Irma topples trees in downtown Columbia neighborhoods

City crews responded to nearly 50 reports of trees down, mostly in the downtown Columbia area, during the high winds from Tropical Storm Irma on Monday.

The 47 calls came throughout the day and into the night Monday, according to Robert Anderson, public works director for the City of Columbia.

“We didn’t map it yet, but it didn’t look like it was concentrated in any one place,” Anderson said of the locations of the calls. “We didn’t get the calls all at once. An all-day storm, they come over a period of time.”

A steady sometimes hard rain kept the area wet Monday, but it was Irma’s winds that caused the most damage in the Midlands.

The trees were on both city and private property, and three involved downed power lines, Anderson said. City crews had roadways cleared by 10 p.m. Monday.

There were no reports of injuries from the trees and limbs falling. However, crews responded to some locations where trees damaged homes or vehicles.

“We were very fortunate that we didn’t have more damage than what we did,” Anderson said. “I don’t know that any of us had expectations, but I think we were very fortunate.”

The Columbia Metropolitan Airport saw a peak wind gust Monday of 51 mph, while downtown’s Jim Hamilton-L.B. Owens Airport registered a gust of 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

City crews took calls for fallen trees or limbs at the following locations, according to a release Monday night:

Woodlake Drive and Carter Hill Drive

Clark and Florence streets

600 block Henderson Street

400 block King Street

1500 block Fairview Road

Lyon and Gervais streets

Trenholm Road and Gervais

100 block Pond Oak Lane

Elmwood Avenue at I-26

1300 block Adger Road

3700 block Devereaux Road

Arborwood Road and Sagamore Drive

200 block Shandon Street

2800 block Blossom Street

3200 block Lyles Street

300 block South Maple Street and Rosewood Drive

Marion and Laurel streets

4700 block Dale Street

1500 block of Lady Street

South Ott Road and Rosewood Drive

100 block Kilbourne Road

Sumter and Calhoun streets

Trenholm and Haynesworth roads

Laurel and Waverly streets

Lincoln and Northwood streets

Cypress and Maple streets

1600 block Maple

Trenholm and East Buchanan Drive

1200 block Beatty Road

1700 block Maplewood Drive

Riverhill Circle

4000 block Palmetto Avenue

1700 block East Buchanan and Parkman Drive

1700 block Wayne and Laurel streets

Pickens Street and Blossom

100 block Stoneridge Drive and Greystone Boulevard

300 block Glenn Avenue and Woodridge Drive

Wallace Street and Elmwood

1500 block King Street and Senate Street

1000 block Butler Street and Millwood Avenue

1000 block Maple

700 block South Maple

This story was originally published September 12, 2017 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Irma topples trees in downtown Columbia neighborhoods."