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A tree sits atop a home at the corner of Frnaklin Drive and Sussex Avenue on Saturday following strong winds.

Strong winds cracked a tree on Shadow Lane on Saturday, bringing the bulk of the tree down across power lines and the roadway.

Powerful winds uprooted a tree on Shadow Lane on Saturday, blocking the roadway.

Troy firefighters work to remove a tree from a yard on Sherwood Avenue on Saturday

A tree blocks the roadway at Shadow Lane on Saturday after being felled during a severe storm

Strong winds associated with a severe line of thunderstorms brought trees and power lines down in several areas across Troy and Pike County on Saturday afternoon.

Tyler Bishop was in the living room of his residence at the corner of Franklin Drive and Sussex Avenue when he saw a nearby tree falling directly toward him.

“I was looking out the glass patio door when I heard a limb go through the picnic table and my roommate yelled that a tree was coming down,” Bishop said. “So we ran to the other side of the house before it crashed through the living room.”

The tree fell on the corner of the house exactly where the two men had been standing, breaking over the roof and settling over the home.

Just a few miles away on Shadow Lane, Pamela Patton was thanking the Lord that a tree in her yard fell toward the road instead of toward her home.

“I was watching the weather on TV and the red was coming right across Troy when I heard that loud pop and the electricity went off,” Patton said. “I came to look and see what had happened and I said ‘Man, the Lord was looking after me’ because that could have come down on my roof.”

Just a few yards down, another tree had fallen next to the home of Bethany McGee, also taking down power lines and blocking the roadway.

“The strong gust of wind came and I went out the back to see if I had lost anything and when I came back out the front, the tree was down,” McGee said.

EMA Director Herb Reeves said similar reports occurred across the county with trees on the road and power lines down.

“Thankfully, the only structural damage we’re aware of right now is the home on Franklin Drive,” Reeves said. “We’re not aware of any injuries related to the storm either.”

While firefighters have responded to numerous trees down, power crews have been working to get the lights back on in several areas.

“We have about 100 houses without power right now,” said Mayor Jason Reeves. “We have some near Emerald Drive and Shadow Lane that are out,” Reeves said. “We had some out at Brantley Mobile Home park earlier, but they should be back on. We also have some spot outages. We expect everybody that can be turned back on tonight will be turned back on. There are only a few that can’t be turned back on tonight.”

“We thank everyone for being patient with us right now as we work to restore power.”

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