Damage from the hurricane-force windstorm that played havoc with buildings and grounds earlier this week at Utah State University was still being assessed Friday.
USU physical facilities director Paul Sampson told the Deseret News that he won't have a figure on losses until sometime next week.The Salt Lake office of the National Weather Service said 84 mph winds slammed into the Logan and Smithfield areas. Winds were clocked at 81 mph at USU.
Winds apparently were the strongest, 104 to 110 mph, in Centerville. Other readings ranged from 92 in South Ogden to 47 mph in Holladay, according to the Weather Service.
Sampson said a satellite antenna fell on and damaged the USU Engineering Building roof, while a skylight on the Eccles Conference Center was blown away.
Windows were broken in 14 campus buildings. Dirt that blew into the buildings may have damaged smoke and fire detectors, Sampson said.
Ten large, older trees, mostly pines and blue spruces, were uprooted or broken off up by the wind, Sampson said.
The roof on the home and dairy business of Jeff Clawson, who lives just south of Hyrum, Cache County, received extensive damage.
Windows were blown out of stores. Homes and businesses were damaged in the Logan area. Three trees were uprooted on Tabernacle Square in downtown Logan. A large tree was uprooted and fell across two yards and onto a car at about 176 W. Sixth South. Aluminum bleachers were hurled into the side of the new Cedar Ridge Middle School in Hyde Park, according to a Cache County sheriff's dispatcher.
Vaun Bethers, light department director, City of Logan Service Center, said Friday that a 46,000-volt power line and a 12,000-volt distribution line were blown over between Sixth and 10th North on 10th West. Four broken poles and lines were lying across the road. Basically, the line had to be rebuilt, Bethers said.
He said the damage caused power outages to about 13 industrial customers from Wednesday night until Friday. Power was restored to all but three of the customers by 11 a.m. Friday.
Most of Cache Valley was without power for a number of hours Wednesday night because transmission lines were down or banging together. There were widespread outages between Lewiston to Paradise because of problems with transmission and distribution lines, said Rick Lungman, manager of the Smithfield District of Utah Power & Light Co. The district serves Cache Valley, except Hyrum and Logan.
Lungman said most of the major electrical problems were corrected by 8 a.m. Thursday. But he said power was not restored until Thursday afternoon to a number of places such as an area between Hyde Park and Nibley.
Power was off and on for about two hours Wednesday night in Hyrum, but was restored by about 1 a.m. Thursday, according to the Hyrum City Power Department.