Storm rips trees, poles in Brewton

Several trees hit the ground, houses were damaged and power poles were snapped Wednesday morning when a severe thunderstorm roared through the middle of Brewton leaving a path of destruction but no injuries were reported.

Connie Baggett, director of program management for the city of Brewton, said about 7:55 a.m. Wednesday she received a weather alert on her cell phone about a severe thunderstorm heading toward Brewton. Within 5 minutes the storm hit with high winds and dark clouds.

"Within 5 minutes it was gone," Baggett said. "But there were a lot of scary minutes. It doesn't take long for things to change in a big way."

Baggett, along with Escambia County Emergency Management Agency Director David Adams, said from all indications the wind damage was caused by straight-line winds and not a tornado.

Baggett described it as straight-line winds with tornado strength.

She said the storm went through the middle of the city with damage along Belleville Avenue, St. Nicholas Avenue and off of Granberry Street.

Baggett said she saw about 10 to 15 utility poles in a row that were snapped, large oak trees were uprooted and pine trees were snapped in two.

"The most important thing is nobody got hurt as far as we can tell," she said.

Brewton Mayor Yank Lovelace praised the efforts of crews that responded immediately after the storm.

"Alabama Power sent additional crews from Atmore and Mobile along with crews to cut trees," Lovelace said. "You can't ask for a better response."

He also praised the efforts of the city employees from all departments, including the police department, fire department, road department and utility department for their quick response.

"Everybody's safe and that's what's important," Lovelace said Wednesday afternoon. "The roads are open and electricity should be restored later today."

Utilities Superintendent Ray Madden said he was in Bay Minette when the storm hit but stayed in constant contact with his crew and they worked to clear roads and help residents.

He also said that it does not appear that any of the city's utility lines, such as gas, water and sewer, were damaged.