Major damage

Trees on homes and cars.

Power lines down.

Outdoor furniture strewn all over.

A storm that blew through Jay County early Saturday left a swath of damage in its wake, with the most severe reported this morning on the east side of Portland.

“It’s probably the worst since I’ve been here,” said Portland Street Department superintendent Tom Leonhard, whose crews were working to clear fallen trees that were blocking streets.

“East end’s the worst,” he added. “Race and Walnut on the east end are the worst.”

There was also damage to properties in the northwest and southeast areas of the county. Jay County Emergency Management Agency reported that as of noon Sunday, it had assessed damage of varying degrees to 60 residences and businesses in Portland as well as nine rural properties.

Portland Mayor John Boggs announced that residents could place tree debris near the curb for pickup beginning Monday.

At 403 E. Arch St., one tree fell and hit the northeast corner of the home of Ryan and Kristen Davisson while another came down and landed on their vehicles and garage on the south side of the property.

“It started storming, but we were all in bed,” said Kristen Davisson, the sound of chain saws roaring behind her as others worked to clear the massive fallen tree. “And it was between 3 and 3:30 in the morning, so we didn’t hear no sirens or anything. … You heard the wind gush. And then all of a sudden I heard a bunch of glass shattering, and then a big thump that shook the house.

“It was a nightmare.”

Another tree had landed on the 709 W. Race St. home of Rhonda Link.

And there were multiple trees down along High Street on the east side of the city.

“I felt my house shake,” said Lori McIntosh of 603 E. High St., who in a Facebook post had said her neighborhood looked like a disaster zone. “Everything shook. It shook twice.”

Neighbors Ron and Karin Somers then called to ask if she was OK, informing her that her house had damage to its roof and that a patio canopy had blown away along with outdoor furniture. (Her husband, Steve, a member of Portland Board of Works, was away camping for Swiss Days in Berne.) The roof damage resulted in water leaking into the house.

“It’s just a lot of clean up,” McIntosh said. “But we’re fortunate because from what I’ve heard … there’s some people in town who got a lot worse. … We’re fortunate because everything that we had can be fixed.”

She, Steve and their son Mark, a Berne resident, were already working on covering the hole in the roof before 9 a.m. Saturday.

A house owned by Terry and Michelle Storie at 933 E. High St. was surrounded but what was left of a tree that snapped off on the east side of the home, with part of it smashing a truck windshield. Multiple trees were uprooted east of Morton Street.

Damage to vehicles, including one that was parked on the street in front of the McIntosh home and several more just to the west, was a common site in the city Saturday morning. Trees had also laded on vehicles on Pleasant Street, between High and Walnut streets, and on North Street, just east of Meridian Street.

“I’ve never seen so many vehicles getting crushed by storms like this one,” said Bubba Swoveland of Portland Street Department.

There were multiple trees down along High Street on the east side of the city.

“I felt my house shake,” said Lori McIntosh of 603 E. High St., who in a Facebook post had said her neighborhood looked like a disaster zone. “Everything shook. It shook twice.”

Neighbors Ron and Karin Somers then called to ask if she was OK, informing her that her house had damage to its roof and that a patio canopy had blown away along with outdoor furniture. (Her husband, Steve, a member of Portland Board of Works, was away camping for Swiss Days in Berne.) The roof damage resulted in water leaking into the house.

“It’s just a lot of clean up,” McIntosh said. “But we’re fortunate because from what I’ve heard … there’s some people in town who got a lot worse. … We’re fortunate because everything that we had can be fixed.”

She, Steve and their son Mark, a Berne resident, were already working on covering the hole in the roof before 9 a.m. Saturday.

A house owned by Terry and Michelle Storie at 933 E. High St. was surrounded by what was left of a tree that snapped off on the east side of the home, with part of it smashing a truck windshield. Multiple trees were uprooted east of Morton Street.

Damage to vehicles, including one that was parked on the street in front of the McIntosh home and several more just to the west, was a common sight in the city Saturday morning. Trees had also landed on vehicles on Pleasant Street, between High and Walnut streets, and on North Street, just east of Meridian Street.

“I’ve never seen so many vehicles getting crushed by storms like this one,” said Bubba Swoveland of Portland Street Department.

The National Weather Service on Saturday morning reported that a line of thunderstorms had developed across Iowa late Friday and turned into a derecho — a widespread, long-lived wind storm that can produce destruction similar to that of a tornado — as it moved across central Indiana. Widespread wind damage was reported, with wind gusts of more than 70 miles per hour. Tornadoes were confirmed in Cass County, Indiana, and Defiance County, Ohio.

The east side of Portland was without electricity. Multiple streets, including High Street between Hayes and Munson Streets, were blocked because of downed trees.

A “Rave Support Alert” went out regarding a severe thunderstorm watch for the area until 5 a.m. had gone out shortly after midnight.

Some residents received an emergency alert from the National Weather Service on their cell phones regarding a tornado warning about 3:45 a.m. (At that point, some damage had already been done.) Others said they did not receive any sort of alert about the severe storm.

Swoveland said he got his first call at 3:10 a.m.

Residents were asked to stay at home Saturday morning in order to allow city crews time to clear the streets and Indiana Michigan Power to fix downed power lines. (County road 100 South was also closed between county roads 100 East and 300 East because of a downed line.) An update from Indiana Michigan Power at 10 a.m. Saturday indicated that 17,000 customers in its service had lost power, with about half having been restored. By the evening, all but about 1,500 had been restored with the bulk of those still without power in the South Bend and Elkhart areas.

Anyone who experienced storm damage should report it to Jay County Emergency Management Agency. A link to the form is below.