High winds brought down trees cutting power to 10,000 in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties

Staff report

Boardman

The Sweeney GMC Buick dealership and the Ethan Allen furniture store across Market Street sustained heavy damage as winds that may have reached 60 to 70 miles per hour tore through Mahoning County and portions of Trumbull and Columbiana counties early Sunday evening.

The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, 21 WFMJ-TV, reported that a portion of the roof and a wall tumbled to the ground at Sweeney GMC Buick at 7997 Market St.

Across the street from Sweeney’s, a part of the roof was blown off the furniture store at 8040 Market St., and there were reports of other structures in that area that sustained damage.

The high winds and heavy rain that arrived between 6:30 and 7 p.m. left an estimated 10,000 First Energy customers without power in the tri-county area.

Some of the hardest-hit areas in Mahoning County were Boardman Township, with 2,400 outages, and Canfield and Beaver townships, with a combined 2,000 customers in the dark as of 8:30 p.m.

In Trumbull County, Bristol, Farmington and Mesopotamia townships bore the brunt of the storm with about 1,000, 500 and 375 customers, respectively, losing power. Bloomfield Township also sustained damage and power outages, according to the Trumbull County 911 Center, which reported trees and power lines down all over the county.

The outages were primarily the result of wind-damaged trees and tree limbs falling on power lines, officials said.

While there have been instances of trees falling on homes, no injuries have been reported.

A First Energy spokeswoman said power company crews were clearing hazards and cutting off power to damaged lines Sunday night and urged residents to stay away from grounded or low-hanging power lines because they could be live and dangerous. She could not estimate when power would be restored.