STORM CLEANUP FAR FROM OVER; THOUSANDS OF HOMES STILL WITHOUT POWER

The sounds of chain saws reverberated throughout the area Tuesday while thousands of homes remained eerily quiet due to power outages from Monday's devastating windstorm.

Utility crews worked throughout the day Tuesday to restore electricity to thousands of area residents whose homes and businesses were shut down by the high winds that raced through the region.

Winds that moved through about 3 p.m. Monday uprooted trees and snapped power lines, leaving more than 44,000 AmerenUE customers without power in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding area to as far south as Oran in Scott County.

By 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, more than 24 hours after the storm hit, about 10,000 mostly residential customers remained without power. Those without power included more than 5,000 in Cape Girardeau, said AmerenUE district manager Doug Groesbeck.

It could be midday today before all the power is back on, he said.

Numerous power lines were downed by falling trees and limbs from the winds, packing speeds of 70 to 90 mph.

The storm ripped part of the roof off the AmerenUE administrative building on South Minnesota in Cape Girardeau.

Groesbeck said utility crews from Dexter, Charleston, Potosi and East St. Louis, Ill., were called in to help. The crews totaled about 100 people at any one time.

AmerenUE also was working to address a problem with a natural-gas line. A downed electrical line at a house along Gordonville Road came in contact with a water main and a gas main Monday, burning a hole in both steel lines and fusing them together some 2 to 3 feet underground.

Water ended up in the gas main, forcing AmerenUE to shut off gas service to about 150 customers.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the gas outage still affected business customers in the area of Route K and Mount Auburn Road.

Groesbeck said he didn't know how long it would take to blow the water out of the gas main.

The outage affected the West Park Mall area, as well as a number of restaurants that cook with gas.

Red Lobster closed at 7 p.m. Monday and was still closed Tuesday afternoon. "We can't cook anything," said restaurant manager Lonnie Griggs.

The storm ripped the roof off Lonnie Phelps' mobile home on Route P near Randles. "Half my roof is in this tree now," Phelps said.

The winds curled part of the metal roof at St. Joseph School, a Catholic elementary school in Scott City. "We were standing in the hallway and the ceiling tiles kind of lifted and laid back down," said school secretary Tammy Ressel.

Classes were moved next door to the church Tuesday.

Power in Jackson was off from four to six hours Monday. The Jackson Board of Aldermen held its meeting outside at the band shell at the County Courthouse across from a darkened City Hall.

The meeting started at 7:30 p.m. while it was still light. Aldermen returned to City Hall after power to that building was restored around 8:30 p.m.

Left without power, many area residents burned candles Monday night.

A lit candle left on a stove was blamed for a house fire at 1106 S. Sprigg. The fire broke out at 10:10 p.m. at the home of Tamara and Patrick Buck.

The fire was confined to the kitchen, but there was heat and smoke damage to other rooms in the house.

No one was injured, said Fire Department battalion chief Mark Hashheider.

Public Works crews in Jackson and Cape Girardeau spent Tuesday clearing away trees and limbs.

Doug Leslie, Cape Girardeau's Public Works director, said darkness halted efforts to clean up the debris Monday. Downed power lines made it too dangerous, he said.

May Greene Elementary School held classes Tuesday even though power wasn't restored until mid-morning.

Cape Girardeau's sewage plant and its Public Works building operated on emergency power Tuesday morning.

WHAT WAS IT?

The National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., said no confirmed tornadoes were spotted in the area Monday. Instead, straight-line winds were responsible for the power outages and damages, the service said.

A tornado is a rotating funnel cloud that extends downward from a mass of dark clouds. Straight-line winds also can have some rotation and cause serious damage, the service said.

Wind gusts of up to 90 mph hit the region Monday afternoon.

CURBSIDE PICKUP OFFERED

Cape Girardeau and Jackson residents can get their storm-damaged trees and tree limbs hauled off for free.

Residents must haul the trees and tree limbs to the curb, officials said.

The city of Jackson will pick up the debris this week and next on residents' regular trash days. Curbside pickup will be offered throughout this week in Cape Girardeau.

Cape Girardeau residents also may drop off trees and limbs at a special disposal area at the former Central Packing plant on Third Street, just off La Cruz, across from Kasten Masonry.

Pickup inquiries should be made to the Cape Girardeau Public Works Department at 334-9151 or the Jackson Public Works Department at 243-2300.