By Bruce Karnick

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Folks went to bed Thursday night not knowing what would be waiting for them in the morning. A strong line of storms moved through the area and caused damage and power outages across town.

Cory Likes, Hastings Parks and Rec Maintenance Supervisor spoke with The Journal Friday morning. “Let people know, if they have any concerns for trees down in parks, call the main number, 651-4806175. We are aware of the trees down in CP Adams, Roadside and the mess that is at Veterans Park. There is also a light pole that is snapped in half at Lions Park, but that’s small compared to the trees.”

CP Adams seemed to get the brunt of the damage with five or six trees that will likely need to be completely removed, Likes explained. “We’re not going to worry about CP Adams until Monday when we have a full crew to work on it. There is no risk of anything falling on anyone, so we are going to focus on higher priority stuff today.”

Likes added, “We expect roadside to be done by one or one thirty, then we are going to get the trails picked up and swept to people can safely bike, rollerblade, and walk on those. I’d expect that to be done around five.”

There were many isolated spots around Hastings that lost power due to the storm. It really was a smattering of neighborhoods scattered in a swath in a southeast line from Lions Park out towards Veterans Park. Reports indicated that power was restored fairly quickly in Hastings but areas around Cottage Grove and St. Paul Park did not fare so well. There, neighbors were reporting power had not been restored as late as Saturday afternoon.

Key things to remember when a storm hits. Please remember to give crews plenty of space to work. Before you start removing any kind of downed tree, make sure there are no powerlines mixed in. If you see a downed powerline, call Xcel Energy at 1-800-895-1999.