Storm downs trees, wires, all over township

Kate Ross. left, and John Koosh, center, pull on branches being cut by Billy Bauder. The trio and Kate’s husband, Doug, cut up two trees that were blown over on a neighbor’s property.

Paul Kaldy’s home in the 1400 block of Route 7, Brookfield, is no stranger to severe storms.

The wind whips “like crazy” across Route 7, and took the roof off his garage a few years ago.

Today’s high winds were like nothing he had ever experienced before, he said.

“It was pretty nasty,” Kaldy said of hearing the wind hit his house.

Nasty enough to rip a couple layers of shingles and some of the tar paper off his roof.

As Kaldy surveyed the damage, blue sky radiated from overhead, but pellets of rain hit like tiny smacks.

“I’m hoping this rain doesn’t come until I get someone to patch up this roof,” he said, noting an insurance adjuster was supposed to be on the way.

The wind blew steadily at more than 20 mph this afternoon, and gusts got up to 60 mph, according to the National Weather Service’s observed weather at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.

Those high winds took down wires and trees all over Brookfield and Masury.

Ohio Edison’s outage map on its website shows small outages spread throughout the township.

The top half of an evergreen broke off and landed on top of a house at Owsley Street and Warren Sharon Road. The resident, Joyce Bradac, was home at the time, and was not injured. She said she was not aware of any damage inside her house.

A tree that fell on a vacant house on Kimberly Street, just north of Warren Sharon Road, ripped down electric wires that caught the tree on fire, said Brookfield Fire Capt. Steve Smoot. Most of the damage to the home appeared to have been done by the tree.

Roads all over town were closed due to trees and/or wires down.

Two sections of Warren Sharon Road were closed, in the 7100 block, just west of Mr. D’s Delicious Fine Foods, and in the 6700 block, where a utility pole was sheared into three pieces.

Other roads that were blocked included the 900 block of North Albright McKay Road; the 7300 block of Stewart Sharon Road, just west of Living Waters Community Church; Atlantic Street; and Boyd Street between Diamond and Lincoln streets.

Tree debris littered many other roads, slowing traffic on Warner Road between Warren Sharon Road and King Graves Road; Collar Price Road south of Route 82; Mulberry Street; and North Stateline Road.

The quartet of John Koosh, Doug and Kate Ross and Billy Bauder brought chainsaws and elbow grease to cut up two evergreen trees that were blown over in a neighbor’s yard in the 7100 block of Stewart Sharon Road, The neighbor was out of town, Koosh said, adding that he had called the neighbor, but had not been able to speak to him.

The National Weather Service’s high winds warning continues until midnight.