Staff report
SPENCER ó Students arrived at North Rowan Middle and North Rowan High School on Thursday morning to find the power out.
Duke Energy crews worked through the night to replace poles, rehang lines and replace transformers damaged in a wind storm Wednesday night.
Nearly 1,300 customers were without power after 10 p.m., when winds toppled trees and utility lines at Charles Street, next to the schools. While some areas of Spencer got electricity back by 1:30 a.m., others didn’t get power restored until around 9:30 a.m.
Police Chief Robert Bennett said parents and bus drivers had a challenging situation trying to get to the schools with sections of streets blocked off to allow Duke crews to work.
Bennett said the Rowan-Salisbury School System was notified Wednesday night of the power outage and downed trees. Classes went on as scheduled.
Damage was mostly confined to a small area of Spencer.
The worst came at Fourth Street, where a brief, intense burst of wind damaged Tommy Stoner’s house, which is at 301 Fourth St.
Fire Chief Joe Baker said damage to the Stoner house was apparently caused by a microburst, a relatively small but intense burst of high wind.
Wind knocked down a sign at 1108 South Salisbury Ave. for Jack-Lyn’s Florist.
Spencer firefighters sealed off roads where lines were down and waited for Duke crews.