Thousands of people were without power Wednesday after a storm ripped through the Baltimore area, uprooting trees and knocking down power lines, Baltimore Gas and Electric authorities said.
“In this storm, the main cause of [BGE] system damage was trees and tree limbs that, in some case, were already weakened from last week?s storm,” said Kelly Shanefelter, a BGE spokeswoman.
“Extensive tree damage means that debris has to be removed before restoration can begin.”
More than 540 BGE personnel worked through Tuesday night to restore power to more than 56,000 customers, with priority given to anything affecting public safety or critical infrastructure, such as downed power lines, hospitals and 911 centers, Shanefelter said.
The hardest-hit areas were Baltimore, Carroll and Howard counties. Areas across central Maryland experienced wind gusts as high as 48 mph, according to BGE.
Power outages forced several area schools to close Wednesday, including Baltimore County?s Pot Springs, Prettyboy and Sparks elementary schools, as well as Howard County?s Atholton Elementary School in Columbia.
In Howard, Columbia?s Long Reach village was the hardest hit, specifically at Tamar Drive and Major?s Lane, Howard County spokeswoman Kathy Sloan-Beard said.
Near Fire Station No. 9 and Jeffers Hill Elementary School, high winds and possible wind shears “took the tops off of trees,” she said.
The fire station at Route 175 and Tamar Drive was surrounded by so many tree limbs that firetrucks had trouble getting in and out of the station, Howard fire spokesman Bill Mould said.
A fallen tree also damaged Ilchester and Montgomery roads in Ellicott City, which reopened Wednesday morning after debris was cleared, Sloan-Beard said.
“We didn?t have any fires or homes hit by lightening, although there were a lot of lighting strikes,” Mould said, adding that a tree fell on a house and a car, but no serious injuries were reported.
Four houses in north central Baltimore County were damaged by the storm, according to county officials.
The houses were on Carrbridge Court in Brooklandville, North Hampton Lane in Lutherville, Brightdale Road in Cockeysville and Belfast Road in Lutherville.
Anne Arundel did not have significant storm damage, Anne Arundel fire officials said.
