By Nicole Burns
Violent storms rolled through the northern Gwinnett area on Saturday taking its toll. Many of you may have been woken up by the early morning storm that came through with heavy rain, frequent lightning, booming thunder, and even hail. Another line of strong storms rolled over head later that evening with just as much force. The storms kept the Gwinnett County Fire Department busy responding to calls from all over the county.
Gwinnett FD reported power lines down on Suwanee Dam Road NW, Suwanee Creek Road NW, and Dollar Circle NE in Suwanee. Crews also responded to a tree down call in the 5000 block of Suwanee Dam Road NW in Suwanee. The tree fell on the back corner of the home damaging the roofline and the ceiling on the inside of the home. Also in Suwanee, crews found a tree had fallen on the back deck and wall of a home in the 100 block of Richlake Drive NW. Tree limbs penetrated the roofline. In the 1100 block of Danube Trail in Buford, firefighters discovered a tree had fallen on a back deck and penetrated the roof of the house.
A call came into 9-1-1 at approximately 7:15 a.m. from a resident of a home in the 1600 block of Primrose Park Road NE in Buford. The resident reported that two adult occupants of the home awoke to a loud boom and flash of lightning. Breakers tripped and then they began to see and smell smoke in the home. Firefighters deployed attack hoses to tackle the fire in the attic. After 15 minutes, crews brought the fire under control. The fire caused extensive damage to the attic and roof of the home. Lower floors also suffered from smoke and water damage. Gwinnett FD confirmed that lightning from the storm caused the blaze.
On Saturday evening, another round of storms sent Fire crews back out responding to calls. A tree fell on the roof of a house in the 5200 block of Suwanee Dam Road NW in Suwanee. Crews also responded to calls about trees down in the middle of Brinsworth Drive NW and Suwanee Dam Road and Tench Road in Suwanee. Power lines were down on Suwanee Dam Road, Tench Road, and Level Creek Road in Suwanee.
Despite the numerous calls into 9-1-1, no one was injured during these storms.
