Damage, power outages following Christmas Eve storms

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A line of strong storms that moved rapidly through northeast Florida on Christmas night left blackouts and felled trees in its path.

Shortly after the storms began to move inland, from Waycross to Lake City around 4 p.m., severe storm warnings were issued for Clinch and Columbia counties.

When the rain passed, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam St. Johns, Camden and Glynn received severe storm warnings until 7:30 p.m.

News4Jax began receiving damage reports as soon as the dust settled.

In the Dinsmore neighborhood of Jacksonville, the winds were strong enough to destroy the backyard of a house and knock down a nearby fence. News4Jax found three homes in the Waterbrook Falls subdivision that were damaged.

Neighbors said the storm erupted within minutes.

“It simply came to our notice then. I have never seen anything like it. I just thank God the kids were okay, ”said Deborah Dempsey, who lives in the neighborhood.

Dempsey said the storm passed as he prepared dinner for the family. In addition to the damage caused to his yard, his roof was torn.

“We heard that whistle and after a while it all splashed out and water came out here and it just ripped everything out there,” he said. “We didn’t know if it was over or what, because it all happened so fast.”

Next to it, the winds lifted the top of a chimney. Another house fell a large tree in the backyard.

Dempsey said he is grateful no one was injured.

Fallen trees and branches were reported blocking roadways in Mandarin.

Hood Road was blocked in both directions a mile east of Old St. Augustine Road after a large tree fell and a downed power line on Claire Lane stopped traffic.

A tree landed in a house in the Nature’s Walk subdivision:

Rick Blyar, the owner of the house, said it was inside when the storm broke out.

“It looked like a tornado,” he said. “So I went to a bathtub. Then he seemed to run out. I went out and at the same time as I went out, my neighbors came out to find out what was going on and we saw it ”.

Blyar said he never heard the tree fall into the house because the winds were very strong. He said the damage was minimal because the tree landed on a support beam.

Nearby, a large tree fell on an RV. Police said no one was home when he fell.

Also in Mandarin, a power outage did not prevent the Mandarin Presbyterian church from celebrating Christmas Eve service. Take a look:

In Lake City, Jerry Norenberg said he was preparing to eat food with his roommates when a tree fell on his house.

Norenberg said they should leave immediately.

“I took a step out of the kitchen and the next thing you know it sounded like a car passed by the house,” he said. “It shook me and I turned back and noticed that we had a tree creeping around the house.

Norenberg said they try to save what they can. He plans to stay with friends.

Power outages affected thousands of homes. At 9:20 p.m., JEA showed 677 people without power. Clay Electric showed 13,505 people without electricity. Florida Power and Light showed 1,428 outages.

OUTAGE MAPS | JEA | FPL | Clay Electric

A spectator sent a photo of a lamp that fell in a parking lot of a mall near Baymeadows and Interstate 295.