Trees snap like pencils, metal bends like rubber during Cherokee County storms

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. - Thousands of people are still without power in Cherokee County after Friday's storms knocked down more than 1,000 trees. The National Weather Service says some parts of the county got 90 to 95 mph gusts of winds.

In fact, the winds were so strong in the Clayton community of Cherokee County that they knocked over a gas station awning. The wind actually bent the metal columns.

Residents say the trees took the most damage.

"Dark clouds rolled in out of nowhere. Treetops started moving an abnormal amount," resident Dillon Harrington told FOX 5.

Harrington said he was working in his barn Friday night when the storm hit the area.

He said he heard a large gust of winds before trees began falling like dominoes in his backyard – including a large oak tree about three feet in diameter.

"When that tree fell, it took about five others with it," he said. "So all you could hear is … I don't know if you've ever heard a two-by-four break in half, but times that times a thousand, you know, and that's what you hear."

He considers himself lucky that none of his trees fell on his home.

Unfortunately, some of his neighbors weren't as lucky. Like Larry Champion.

Champion told FOX 5 a tree went through his porch and damaged the roof.

Some homes had it even worse.  

"Well, we have at this time estimated up to about three dozen homes were damaged due to fallen trees during this event, with one mobile home that was destroyed and one house that received major damage," Cherokee County EMA Director Daniel Westbrook told FOX 5.

Westbrook said the damage was so bad in Clayton County that they brought the National Weather Service to the area to survey it.

Worst of all, done with those trees came power lines. Some cables dangled over several roads in the area with no word on how long before they would be cleared.

"There's a lot of devastation up here in this county. We really need some help," Champion said.

Amicalola Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) released a statement to FOX 5 regarding the power outages residents in the area experienced:

"On Thursday afternoon, July 21, as soon as the storm passed, our line crews began to respond to power outages.  Since that time, we have worked non-stop to restore power to our members.  We were able to secure additional storm restoration crews from sister EMCs in Georgia, as well as crews from out of state utilities and electric contract crews. 

At the height of the storm we had approx. 26,000 meters out, which is roughly half of our 55,000 meter system; Currently, we are down to 5593 meters still out.  Our broken pole count has exceeded 70 and we expect this to continue to rise.  

Lowering our outage count to 5593 in just over two days is a remarkable accomplishment given the fact that there were 2 confirmed tornadoes in Pickens County, as well as straight line winds.  There was also substantial devastation in northern Cherokee County. Some have estimated the number of trees on the ground to be in the hundreds if not thousands. 

Our service area covers 1100 square miles in parts of ten north Georgia counties.  Much of our service area is rural, cross-country and mountainous terrain that makes restoration challenging in some situations. In many situations roadways must be cleared before power lines can be accessed, and restoration work can begin. 

We understand the inconvenience being without power causes our members, and we continue to ask for their patience and understanding as we continue working.  All power will be restored as soon as is safely possible."