Gusting winds wreak havoc across county, topple trees in park
By RICHARD SHAW
Sun Advocate publisher
Gusts ranging up to a measured 50 miles per hour blew through Carbon County on Sunday and the winds took a toll on property, particularly trees.
Some local residents indicate that they believe gusts in selected areas of the county approached hurricane speed, however.
Probably the most spectacular damage occurred when a near 70-year-old pine tree in Washington Park blew over and took out another one-half of a century old evergreen on the south end of the Price city facility.
Both of the trees were entirely uprooted and Price city work crews began almost immediately to clean up the mess.
All around the county branches fell and shingles were blown off roofs.
Motorists had to avoid large branches in many parts of the county and stripped off shingles were lying in the road in many local neighborhoods.
In north Price, several homes reportedly suffered enough wind damage to the shingles that some residents will have to replace the roofs on the structures.
Dust was a problem in some areas as it blew off open areas into housing developments.
Another casualty of the wind was fences. Around the county many fences suffered damage with some being completely blown over.
Electrical power transmission poles and some light poles also sustained damage or blew over as well.
Power in some parts of the county was lost for nearly two hours as crews tried to repair lines in the high, constant winds.
On the College of Eastern Utah campus a number of broken windshields were reported broken during the wind storm due to flying debris.
Highway 6 was also open and closed off and on through Price-Spanish Fork Canyon during the afternoon. The snow that never showed up in the valleys of Carbon county inundated the Wasatch Front and it's reach extended to Soldier Summit and beyond. Trucks and cars coming out of the canyon on Sunday afternoon were covered with snow and ice, much of it covering one side or the other of the vehicle where the wind had pasted it to the finish of the vehicle.
On Monday less gusty winds replaced the strong winds of Sunday, but still some damage was happening. One tree in Price was ready to topple over and crews were trying to bring it down carefully before it fell on a house.
While there was some property damage, no injuries were reported due to the winds.
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