Cleveland Heights hit by massive storm

Portions of Cleveland Heights suffered damage during a severe storm the evening of Sept. 13.

The city's public relations department posted this statement on social media: Last evening the west end of our community was hit hard by a severe storm. The damage to homes and cars by fallen trees is devastating and we are thankful that no one was seriously injured given the extent of the destruction. Many of our roads west of Lee and south of Cedar and along Northpark were impassable with downed trees and power lines. The City responded immediately last evening with crews working vigorously through the night to clear roads that could be safely cleared while Police and Fire secured unsafe areas. That work continues today along with First Energy’s work on power lines and the power outage. Safety continues to be our priority and we ask that you treat ALL DOWNED LINES AS LIVE AND DANGEROUS. Residents should also be aware that wires could be hidden by debris and extreme caution should be practiced. Most hazardous areas have been blocked off with yellow caution tape but there may be others that have yet been identified. Please be careful, keep children away from hazard sites, and call 9-1-1 if you encounter a hazard that has not been reported. Currently there are over 29,000 customers without power throughout the county, down from 61,000 last night. The majority of the outages are in east side suburbs including Cleveland Heights, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights, and Shaker Heights. We do not yet have an estimate on when power will be restored and will provide frequent updates when new information becomes available.

FutureHeights has announced that Heights Music Hop will go on as scheduled in the Cedar Lee Business District on Saturday, Sept. 14. Most of the businesses in the district have power. The organization is working with the venues that are without power and the musicians on solutions to enable the majority of performances to go on as planned.

Heights Community Congress, however, has announced that it has cancled the 42nd Annual Heights Heritage Home & Garden Tour that was scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 15. In an e-mail, the organization said, "This cancellation is due to the aftermath of the storm that hit the Heights on Friday night that caused extensive damage to trees and property with many downed power lines in the area." Those who who purchased tickets for the event are asked to contact the HCC office by phone at 216-321-6775, e-mail info@heightscongress.org, or visit http://heightscongress.org for more information.

Deanna Bremer Fisher

Deanna Bremer Fisher is executive director of FutureHeights and publisher of the Heights Observer.

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Volume 12, Issue 10, Posted 3:23 PM, 09.14.2019