High winds knock tree into phone, cable lines

When you’ve got high wind gusts and a hollow tree there’s bound to be trouble.
The Oxford Fire Department was called to a home on the corner of W. Burdick and Hudson streets when an old tree toppled onto AT&T telephone and cable lines around 1 p.m. on Monday.
According to the NOAA’s National Weather Service in White Lake, wind gusts got as high as 54 miles per hour on Monday.
According to Fire Chief Jack LeRoy, the fallen tree caused three utility poles, two east of the house and one west, to bend, putting tension on the lines.
Thankfully, there were no injuries reported.
The utility pole closest to Patterson’s Prescription Pharmacy was close to pulling on electrical lines that run north and south behind the building, which LeRoy said had to eventually be replaced by DTE Energy.
‘I believe the power stayed on through everything,? he said.
LeRoy said residents living in apartments in the southwest quadrant were ‘cautioned? to turn off their electronics in case the pole did break and cause a power surge.
From 1 p.m. Monday until 3 a.m. Tuesday, Oxford Village Police had W. Burdick St. blocked off from thru traffic from Washington to Pontiac St., and blocked off Hudson from W. Burdick until about half-way down the street.
The fire chief said they were also called to two separate grass fires caused by downed wires off of Granger and Dunlap Rd. on Monday.
‘It was a busy day altogether,? he said.