Damage, power outages due to storms on Christmas Eve

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A line of strong storms that moved rapidly in northeast Florida on Christmas Eve left power outages and threw trees behind it.

Shortly after the storms began to move inland, from Waycross to Lake City around 4 p.m., severe storm warnings were issued for Clinch and Columbia counties.

As the rain poured in, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam St. Johns, Camden and Glynn were under severe storm warnings until 7:30 p.m.

News4Jax began receiving reports of damage as soon as the dust cleared.

In the Dinsmore neighborhood of Jacksonville, the winds were strong enough to destroy the backyard of a house and knock down a nearby fence. News4Jax found three homes in the Waterbrook Falls subdivision that were damaged.

Neighbors said the storm broke out in just a few minutes.

“It was like a nightmare. I have not seen anything like this. Thank God I’m fine and the kids were fine, “said Deborah Dempsey, who lives in the neighborhood.

Dempsey said the storm passed as he prepared dinner for the family. In addition to the damage to the terrace, its roof was broken.

“I heard this hissing sound and after a while the bottle and everything scattered, and the water came out here and destroyed everything there,” she said. “I didn’t know if it was over or what, because it all happened so fast.”

Next to it, the winds lifted the top of a chimney. Another house fell from a large tree in the backyard.

Dempsey said she was grateful no one was hurt.

There have been reports of fallen trees and branches blocking roads in Mandarin.

Hood Road was blocked in both directions one mile east of Old St. Augustine Road after a large tree fell and a power line down Claire Lane stopped traffic.

A tree landed on a house in the Nature’s Walk subdivision:

Rick Blyar, the homeowner, said he was inside when the storm passed.

“It sounded like a tornado,” he said. “So I went to a bathtub. Then he seemed to die. I went out and at the same time I was going out, my neighbors were coming out to find out what was going on and I saw that. “

Blyar said he had never heard the tree fall on the house because the winds were so strong. He said the damage was minimal as the tree landed on a support beam.

Nearby, a large tree fell on an RV. Police said no one was home when he fell.

Also in Mandarin, a power outage did not prevent the Mandarin Presbyterian Church from conducting its Christmas Eve service. Take a look:

In Lake City, Jerry Norenberg said he was preparing to eat with his roommates when a tree entered the house.

Norenberg said he had to leave immediately.

“I took a step out of the kitchen and the next thing you know sounded like a car coming in through the house,” he said. “It shook me and I went back and noticed that we had a tree stuck in the house.

Norenberg said he was trying to save what he could. He intends to stay with friends.

Power outages have affected thousands of homes. At 9:20 p.m., the JEA showed 677 people without power. Clay Electric showed 13,505 people without electricity. Florida Power and Light showed 1,428 outages.

HARTE OUTAGE | JEA | FPL | Clay Electric

A spectator sent a photo of a light that fell in a parking lot of a mall near Baymeadows and Interstate 295.