Saline Countians begin to pickup, repair after a mighty wind blows through

<b>A car in central Salina lost a battle with a tree during the storm. The tree was later vanquished by a chainsaw. </b>Salina Post photo — **A car in central Salina lost a battle with a tree during the storm. The tree was later vanquished by a chainsaw.** Salina Post photo

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post

Damage was prevalant throughout Salina and the surrounding area after a strong, multi-hour windstorm blasted its way through Kansas Wednesday.

<b>City of Salina crews work Thursday morning to repair a stoplight at the E. Crawford Street/S. Ohio Street intersection. The stoplight was hanging down after the storm. </b>Salina Post photo — **City of Salina crews work Thursday morning to repair a stoplight at the E. Crawford Street/S. Ohio Street intersection. The stoplight was hanging down after the storm.** Salina Post photo

Winds neared the 100 mph threshold in parts of the county, with the National Weather Service reporting peak winds hitting 95 mph 3.2 miles east of New Cambria, 89 mph at Salina Regional Airport, and 78 mph 5.7 miles northwest of Smolan.

READ: You know the wind is bad when it bothers Kansans; records set

To put those wind speeds into perspective, a Catagory 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale has winds of 74-95 mph, while a Category 2 hurricane has winds of 96-110 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

<b>A set of windows was blown out of the top story of a building at the corner of E. Elm Street and N. Fifth Street.</b> Salina Post photo — **A set of windows was blown out of the top story of a building at the corner of E. Elm Street and N. Fifth Street.** Salina Post photo

When the wind finally began to settle down, Salinans and people throughout the area began to assess the damage. Fences were blown apart and windows blown out. A multitude of shingles and even insulation was scattered throughout the city. Tree limbs and powerlines were down.

<b>A wayward trampoline hangs on utility lines near the S. 11th Street/W. Cloud Street intersection.</b> Photo courtesy Ashley Walton — **A wayward trampoline hangs on utility lines near the S. 11th Street/W. Cloud Street intersection.** Photo courtesy Ashley Walton

Part of the S. Ninth Street business corridor was shut down as Evergy crews worked to repair downed power lines, leaving a number of stores and restaurants in the area in the dark. Traffic was rerouted along the access road on the west side of the street.

<b>Evergy crews work to repair power lines in the 2700 block of S. Ninth Street Thursday afternoon.</b> Salina Post photo — **Evergy crews work to repair power lines in the 2700 block of S. Ninth Street Thursday afternoon.** Salina Post photo

Shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday, more than 18,000 Evergy customers in Salina were without electricity, as were hundreds more throughout the county. As of 7 p.m. Thursday, 1,857 Evergy customers in Salina remained without power.

<b>A power pole leans and lines sag on the east side of the 2700 block of S. Ninth Street. With S. Ninth Street shut down for repairs to the power lines, traffic was rerouted along the access road on the west side of the street.</b> Salina Post photo — A power pole leans and lines sag on the east side of the 2700 block of S. Ninth Street. With S. Ninth Street shut down for repairs to the power lines, traffic was rerouted along the access road on the west side of the street. Salina Post photo

The massive outages prompted Saline County Emergency Management to open a shelter at Webster Conference Center, 2601 N. Ohio Street.

According to a post on the Saline County Kansas Facebook page, "Webster offers the ability to charge medical devices and other electrical communication devices and is accessible to persons with mobility impairments. All are welcome tonight for free drive-thru-style meals from 4 to 7 p.m. even if you do not require sheltering. The shelter will close for check-ins at 10 p.m. If you know you will need sheltering but will not be able to check-in until after 10 p.m. please call Saline County Kansas Emergency Management at 785.826.6511 to make arrangements. It will re-open for check-in at 8 a.m. Friday morning, December 17th."

<b>A number of trees were damaged throughout the city, including this one on the east side of Sunset Park.</b> Salina Post photo — **A number of trees were damaged throughout the city, including this one on the east side of Sunset Park.** Salina Post photo

READ: Salina USD 305 provides initial damage assessment

Rolling Hills Zoo

Several of the outlying buildings at Rolling Hills Zoo northwest of Salina were destroyed during Wednesday’s devastating wind storm.

Despite the damage, all of the zoo's animals safely rode out the storm in their indoor habitats and the zoo reopened during its normally scheduled hours.

<b>A storage building at Rolling Hills Zoo northwest of Salina was heavily damaged. </b>Photo courtesy Rolling Hills Zoo — **A storage building at Rolling Hills Zoo northwest of Salina was heavily damaged.** Photo courtesy Rolling Hills Zoo

Beginning at 2 p.m. Wednesday, staff began clearing the park and the zoo’s keepers started moving animals into their indoor housing where they remained through the night, according to information from Rolling Hills.

"As the afternoon wore on, a storage building adjacent to the maintenance shop on the west end of the property suffered extensive damage along with a small lean-to at the southeast corner of the zoo which broke free of its foundation and landed on top of a vehicle belonging to a staff member," the zoo noted in a news release today.

<b>A zoo lean-to landed on an employee's SUV.</b> Photo courtesy Rolling Hills Zoo — **A zoo lean-to landed on an employee's SUV.** Photo courtesy Rolling Hills Zoo

Additionally, the zoo sustained minor damage around the park, including to trees and several other personal vehicles belonging to staff.

"Thankfully no staff or animals were injured," the zoo noted.

Zoo personnel were to assess damages from the storm and the costs associated with those damages throughout today.