Power to remain out today for some Benton County residents

Justin Merkey (left)  and Jimmy Green, both with the Bentonville Street Department, clean up fallen tree limbs Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019 in Bentonville.
Justin Merkey (left) and Jimmy Green, both with the Bentonville Street Department, clean up fallen tree limbs Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019 in Bentonville.

Some Bella Vista residents on the west side of the city can expect to remain without power until the early evening because of the extensive damage from overnight storms, Mayor Peter Christie said around 11 a.m.

Christie said small pockets of homes and businesses were without power Tuesday morning. He estimated between 15,000 and 16,000 of city’s 31,000 residents were in the dark early Tuesday morning.

Strong straight-line winds left trees down and power out across Benton County on Tuesday morning, according to Benton County officials.

A storm moved through the area about 10:30 p.m. Monday, said Bart Haake, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa. Based on the data he had seen, Haake said straight-line winds were probably to blame for the any damage.

Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Highfill reported a wind gust of 66 mph at 11:04 p.m. Monday, Haake said.

Robert McGowen, public safety administrator for the county, said he had no reports of any injuries.

McGowen was at Devizis Drive in Bella Vista on Tuesday morning where a tree had fallen across the street, but was entangled in downed power lines. Crews had to wait for the power company to arrive before the road could be cleared, he said.

Carroll Electric reported 7,414 customers without power in Benton County as of about 10 a.m. Most of those were in Bella Vista, said Nancy Plagge with Carroll.

Fourteen Carroll Electric power poles were snapped in Bella Vista, but the company expected that number to grow as the damage was assessed Tuesday, Plagge said.

The main problem the city faces is clearing streets of downed trees, Christie said. There were at least 200 trees down on the west side of the city. The fire, police and street departments were clearing streets, and a crew of inmates from the Benton County Jail also helped clear debris, Christie said.

The storm closed 36 roads in Benton County, but all but five were reopened by 9 a.m., Jay Frasier with the road department said. Tree limbs were down from the the county’s border with Oklahoma along mostly a northern swing across the county, he said.

A building the Centerton Street Department uses to house some of its equipment like lawnmowers was hit by a downed tree, Mayor Bill Edwards said. About 500 residents of the city of 18,000 were still without power on Tuesday morning, he said.

Tony Davis, street manager for the city of Bentonville, said the first call of a downed tree came in at 11:40 p.m. Monday. Three crews worked through the night to clear trees and debris from roadways.

Storm damage is shown north of Centerton on Tuesday morning.

Photos provided by Benton County.
Storm damage is shown north of Centerton on Tuesday morning. Photos provided by Benton County.

There were about 15 to 20 trees that blocked or partially blocked city streets, at some point. All were open by Tuesday morning. Davis most of the fallen trees in the city were on private property. The northwest part of the city took the brunt of the storm including the Hanover, Stonehenge and Cardinal Creek subdivisions, he said.

This story was updated at 11:14 a.m.

NW News on 08/28/2019

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