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Apr 10, 2008 1:03 pm US/Central
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Storm Damage Widespread Across N. Texas
Power Outages Force Some School Closures
Compiled From Staff & Wire Reports
FORT WORTH (CBS/AP) ―
Thursday afternoon some 200,000 customers were without electricity and hundreds of homes damaged after early morning storms packing strong winds blew through West Texas and into the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
By one estimate, 800 trees were damaged in the Valley Ranch area of North Irving. Some were even snapped off at the roots
Walking through her neighborhood Marie Johnson told CBS 11 News, "Just total devastation. It's not the same neighborhood I went to sleep to."
Thursday afternoon Irving fire departments could be seen using small backhoes as bulldozers, to clean fallen tree debris off of streets.
Some 150 Irving city workers were on the job at daybreak cleaning fallen trees from intersections, alleys, and public sidewalks. Water and sewage service was not affected even though power was lost at the Hackberry Water Pumping Station, backup generators kicked in there.
Chimneys at the Reflections at Valley Ranch Apartment Complex were ripped off roofs and rained down onto cars.
No serious injuries were reported in North Texas, but residences in DeSoto, Allen and Hurst suffered major damage. Three people suffered minor injuries in the Breckenridge.
In DeSoto, just south of Dallas, about a dozen homes had roof damage and there was severe roof damage at a senior apartment complex and at a hotel with about 50 people in it at the time, said Kathy Jones, a spokeswoman for the city of DeSoto.
Jones said about a third of DeSoto lost power for a time, but by Thursday morning the storm had passed and officials were working on assessing damage and cleaning up tree branches from the streets.
Stephens County Sheriff James Reeves told The Associated Press about 20 homes in the Breckenridge area sustained major damage, including some roofs and top stories torn away.
Six mobile homes were destroyed, according to Reeves, who said two businesses also sustained damage.
American Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster says the agency opened two shelters, in the Johnson County town of Lillian, and in Tarrant County, in Hurst.
The Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District canceled classes Thursday.
Superintendent Gene Buinger said nine schools, as well as the administration complex, were without electricity.
In Allen, several model homes and those under construction were flattened by the strong winds and debris was scattered through the subdivision. Eight schools also had damage, but despite no power, district officials said parents had the option to leave the children or take them home.
"If it (no power) becomes a safety issue, we will move them to another location," Tim Carroll with Allen ISD said.
One hangar at Addison Airport, in the Dallas area, lost part of its roof.
In Lancaster, the city's 911 system went down and officials routed calls to Dallas County.
Oncor Electric spokeswoman Carol Peters says 160,000 customers in the DFW area were among those in the region losing electricity.
The highs today are expected in the mid-to upper 70s with west/southwest winds at 20-30 MPH with stronger gusts. Friday's forecast will be sunny and dry with a high 73.
The weekend brings cooler temperatures with morning temps in the upper 30s and low 40s with highs in the upper 60s to near 70. Sunshine will reign both days.
Peters says an apparent tornado overnight in Breckenridge, in Stephens County, damaged the utility's operations and left about 4,000 customers without electricity.
About half of those outages in Breckenridge had been restored by daylight Thursday.
An apparent tornado packing winds of up to 70 mph moved through West Texas after midnight Thursday, tearing shingles from roofs, shattering glass and flipping over vehicles.
Paramedics were dispatched throughout the city, but San Angelo police didn't have a number of injured.
The storm pelted the city with quarter-sized hail. At least one building downtown was damaged and power lines were down in some areas, said Hector Guerrero, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Angelo.
Hours earlier, two apparent tornados also moved through another section of West Texas, sending three people to a hospital, destroying hangars and other buildings at a town's airport and knocking out power.
National Weather Service staff planned to survey the areas later Thursday to confirm if tornados touched down.
Another tornado apparently touched down in Palo Pinto County between Graford and Oran, said Jennifer Dunn, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Officials reported roofs were blown off a few homes and trees were down in Oran.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)