Friday, May. 02, 2008

Cleanup begins after storm, but residents thankful it wasn't worse

Olathe escaped the bulk of the storm damage seen through most of the Northland on Thursday night, but residents didn’t get away without property loss and, for some, a little emotional scare.

“I was home alone, so it scared the bejeebees out of me,” said Lisa Kirts, a resident in the 14700 block of Chalet Drive in east Olathe. “I took my Toto and ran downstairs.”

Parts of Kirts’ backyard were flipped upside-down — literally — by the powerful winds. Late Friday morning, Kirts’ fence stood upright with clumps of mud stuck to the bottom, which had become the top.

That damage paled in comparison to the destruction seen in Gladstone, where there was reported tornado activity and heavy damage. In Olathe, the major damage was limited to a few buildings. Otherwise, uprooted trees and displaced backyard playground equipment throughout neighborhoods like Kirts’ represented the bulk of the aftermath.

Capt. Mike Hall of the Olathe Fire Department said damage at the Mahaffie Business Park was the only significant structural damage reported in Olathe. Within a few blocks of that area, parts of roofs were ripped off of two buildings, leaving them in disrepair.

Hall said the department had received several reports of trees or parts of trees being strewn about, but that Olathe largely avoided major damage.

“For the most part, I think we were very fortunate,” Hall said. “And after seeing the damage up north, our hearts go out to those folks, and we wish them the best in their recovery efforts.”

Hall said he thought that the department was well-prepared for Thursday’s storms, and that it handled the situation the best that it could.

“That’s why training is so critical for us,” Hall said. “We can go out and do the drills and run-throughs, but we can’t really go out and simulate this much better than we do. And that training helps us be prepared when something like this does happen.”

Katie McDonald of Kansas City Power & Light said 219 Olathe customers were without power between midnight Thursday and the early hours of Friday. By noon, that number was down to three customers.

Westar Energy is the other main energy provider in Olathe. Its numbers can’t be broken down to the city, so its approximately 4,600 customers who were affected in the Olathe area also include those in Shawnee and other surrounding towns.

The metro area saw more than 40,000 customers without power during that same time period, McDonald said.

She said most of Olathe’s powerless customers were east of Interstate 35 but were otherwise scattered in no particular pattern. She said the storms pulled down several power poles throughout the area, and that winds were in excess of 80 miles per hour.

“Anytime we see winds of more than 45 miles per hour, that’s a concern for utilities,” McDonald said. “We saw the forecasts, saw that they could be in excess of 65, and we called in extra crews.”

Olathe city spokesman Tim Danneberg said that aside from the Mahaffie area, his office had not received any reports of major damage. He said city officials were standing by, awaiting a call from any areas that may need assistance.

“We’re just a phone call away,” Danneberg said. “If there’s ever a need for our response in the metro area, without a doubt, we’ll be there to help.”

The building most affected in the Mahaffie Business Park is home to the local branch of Engineering America Incorporated, a Minnesota-based company that specializes in water-storage structures.

EAI is in a strip of connected buildings that includes several other businesses, all of which sustained some damage. A number of garage doors in the strip were damaged — some heavily dented, others completely crumpled — but EAI was the hardest hit. Its garage doors were ripped off the hinges, and 80 percent of the roof was missing. Amidst fallen interior walls and the dangling aluminum roofing, the office’s pet fish swam undisturbed in its bowl.

EAI manager Tony Grant said the company had plans for moving the business into a temporary home if necessary. Rife Construction, which owns the building, denied a request for comment. The city engineer was expected to inspect the building Friday.

Southwest of the business park, Johnson County Drywall Supply also drew the ire of the powerful storm. There, a warehouse structure was destroyed. The roof was torn from the aluminum walls and pieces of it were flung as far as a few hundred yards away.

Steve Creason, an employee at the business, found two 2-by-4 pieces of wood stuck solidly into the ground when he arrived at work Friday morning. He said he thought the damage indicated more than a simple windstorm.

“That’s just something that wind doesn’t do,” Creason said. “Everything looks like a tornado to me.” Kent Seyfried, city utilities department, said most reports of tree damage had come from the southeast portion of Olathe. If you live in that area and need to schedule a debris pickup, you can do so by calling 971-9311 at least one day before your regular trash pickup. The debris pickup will occur on the day of your normal trash pickup and will be done free of charge. Seyfried said that anyone who doesn’t live in that area and wants to schedule a debris pickup will have to show that the debris is a result of the storm to receive the service without charge. No special street cleaning will be done as a result of the storm.

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