Wednesday night’s thunderstorm consisted of rain, hail and heavy winds which damaged various areas of the county and resulted in several roadblocks.
According to a Union County Emergency Services employee, the Buffalo and Cross Keys communities were hit hardest by the storm. Several trees fell on top of power lines, leaving live wires in the middle of the roads. At least two houses caught fire due to the downed lines. Roadblocks were placed in several areas, including parts of Highways 215 and 49.
The area of the city around Park Drive and Douglas Heights was also affected. Roadblocks were placed in those high-risk areas.
As of 10 p.m. Wednesday night, Union County Emergency Services was still logging reports of downed trees and power outages. At that time, employees were on page 3, with each page containing approximately 30 reports.
Capt. Robert Hines - Director of Emergency Services - reported that Union County received 1.04 inches of rain during the storm and winds reached 86 miles per hour. Hines also said the storm was a low-setting one, with lightning as close as 1,800 feet from the ground at times. This also resulted in heavy fog following the storm.
Deputies and firefighters responded throughout the storm, and some even helped the SC DOT with the clearing of trees from roads. Hines said there were close to 100 different events such as fallen trees reported within a two-hour time period.
"We had a good group of men and women out battling the storm," Hines said.
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