Nearly 2,000 without power in Alexander
Following the severe thunderstorm on Monday, August 7, nearly 2,000 customers were without power in Alexander County.
Duke Energy’s website showed 1,498 customers in Alexander without power in 37 outage locations as of 9:30 p.m. August 7 (and 227,849 statewide). Energy United indicated 489 members without electricity at 9:30 p.m. (with 9,359 systemwide).
The National Weather Service issued alerts to the Alexander County area that afternoon for high winds, with up to 80 mph winds radar indicated and up to quarter-sized hail possible. The storm brought down several trees across roadways countywide, in addition to causing outages.
Damage was reported at the Taylorsville Lions Club Fairgrounds about 5:30 p.m. Lions Club Vice President Andrew Ferguson said the Lions Den building had the pavilion cover on the rear of the building blown off, landing over on the other side of the structure, and a section of roof over the meeting area was torn off.
No one was in the building when the damage occurred, said Ferguson. He noted the building inspector condemned the building after the damage was observed.
Ferguson related that the small animal auctions held at the facility are on hold at present. For latest updates on the club or auctions, he advised residents to check the Lions Club and the auction Facebook pages.
On August 8, Lions Club Secretary Johnny Davis released a statement, as follows: “The Taylorsville Lions Club wishes to state that we are grateful that no physical injuries occurred during the recent storm at our property, and that the damage to our Fairgrounds is wholly material. We are currently working with our insurer Hendren Insurance, and Alexander County government and related agencies, to proceed forward safely. For now, based on the recommendations of the Fire Marshal, Building Inspector and Insurance we are temporarily suspending operations at the fairgrounds until a proper evaluation is done on the damage. This includes the Small Animal Auction and any hall rentals. Please follow our Facebook page for more details as we restore our operations, and our thoughts and prayers are with those who were harder hit by the storm.”
Damage to the Taylorsville Lions Club’s Lions Den building sustained during the severe thunderstorm on August 7, 2023.
Damage inside the Taylorsville Lions Club’s Lions Den building sustained during the severe thunderstorm on August 7, 2023.
