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As he was watching television in his home in the 6800 block of Route 87, about 10:40 a.m. Wednesday, retiree Rob Barbour suddenly heard the wind pick up.
“It blew very very hard, 20 to 30 seconds. Then the house lights flickered and flashed,” Barbour, who retired from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in 2013, said.
“Then the lights went out and there was this huge crash followed by a second crash,” he said.
The first crash was a large tree that came down on the road, pulling powerlines and a transformer to ground as well as snapping a utility pole.
The second crash was a tree that came down in Barbour’s backyard.
“I looked out and the wires (overhead powerlines) were shaking, violently shaking,” Barbour said.
“Of course I have no power, no internet, no phone service,” he added.
“Traffic came to a screeching halt,” Barbour said.
Crews from the Sullivan County Rural Electric Cooperative, based in Forksville, were dispatched to the scene and removed from the road the tree, the destroyed transformer as well as the down powerlines.
Route 87 was re-opened in both directions about 1:15 p.m., but motorists were advised to use caution as a section of the highway was down to one lane. Volunteer Fire police and PennDOT were assisting with the traffic.