By Shavonne Potts
Salisbury Post
When Frank McGuire looked outside his house Wednesday morning, he had to rub his eyes and look again. He didn’t believe his eyes.
He was staring at his overturned 80-foot pier on the backside of his High Rock Lake property.
Strong winds late Tuesday night ripped the wooden pier from it’s cemented foundations and turned it sideways like a theme park roller coaster.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said later Wednesday.
McGuire said the pier has been in place behind his Sportsman Drive home for about 30 years. He and his wife, Barbara, have lived at the two-story white house for four years.
A morning phone call to his insurance company left him wondering how long the wreckage will remain.
The wind also tossed around some yard accessories and tree branches, he said.
“My fear is if we get another strong wind, it could do damage to my neighbor’s property,” McGuire said.
Just down the street at 2050 St. Matthews Church Road, Harry “Peanut” Hill and Chad Eaton spent a good portion of Wednesday morning clearing debris and trying to figure out what to do with a tin-covered awning uprooted by the wind.
Hill’s son called him and told him of the damage. The family lives across the street but uses the camper to host parties. The awning, which measures 12 -by-30-feet and sat on wood posts, was staked into the ground and provided welcome shade for weekend barbecues and fish fries, Hill said.
“The awning flew over the camper, hit that tree and fell on the other side,” Hill said.
The only other debris was a few limbs, scattered drink cans and a displaced lawn chair. Hill was surprised there wasn’t more damage.
Eaton said they’ll probably finish tearing the awning down.
Frank Thomason, director of Rowan’s Emergency Management Division, said his office got reports of two major storm-related incidents.
Rick Land, of 15655 Cool Springs Road, reported a large tree uprooted and landed on two vehicles parked in his garage. Neighbor Candace Fraley, of 15635 Cool Springs Road, reported the wind separated her chimney from her house and caused gutter and roof damage.
Both incidents occurred around 8:30 p.m.
During Tuesday night’s storms, emergency officials also responded to numerous downed trees and limbs, as well as street flooding.
The virtual weather station atop the city of Salisbury’s administrative building showed wind gusts reached 40 mph.
Contact Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253 or spotts@salisburypost.com.