Weekend Storm Clean Up Continues in Lamar ( additional pix)

Clean up efforts got underway in earnest on Sunday, June 3, following the damage from Saturday’s severe thunderstorm which produced winds in town and at the Lamar Airport at 66mph.

Storm Cloud Viewed from Savage Stadium Saturday Afternoon-courtesy Amy Spady

Power was knocked out to a portion of south Lamar, mostly between Savage Avenue and West Cedar Street. Electricity was restored by emergency crews from Lamar Light and Power by around 7:30 Saturday evening, although repair operations extended until almost midnight.   Interim Light Plant Superintendent, Houssin Hourieh, who was directing operations from the damage sites, said residents between South 6th and 7th and 11th and 12th Streets would have their power restored later in the evening due to the extent of the downed poles.

Power Crews on Savage Avenue Sunday Morning

Power crews were at work on Savage Avenue Sunday morning, replacing the broken, wooden power poles with metal replacements.

Damage to Tank and Tummy Roof Covering Pumps

The roof which covered the gas pumps at Tank and Tummy on South Main Street in Lamar was taken down completely and shoved off the parking lot by a couple of tractors. The store was open for business for customers.

Debris Cleared from Parking Lot of Tank and Tummy

Willow Creek Park will take some time to clean up. One massive tree will need to be cut into lengths before it can be cleared from its resting site on the northwest side of the park, paralleling the street. Some fallen trees had been cut into length for hauling away. A clean up crew at the Lamar Municipal Pool was busy Sunday morning, sweeping away debris from the leaves and branches that had fallen into the pool area and water.

Tree Branch Penetrated Metal Roof at Lamar Pool Building

The metal roof covering pool offices was dented and pierced by a limb that fell when the high winds swept through the area. The pointed branch went right through the roof and came out in the ceiling of the men’s locker room, extending about a foot into the air outside, and penetrated about six to eight inches down from the ceiling.

And Came Out in Men's Locker Room Ceiling

Lamar Public Works Director Pat Mason said homeowners can have fallen limb and branch debris picked up when they leave the material street side in front of their homes and not in the alleys.  Mason said the city will pick up the debris free of charge, if homeowners have the limbs out within 24 hours as of this Monday, June 4.  A roll-off will be at Willow Creek Park to cart away the limbs and branches that fell there during the storm.  Park visitors are cautioned to not walk under any branches or limbs, as some may have cracked or been weakened due to the winds and may fall off the trees at any time.  Crews will check out those that look as though they may be ready to fall.

Power Pole on Savage Avenue

Other communities in southeast Colorado were affected by the storm. The National Weather Service in Pueblo reported storms developed and quickly became severe across Bent, Las Animas, Kiowa, Prowers, and Baca Counties. Hail was reported to ping pong ball size around Lamar and in areas of eastern Kiowa County.

A phenomenon which occurred during the severe winds in both Prowers and Kiowa Counties was gustnados. The weather service terms a gustnado as a low level circulation on the leading edge of a strong or severe downburst. The NSW reported they’ve received reports of circulating dust and debris with the greatest wind damage across the southern part of Lamar. An investigation is ongoing to determine if a gustnado occurred in that area.

by Russ Baldwin

City of Lamar Storm Cleanup Policy
July 26, 2010

 Citizens need to have limbs out to the street side within 24 hours after a storm in order to be picked up.  Citizens are to place the limbs near the street but NOT in the street.  Crews will then come along and pick up the limbs for disposal.  Any limbs pulled out after 24 hours will be the responsibility of the homeowner for disposal.

Tree limbs are free for disposal at the Lamar landfill.  However, tree limbs are not accepted at the Lamar transfer station.  Due to the volume of tree limbs, this would quickly overwhelm the transfer station operation.

Tree limbs taken to the alleys will be the responsibility of the homeowner and will be subject to code enforcement.  Homeowners are encouraged to dispose of limbs in the alleys in a timely manner or face code enforcement fines.

Any trees that are trimmed or taken down and are not a part of the storm event will be left and will be the responsibility of the homeowner; they will not be part of the free storm removal effort.