An EF-1 tornado roared through Jefferson early Thursday morning, causing downed trees, power outages and some trees on houses. Some two dozens homes were damaged, but no injuries were reported.
In Jefferson, emergency responders and power crews started work around 4 a.m. when a call for a house fire went out. Firemen discovered that the area of south Jefferson had numerous trees and power lines down as they responded to the call.
No warning siren was given before the tornado hit.
The following is a Thursday afternoon statement from the Jefferson Fire Department:
It has been determined by the National Weather Service the weather event this morning was the result of an EF-1 Tornado. The track was 3 miles long and 1/2 mile wide, starting at Evans Funeral home on Highway 11 tracking East to the 1200 block of Jefferson River Rd. No reason has been given as to why a tornado warning or watch wasn’t issued.
We are still accessing the scene. Red Cross is on site assisting those in need, Jefferson PW is continuing limb pick-up, GA Forestry and the city arborist is getting a count on trees damaged, power crews are almost finished with power restoration, and GEMA is completing the count on total structures damaged.
Areas effected inside the city include:
Winder Hwy
MLK Ave
Magnolia St
Matthew Dr
Athens St
Fairlane Dr
Georgia Bell Dr
Dixie Red Ave
Thursday, December 29. 2016
BY: jacksonheraldtoday
