Winds damage roof, cause power outages

Winds reached 80 mph in some areas of Carson Valley on Tuesday, toppled trees, downed power lines and caused numerous accidents. It also peeled back the roof at Cost Cutters in the Ironwood Center.

"It didn't take off the whole roof, just kind of bent it," said Pilar Lopez, area supervisor for this small local beauty shop chain. "Most of the ceiling tiles came down inside. It's a mess."

Cost Cutters has been at that location for about 81Ú2 years and in that time, nothing like this has happened, Lopez said.

The winds also initiated a small brush fire on Bar-J Road when a tree blew into the power lines, closing Foothill Road from about 3:40 to 4:15 p.m. near Dina Court, according to Tom Mezzetta, spokesman for the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

Power poles snapped at Heavenly Valley's Boulder ski lift and a fallen tree blocked Meadow on lower Kingsbury. Poles near Fairview and State Route 88 went down and there were many accidents, he said.

About 130 homes off Foothill Road south of Centerville Lane were without power from 6 p.m. until about 4 a.m., according to Sierra Pacific Power spokesman Karl Walquist.

"We had a few others, scattered outages throughout the Valley," he said.

The outages were restored by Wednesday afternoon, Walquist said.

The highest recorded wind gusts reached 80 mph near Foothill Road and Centerville Lane, but there were also gusts up to 66 mph west of Gardnerville Wednesday, according to Gina Beninato, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

High wind warnings closed Highway 395 south of Holbrook Junction to high profile vehicles.

The closure extended south to Bridgeport. Fires in Woodfords, the Gardnerville Ranchos and Fish Springs were driven by winds, but quickly doused by firefighters.

Reports from Antelope Valley were that power is out to some of those residents.

Walquist said a pole was knocked down in Coleville and that a Sierra Pacific crew was en route.

He said 15 customers were affected by the outage.

Cold, cloudy weather is forecast over the better part of this week, the next chance for isolated showers coming this weekend.

Lows will range in the mid-teens to mid-30s, with highs in the 30s and 40s through Saturday. Temperatures should rise into the low 50s next week, according to information from the National Weather Service.