Everyone in the community knew how treacherous the storms were on Friday, March 3, as they swept through Spencer County.
Schools and businesses closed throughout the commonwealth because of the risk of high winds and tornadoes.
Locally, schools were closed, and county judge/executive Scott Travis declared a state of emergency, which is still in effect until all the county cleanup is complete.
At the fiscal court meeting on March 6, Travis gave an update on the storm damage. In the county, there were downed power lines, damaged property, and downed trees, with a large two-mile swatch of downed trees in the Lily Pike area.
At the Corp of Engineers Historic Interpretive Area, the road leading up to the fossil dig was littered with downed pine trees, and will be closed until further notice. Over 30 trees were uprooted just in this part of the property due to the 70+ MPH straight winds. Northeast winds blew a two-mile path in the trees on Bloomfield Road and Overlook Road.
In downtown Taylorsville, there were some uprooted trees and roof damage, but most notably, the Felix Grundy-Stidger house on Gerrard Street took some significant structure damage, along with losing almost half of the metal roof.
To help with cleanup, the county barn on Fairgrounds Road was opened for the public to dispose of tree branches and logs, and dumpsters were put around the county, including the recycling center, and the Little Union firehouse.
On the morning of March 6, there were still 160 residences without power, down from 3,500 on Friday. At press time, all of the county’s power has been restored.