Severe Winds Damage Hickory House, Power Loss to Southern Lamar Areas

Roof Peeled off Frame on Northwest side of Building

Winds in excess of 60mph knocked down eleven power poles around Lamar with eight power poles located along Savage Avenue yesterday afternoon, April 17^th at around 5pm, tripping off breakers in the vicinity and causing additional power outages in Lamar, stretching from Memorial Drive to 14^th Street in the southern section of the town, according to a spokesperson from Lamar Light and Power.

Debris on East Side

Power was lost to most of that section of for several hours, although some areas where the poles went down aren’t expected to have power restored until around noon on Wednesday. The winds caused some fences to fall over and one house on the western-most area of Lamar reportedly had a window blown out.  Crews from Lamar Light and Power have been working through last night to restore power to its customers.  The majority is expected to have their power restored by around 3pm along Savage Avenue and by this evening all power in Lamar is expected to be restored.

The Hickory House Restaurant on North Main Street suffered wind damage to the roof, forcing the popular dining spot to close as power and electric lines on the roof were severed when the winds pulled a portion of the roof open on Tuesday. Apparently it was the only structure along North Main that suffered damage to that extent.  JR’s, connected to the Hickory House on the north side, is also closed.

Craig Brookes, Chief Building Officer for Lamar, told The Prowers Journal, “The lines on the roof were compromised late yesterday in the wind storm. We made the decision to shut off the power and gas and evacuate the building.  Structurally, the roof appears to be in good shape, but they have some serious roofing issues.”

By Russ Baldwin