ASHBURN — For the second time in two months, the City of Ashburn suffered major damage from what appeared to be a tornado that moved through the area around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Although no one was injured or killed, numerous structures were damaged, power lines were felled and trees were uprooted.
“We think it was a combination of straight-line winds and tornadic activity at the end,” said Fire Chief Brian Meadows. Meadows said they had not officially determined if it was a tornado that touched down.
Meadows said 62 structures were damaged by the storm and 11 of those involved major damage. He said the tornado siren was not sounded because they had no time to sound the alarm.
Tuesday afternoon, city workers and residents were busy cleaning up the debris left by the storm.
Duanne Campbell, a resident of Ashburn since 1976, stood outside a home badly damaged on East College Avenue overseeing cleanup for an absent homeowner. A tree had fallen across the home and the electric meter base had been torn out.
“I didn’t know anything was going on,” he said. “I live just two blocks away and I didn’t hear anything. It was splotchy. It would set down here and jump up and go somewhere else.”
There was heavy damage along East College Avenue where power lines were downed near the Chamber of Commerce and along East Washington Avenue where trees and homes were damaged.
Several large pine trees were uprooted at Ashburn Health Care and in the high school area.
At Golden Peanut Company on West End Avenue, a large grain bin was completed flattened. “That was an eight-story grain bin,” Meadows said. Campbell said the grain bin had been “an Ashburn landmark.”
Rhonda Starling, spokeswoman for the company said, “We can’t say what happened yet. We are still investigating.”
The City of Ashburn sustained heavy damage and one man was killed when a tornado touched down there in mid-December. There were 155 homes damaged and the city lost three historic buildings downtown.
To contact reporter Jana Cone, call 382-4321, ext. 208.
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