Storm damage repaired along County C, near Hurley

By RALPH ANSAMI

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Hurley - The after-effects of the weekend's violent storms are evident in many areas of the Gogebic Range, including along County Trunk C near Hurley.

Only about a mile from downtown Hurley as the crow flies, there are stretches of trees that were downed Sunday along County C, near the Gile Flowage dikes. Had the storm front taken a slightly different path, Hurley homeowners could have suffered even more of the brunt of the storm.

Strong winds downed hundreds of trees in the County C area, knocking some across the county road and power lines in about a 200-yard stretch.

The power poles had been replaced by Tuesday, and now the Iron County Highway Department was preparing to clean up the messes along the shoulders of the roadway.

Luckily, it's a remote area and there aren't many houses there.

A reporter looking for damage on Tuesday morning encountered a large black bear running down the road. It was about the only sign of life on the stretch until Bill Thompson, a highway department worker, arrived with a large excavator. He said a chipper machine would follow to assist in grinding up the mess, consisting of entire mature trees and tops that had been cut off to open the road.

Thompson noted trees had toppled in numerous locations over the weekend.

Bill Nasi, custodian at the county courthouse in Hurley, said the roof nearly blew off his house on a side road in the same area. He said the metal roof rose and was damaged when a tornado-like burst hit.

Most of the trees that snapped off appeared to be popples, with many uprooted.

Nearby Knight Road, which cuts through the backwater dikes on the flowage, was also closed. There, too, some huge trees had been uprooted near the route to the Hurley K-12 School Forest.

It was only one example, in one specific area, of the damages that were caused throughout the county from the storm.