted a San Marcos River resort office – Amigos Beach — had been crushed by a fallen pecan tree, and that a warehouse in Martindale and Fen-Tex storage unit in Fentress had been damaged. Also, some awnings that had just been placed at a business were blown off.

The man living on State Park Road near the Highway 80 intersection, had his roof blown about three-fourths of a mile from his house, ending up in trees along State Park Road (see photo). The original roof was about 1,200-square feet.

Rangel said the winds departed Caldwell County and entered Guadalupe County.

Fortunately, Rangel said no injuries had been reported.

Some hail was also reported in the county.