Monday’s storm, called a derecho, brought hurricane-force winds to the state, necessitating the activation of the emergency sirens in the City of Carroll. Chief of Police, Brad Burke, says this was not a typical situation at all.
While area reports had winds from 74 to 84 miles per hour, Carroll County Sheriff, Ken Pingrey, says everyone should have been seeking shelter at that time.
Both Burke and Pingrey were pleased there were no injuries reported, but both agencies responded to that vehicle situation on U.S. Highway 71 south of Carroll.
Burke says the worst of the damage they saw while working to clean debris from roadways and to reroute traffic for downed lines was a tree limb that fell on a house. Pingrey describes what he and his deputies saw throughout the county.
One issue both Pingrey and Burke pointed to was the number of calls that came into the city/county communications center. Burke says most were from Carroll residents who wanted to know why the sirens were going off. He says that should not be the first reaction.
The best course of action, Burke says, is to just trust that the sirens are on for a reason and seek shelter. A link to photos of the area damage can be found below.
