Photos: Responders mend minor crises
The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer
A downed wire snakes along the wet sidewalk in front of Mio Vino in Altamont after Tuesday’s downpour. The wire had come loose from the utility pole across Main Street from the popular eatery. Firefighters blocked off the area with orange cones until National Grid could repair the damage. Captain Curtis Cox of the Guilderland Police said that Wednesday morning, the day after the storm, a primary power line came down along Route 20 near Prospect Hill Cemetery. It “snarled traffic,” he said until police set up generators to run traffic lights until National Grid could make repairs. Although Cox did not know if the outage was related to the storm, he said, “In my experience, sometimes a storm will weaken wires.”
The Enterprise — Doris Selig
Where there’s smoke...Firefighters cut a hole in the back side of the roof at 9 Denny Road to quell the flames; the call came in at 5:34 p.m. during an evening filled with heavy thunderstorms. Less than an hour earlier, at 4:47 p.m., a 9-1-1 caller said the back of a barn at 400 Gipps Lane (off of Hennessey Road in Guilderland Center) had been struck by lightning and was on fire, according to Sean Maguire, public information officer for the Town of Guilderland Fire Chiefs’ Association. Paul Miller, chief of the Altamont Fire Department, said, “The fire was started after a pole was struck by lightning. There were no animals inside the barn and no injuries reported.” The Guilderland Center Fire Department was aided by Westmere and North Bethlehem, and the Altamont Rescue Squad also responded.
The Enterprise — Doris Selig
Lightning struck this house at 9 Denny Road in Guilderland on Tuesday evening, according to onlookers at the scene. A black burn mark remained on the left side of the house and fire traveled to the attic. Before firefighters arrived on the scene, a neighborhood youth had climbed a ladder and used a garden hose to try to douse the flames. Westmere and Fort Hunter fire departments assisted the Guilderland department. There were no injuries.
The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer
Lightning strike? Lieutenant Tom Tubbs with the Altamont Fire Department stands at the base of a utility pole at the corner of Main and Park streets in the village Tuesday evening. He surmised that the transformer, the gray box next to the crumbled welcome flag, was hit by lightning in Tuesday’s violent thunderstorm. With him is Mike Hale, also a member of the Altamont fire Department. At 5:30 p.m., they were waiting for National Grid to arrive and make repairs.
