Elaine Blaisdell
— OAKLAND — State Park, Spring Lick and Steyer Mine Roads in Garrett County are still closed in the wake of Tuesday’s thunderstorm, but the roads will reopen soon, according to John Frank, director of the Garrett County Department of Public Safety & Emergency Management.
Fifteen roads throughout the county were closed Tuesday due to fallen trees. A majority of the roads affected were in the northern end of the county and in the Deep Creek Lake area.
“I’m just totally amazed at the volunteer fire departments last night. They were quick to respond and they put themselves in harm’s way to open the roadways,” said Frank.
The National Weather Ser-vice office in Pittsburgh determined that the wind speed at the Garrett County Airport was 48 mph and it was clocked at 70 mph in the upper atmosphere, according to Frank.
The Garrett County 911 Center received at least 100 calls during the storm pertaining to downed lines and trees but no injuries were sustained and there weren’t any fires caused by the storm, said Frank.
The storm caused county administration phone lines to go down as well as U.S. Cellular and AT&T cell phone services. AT&T cell phone service remained out Wednesday in the Finzel area and along Interstate 68 in the county, according to Frank.
Maryland Emergency Management Agency is monitoring the situation in the county and has personnel available if needed.
The National Weather Service is assessing damage in Morgantown, W.Va., in an effort to verify whether a tornado struck that area, said Frank.
Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.
