Elsa brings power outages and downed trees to Lake City

CLAY, Fla. — Elsa proved to be an early riser according to folks in Lake City.

Residents saw power outages as early as 7 a.m.

As the storm carried through the morning hours, the Clay Electric Outage Map accounted for as many as 6,000 without power.

“They had the road blocked that way, and it was wet and raining, and wind blowing, and it looked kind of scary,” Mark Carpenter said.

Carpenter lost power in the early morning at his home along Thrasher Lane.

Crews were working hard all day on power lines to ensure all Lake City, as well as other Columbia County, residents’ lights came back on.

Beyond the power lines you could also find many trees lying in the grass and roads.

Two neighbors believe a tornado came through their yards.

“Without a doubt it was a tornado. Without a doubt,” John Murray said.

“I am positive it was a tornado being from Missouri and having experienced tornadoes. It was definitely a tornado,” Lisa Honeycutt said.

In one yard, trees toppled over, and others snapped in half.

In the other yard, trampolines took flight and brand-new cars sustained damage.

“We got the alert and literally five seconds later the wind picked up and trees were breaking. You couldn’t see anything, it was just like a whitewash of just rain, leaves,” Kailey Honeycutt said.

Luckily, both families and pets were not injured in Elsa’s wake.

©2021 Cox Media Group