Irma wreaks havoc on Lexington County’s power grid, trees, foliage, and people’s nerves before slipp

Lexington County, SC (Paul Kirby) – Tropical force winds, along with a deluge of rain, accompanied what was left of Hurricane Irma as she roared into Lexington County yesterday about mid-morning. We were well prepared for the most part, but I’m not sure anyone predicted the negative effects that the prolonged storm would have on our county.

Starting at mid-day, the wind gusts brought our power grid into contact with so many trees, limbs, and branches that I simply couldn’t keep up with the number of calls for lines down, transformers blowing, and arcing wires that our emergency teams responded to; for sure it was in the hundreds, if not a thousand or more! Firefighters eventually ended up responding to call after call, communicating pole numbers through the county’s dispatch to the appropriate utility company, and standing guard for safety's sake until the electric company’s employees arrived. By early evening, it had become such a common occurrence that the fire crews were barricading the areas, or taping the downed lines off with fire line tape, and then moving straight to the next one. There really wasn’t much more that the firefighters could do.

By daybreak on Tuesday, SCE&G was reporting that more than 3,700 homes and businesses were still without power in Lexington County, a number that really is minimal considering what all we went through. Mid-Carolina had another 3,500 or more out as well, and the smaller co-ops in the southern end of the county, like Black River and Aiken Electric, were also working diligently to restore their systems. Their employees were phenomenal, working through the night, the rain, and high winds to make things whole again where they could and safe until after the storm, when downed lines and broken poles had to be put off until after daylight today.

Trees down across roads were a common occurrence as well. Even more, limbs, leaves, pine straw, and other foliage littered most roads, causing driving hazards that could be avoided provided that motorists slowed to the point that they could maneuver when they encountered the flying and lying debris that littered the roads, streets, and interstates.

The same organic material eventually ended up in the ditches and storm drains blocking those so that water began to pond on some of the secondary roads, held from draining away by the general “stuff” that blocked the water from

flowing away. The Environmental Coordinator for Lexington County’s Public Works Storm Water Division, Ms. India Woodson, had explained how this could be a problem to me on the Good Morning Lexington County morning show several weeks ago, but seeing it actually happen brought home the importance of us all working together to keep the storm water moving.

Sheriff Jay Koon and his leadership team seemed to have a plan that strategically placed deputies at key points across the county so that they could quickly respond when needed. His office is tasked with monitoring the damages in a storm such as this, and they had lots to monitor. I saw them individually parked all over the county at stores, truck stops, church yards, and other locations that made them quickly accessible to the people in those general areas when a call for service came in.

By mid-afternoon, a deputy patrolling had a confrontation with a suspicious man after being flagged down by a woman off Devil’s Backbone Road northeast of the town of Leesville. The deputy ended up firing his weapon at the man when the guy brandished a handgun in a threatening manner. The suspect, who either wasn’t hit, or just wounded, then ran off into the woods instigating a manhunt that lasted until well after dark. Sheriff Koon described the suspect as a black male, dressed in black, and said he should be considered, “armed and dangerous.” He urged people in the area to lock their doors, and be vigilant, and dial 911 with any sightings as deputies with K-9's searched in vain for the perpetrator. SLED eventually took over the investigation, as is standard procedure for any instance where a deputy fires his weapon while on a call for service.

As that search was taking place, I received notification from a friend that her husband was at the 44 Truck Stop on Pond Branch Road at I-20 when someone discharged a weapon there before fleeing the scene. Deputies responded and Captain Adam Myrick, spokesman for the sheriff's department, said no one was hit during that incident. Investigators were on the scene late last night looking into what exactly occurred there.

The towns and cities had their departments well prepared to respond when needed, and they were time and time again. Teams including the police departments in Batesburg-Leesville, West Columbia, Cayce, Irmo, Chapin, Lexington, South Congaree, Springdale, Gaston, and all the other municipalities held their own, making those places safer for the people who call them home.

EMS crews were constantly responding, stopping only to fuel their trucks and restock supplies. The 911 communication center’s operators dispatched call after call as a constant barrage of issues was reported by frenzied citizens who were on edge as the storm battered the area. I can’t imagine how many times they answered those phones, passing calls on to fire, EMS, law enforcement, public works, and utility crews who were on the streets, making things better where they could, and putting things on hold when other situations had a higher priority.

Lexington County’s Emergency Operations Center, and its emergency preparedness staff, worked to get ready for Irma and get us through the storm. It’s really amazing we didn’t have more serious injuries, deaths, or some other tragedy like a large fire, or terrible car crashes. Besides all the power line calls, a fully involved camper fire in Gaston, and a few trees on some rooofs was about as bad as things got. The staff really did work well together to keep us safe and secure through it all.

Please, let’s not neglect the job that our friends at the state level did. Our state troopers, road crews, and other emergency preparedness teams were out working tirelessly to keep us, and our fellow South Carolinians, safe. We had it easy compared to the coastal areas, many of which were severely wind battered, flooded, or both.

In short, I’m proud to live in Lexington County where we have a county council, and other elected or appointed officials, who have provided us with world class emergency services right here in the center of this little southern state. Without those crews, things could have been a lot worse!

By Tuesday morning, Irma was just a drizzle, her winds had calmed, and most things were back to normal. All our schools were on a two-hour delay so that the daylight might reveal any hazards out there that the darkness had hidden. The only exception was Rocky Creek Elementary in District One that still had no power, I only hope and pray that this wasn’t a dress rehearsal for Jose, another Atlantic hurricane that’s circling until Mother Nature decides where, when, and if it will come ashore. I for one, am not ready for round two!