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ENLARGE
Ron Rudden/Churchill County photo
Winds toppled trees throughout Churchill County on Friday including this tree that blocked traffic on St. Clair Road.
Winds caused minor damage throughout Fallon and Churchill County Friday during a storm with winds up to 59 mph, but city and county officials said they were prepared for this type of storm.
City Engineer Jim Souba said the city of Fallon primarily experienced short power outages and traffic light disruptions.
Souba said one traffic light had signal problems and another broke but both were quickly repaired.
“Right now the signals are all up,” Souba said.
Souba said NV Energy, which supplies Fallon's power, had a few poles toppled over, but NV Energy quickly re-routed and restored power.
“I'll take my hat off to NV Energy,” Souba said. “They respond very quickly and professionally to an electrical outage.”
He said the short outages were due to a phase to phase short, which is when power lines touch the ground or one another while swinging back and forth in the wind.
“They are simply vulnerable in high winds,” Souba said.
Souba said as long as the power lines quickly disconnect the problem is corrected and power is restored. Nevertheless, the quick connection can cause sparks.
“I'd not be the least bit surprised if there were,” Souba said. “It might look a little bit like fireworks.”
He said when touching power lines do not immediately separate they can melt the lines or cause a fire, but Souba said he was not aware of any such case in the city.
Churchill County did experience at least one fire said Ron Rudden, Churchill County assistant road supervisor, but not from power lines.
Rudden said the wind can provide enough oxygen to ignite a fire that has been put out as long as a week prior, so burn sites are vulnerable.
“All of a sudden, it just started smoking,” Rudden said. “They could have burnt a couple of days ago and the fanning of the wind (brought it back).”
There was also a power line that snapped and fell across U.S. Highway 95 north of Fallon between Rice Road and Wade Lane, which caused traffic to back up. The line was cleared by that evening.
Otherwise, Rudden said the main problem around the county was uprooted trees and snapped limbs. One tree at Just Country Friends on the 700 block of West Williams Avenue blocked traffic to one lane until it was removed.
“We had several trees down,” Rudden said. “They were down pretty much all over the valley.”
Rudden said other areas also experienced traffic problems due to fallen trees, but he expected to clear them prior to the end of the day Friday. Still he expected to get calls in the evening from people returning home to find trees blocking their path on less traveled residential streets.
Although minor damage was scattered throughout the area, both city and county officials said everything was taken care of quickly and effectively.
“Most folks know to call the city if they want to report a public works problem,” Souba said. “It's pretty much common sense. Most people are prepared and know what to expect.”
Souba and Rudden commended the response from NV Energy, public works, the county road department and fire and police departments, which all tackled wind damage quickly and effectively.
“They're used to it,” Rudden said. “This is Nevada, and those are cottonwood trees. The wind blows, and trees are going to fall. We're really prepared for this kind of stuff.”
City Engineer Jim Souba said the city of Fallon primarily experienced short power outages and traffic light disruptions.
Souba said one traffic light had signal problems and another broke but both were quickly repaired.
“Right now the signals are all up,” Souba said.
Souba said NV Energy, which supplies Fallon's power, had a few poles toppled over, but NV Energy quickly re-routed and restored power.
“I'll take my hat off to NV Energy,” Souba said. “They respond very quickly and professionally to an electrical outage.”
He said the short outages were due to a phase to phase short, which is when power lines touch the ground or one another while swinging back and forth in the wind.
“They are simply vulnerable in high winds,” Souba said.
Souba said as long as the power lines quickly disconnect the problem is corrected and power is restored. Nevertheless, the quick connection can cause sparks.
“I'd not be the least bit surprised if there were,” Souba said. “It might look a little bit like fireworks.”
He said when touching power lines do not immediately separate they can melt the lines or cause a fire, but Souba said he was not aware of any such case in the city.
Churchill County did experience at least one fire said Ron Rudden, Churchill County assistant road supervisor, but not from power lines.
Rudden said the wind can provide enough oxygen to ignite a fire that has been put out as long as a week prior, so burn sites are vulnerable.
“All of a sudden, it just started smoking,” Rudden said. “They could have burnt a couple of days ago and the fanning of the wind (brought it back).”
There was also a power line that snapped and fell across U.S. Highway 95 north of Fallon between Rice Road and Wade Lane, which caused traffic to back up. The line was cleared by that evening.
Otherwise, Rudden said the main problem around the county was uprooted trees and snapped limbs. One tree at Just Country Friends on the 700 block of West Williams Avenue blocked traffic to one lane until it was removed.
“We had several trees down,” Rudden said. “They were down pretty much all over the valley.”
Rudden said other areas also experienced traffic problems due to fallen trees, but he expected to clear them prior to the end of the day Friday. Still he expected to get calls in the evening from people returning home to find trees blocking their path on less traveled residential streets.
Although minor damage was scattered throughout the area, both city and county officials said everything was taken care of quickly and effectively.
“Most folks know to call the city if they want to report a public works problem,” Souba said. “It's pretty much common sense. Most people are prepared and know what to expect.”
Souba and Rudden commended the response from NV Energy, public works, the county road department and fire and police departments, which all tackled wind damage quickly and effectively.
“They're used to it,” Rudden said. “This is Nevada, and those are cottonwood trees. The wind blows, and trees are going to fall. We're really prepared for this kind of stuff.”
