Flash flood warning issued for Carson City; power line snaps
Submitted by editor on Sat, 07/24/2010 - 5:21pm
A flash flood warning issued for Carson City has expired but continues through 6:15 p.m. in central Douglas County, according to the National Weather Service in Reno. Rain and heavy winds have punched the region, with reports of power outages in east and west Carson City.
In addition, the westbound lane of Highway 50 going up to Spooner Summit is closed, with Nevada Highway Patrol diverting traffic. No word yet on the cause for the closure.
A power line snapped and a transformer is down in the area of Spear and Nevada streets near Division. Carson City fire crews and the Carson City Sheriff's Office closed portions of traffic in the area. The downed power lines did not arc and were not live on the ground, according to fire personnel on the scene.
Meanwhile branches are reported snapped on the east end of Carson City. Wind gusts slammed the areas of Saliman Road and Como Street, with debris scattered in the street.
A power outage has traffic signals not working along portions of Roop, Stewart and Fifth streets.
In a period of about four minutes at around 5 p.m., heavy winds, rain, lightening and thunder made its way into the Carson City region, with gusts strong enough to topple trees.
Witnesses said the weather event lasted for only a few minutes.
Kurt Garrett, who lives at 314 West Robinson Street was in his kitchen looking out the window and saw a large chunk of his cottonwood tree fall to the ground, just missing a family member's car.
"I was getting dinner ready and saw it come down. I thought for sure it had hit the car, but it didn't. We're lucky. At least it didn't hit the house, either," Garrett said.
Down the street on Spear and Division, a large cottonwood snapped, crashing into the street and taking power lines with it.
As of 6:30 tonight NV Energy is preparing to move the downed lines and Carson City Public Works will move the debris, according to crews on the scene.
Meanwhile, a thunderstorm warning remains in effect until 7 p.m. for the areas north of Reno all the way to Lassen County, according to the weather service.
A Red Flag warning remains in effect through 6 p.m. Sunday for the Carson City region. For the very latest go to www.carsonweather.com.
