Employees of the Tyler Street Department clear a large branch Wednesday from a road in the Azalea District. 

The city of Tyler saw widespread damage as a result of Tuesday night’s severe weather.

Tens of thousands lost power to their homes and others received extensive damage to cars and homes, but officials said no major injuries were reported as a result of the storm.

One person was reported to have minor injuries after a tree fell on their car near the intersection of South Donnybrook Avenue and Troup Highway, according to the city of Tyler.

Crews responded to reports of at least 90 trees or large limbs throughout the city and 45 of those landed on power lines, according to Jeff Kirt, stormwater foreman for the City of Tyler.

Kirt said his crews had been working to address issues since about 9 p.m. Tuesday and were working diligently all day Wednesday to clear the trees and debris. 

The city also said the remaining downed trees couldn’t be removed until Oncor assesses the downed power lines tangled in the fallen trees.

Oncor is focusing on restoring power to homes and removing large trees from the power lines, Kirt said. As soon as they’re done, his team’s goal is to be “right behind them” to get the trees out of the way, he said.

In his seven years with the street team Kirt said he has never seen a storm like this one.

“This has been by far the worst storm that I’ve been involved in – the second was around 27 trees or so,” Kirt said. “The destruction out there is unbelievable.”

He added that some of his men that have been working with the street team for a while say this is one of the worst storms they have seen as well.

“It’s devastating and it’s disheartening to see what some of the residents are dealing with and what we have to deal with as well,” Kirt said.

A main priority for the street team is to get the streets clear enough for emergency vehicles and the police to access them, he said.

It will take at least two weeks to completely clear all the damage and debris in the streets, Kirt said.

Residents who wish to clean their yards are free to do so but it is important not to mess with large trees or those with power lines tangled through them, Kirt said. Cutting large trees is dangerous and could cause injuries. Residents should also avoid any downed power lines as wires could be live.

Areas of Tyler that received the most damage include the Azalea District and Old Jacksonville Highway and Old Bullard Road areas, according to Andy Erbaugh, public information officer for the Tyler Police Department. There was also significant damage reported in the hospital district, mid-town, areas around Tyler Junior College and at Chilton Avenue at Fourth and Fifth streets, according to Kirt.

Power outages, road closures

Oncor crews had restored power to at least 17,000 homes in Smith County as of Thursday morning, and as of 9:30 a.m. 2,906 remained without power. Smith County saw the largest amount of outages in all of Oncor’s service area, according to its online outage map.

In the city of Tyler, numerous intersections lost power and were on generators Wednesday evening as crews worked to repair the traffic signals.

Chilton Avenue at Fourth and Fifth streets was still closed as of 5 p.m. Wednesday. That intersection also remained without power to its traffic signals.

Kirt said there are many areas that saw smaller debris such as branches in the roads. The city asks residents to drive with caution, slow down and avoid areas where trees and power lines are down. Motorists are asked not to remove traffic cones placed across roadways due to safety concerns.

At least five county roads including 168, 1178, 246, 2255, and 353, remained closed Wednesday evening due to downed power lines, according to Smith County officials.

City detours

South Chilton Avenue and West 4th and 5th Street: Eastbound traffic will detour to South Robertson Avenue, Sunnybrook Drive, Old Jacksonville Highway and South Broadway Avenue before returning to East Fifth Street. Westbound traffic will detour to South Broadway Avenue, Old Jacksonville Highway, Sunnybrook Drive, and South Vine Avenue before returning to East Fourth Street.

Troup Highway and South Donnybrook Avenue: Southbound traffic on South Donnybrook Avenue will detour to East Ninth Street, South Wall Avenue, Troupe Highway, New Copeland Road, East Seagal Street and back to South Donnybrook Avenue. Northbound traffic will detour to East Seagal Street, New Copeland Road, South Wall Avenue, East Ninth Street and back to South Donnybrook Avenue.