HOOVER, Ala. (WIAT) — Around 19,000 Alabama Power customers in the greater Birmingham area were impacted by Friday night thunderstorms. Crews are working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.
As of 9:30 p.m., here is a breakdown of what counties have reported outages:
- BLOUNT: 732
- COOSA: 422
- JEFFERSON: 12,106
- SHELBY: 6,735
- ST. CLAIR: 205
Strong storms and heavy winds rolled through Hoover resulting in a lot of damage around the Bluff Park area. The Hoover Fire Department set up a command center at Bluff Park School to assess and respond to calls.
The city of Hoover says during the storm, one of its firetrucks became trapped under a downed power line while out on a call. Alabama Power came out and freed the truck. No firefighters were injured.
“Just stay home if you don’t have to be out. If you come up to Bluff Park, you’re going to get turned around a good bit and you’re going to become part of the problem and so we’d appreciate if you’d just stay home,” Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said.
Brocato says he’s unaware of any injuries from Friday’s storms but knows some homes were damaged by fallen trees. Trees and power lines blocked multiple roads making it difficult for drivers on the road.
“I was driving and I was dodging tree limbs in front of me and a tree fell in front of us and I had to go off the side of the road and it caused my front tire to blow out and I had two grandchildren with me and we were all scared and we were praying,” Hoover resident Kathy Carden said.
Brocato says the fire department will be working through the night to clear roads and take care of downed trees. He expects roadways will be passable by Saturday morning.
