Dallas / Fort Worth Local News

(CBS 11 News) As Wednesday night crept into the Dallas/ Fort Worth area, storms began causing trouble metro-area wide.

One day later, CBS 11 crews were able to get a full picture of the damage left behind.

More than 100,000 people were still without power Thursday evening in the wake of Wednesday night's storm.

At the height of the storm, at least 300,000 electric customers were without power.

Oncor Electric Delivery -- a newly re-named subsidiary of TXU -- calls this the fifth worth storm in the company's history.

The electric company said some areas could take up to a week to get power again.

The storms packed winds of 100 miles per hour, knocking down trees, and power transformers.

Oncor representative Chris Scheine says strong winds knocked down at least 17 towers southeast of Cleburne, which has caused many of the outages.

Portions of southern Tarrant County were hit hard by the storms.

Massive trees snapped. Some were just barely standing thanks to power lines.

In Mansfield, empty portable buildings were knocked on their side by the strong winds.

Just south of downtown Fort Worth, portions of a motel roof took in early season dip in the pool.

No one was hurt, but repairs will take some time.

Further to the south, more than a dozens businesses and homes had flood damage.

At Hulen and Granbury, businesses, like The Fort Worth District Dentist Society, hope to get things back to normal as soon as possible.

Southwest High School in Fort Worth had a light pole over the in-field.

Help with storm clean up will be available to Fort Worth residents.

The city says that crews will pick up 10 cubic yards of loose brush each week. It is also offering drop-off stations for residents.

The stations are located at:
5150 Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway
2400 Brennan Ave.

The stations are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

A small airplane overturned at Arlington Airport as a result of the high winds.

The winds also caused the rain to fall sideways. The severe weather combination caused the cancellation of the Texas Rangers game against the New York Yankees.

One neighborhood at Little Road and Huntwick was overrun by mud.

The storm also destroyed a piece of history in Collin County.

A 200-year-old tree in Allen was destroyed by powerful winds.

The cottonwood is said to be one of the oldest and largest in North Texas.

"I feel like I lost a really close friend," said Allen resident Cindy Chase. "It's sad to see it laying across here. People stop and are amazed at what's happened."

The tree's second trunk is now leaning towards a house.

The damage didn't stop there. Chopper 11 found tractor trailers tossed around like toys off Highawy 287 near Waxahachie and in Dallas.

In Colleyville, rescuers saved a woman after her car was swept up in 2 feet of water near Oak Knoll.

In Alvarado, numerous power lines are down. Repairs are underway to fix roofs and fences.

Fierce winds also brought down a huge sign and tossed around a few RV's.

Although school was in session at Alvarado Elementary School, neighbors next door have some fences to repair.

In Frisco, trees were uprooted on a golf course near 121 and Legacy.

Downed power lines sparked a large house fire in Plano. Despite the heavy rain, crews worked late into the night to put it out.

The storm is still causing problems for Terrell residents.

People who have a Terrell address and use the High Point water supply need to boil their water until further notice.

The water system lost electricity and pressure.

400 families are affected.

Concerning the damage caused in Dallas, the City of Dallas Public Information Office said in a statement: "Damage in the City of Dallas appears to be limited to downed trees, downed power lines, and power outages. It is widespread across the city with a large number of the downed trees in the southwest area of the city. "

Disaster services were out at the Plymouth House apartments in south Dallas, which sustained extensive damage to the roof and windows.

Management closed the complex and helped move residents to nearby apartments. Officials believe straight line winds caused the damage.

Sungate Management Inc., the owner of the building, is taking donations of clothing or furniture for the victims displaced by the storm. For more information, residents can call 214-660-0909.

Electrical crews frantically tried to repair damage in Oak Cliff, which seemed to take the brunt of the damage.

Some say the cleanup can't begin until power is restored.

A tree at 7th and Willomet in Oak Cliff was uprooted and destroyed part of the of the sidewalk.

Major power outages hit a number of schools, keeping some students in the dark, but still in class.

Despite damage to the exterior of the building students of Life School in Red Oak continued with classes Thursday.

Dallas Independent School District reported 16 schools without power.

At Molina High in Oak Cliff, students evacuated the building after a sewage leak scare. They quickly returned, but the campus remains without power.

At last count, DISD had 9 schools without power.

No classes will be held Friday for some Grand Prairie students.

Classes will not be held at Bonham, Garner, Powell and Rayburn Elementary Schools and Arnold Middle School.

All other Grand Prairie schools will be open.




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