Communities in the northern Baton Rouge area were dealing with debris, fallen trees and downed power lines late Wednesday morning after a line of storms strafed the area with ferocious winds.
But as the sun began to peek back out from the clouds, there were no immediate reports of major destructive tornadoes, like the one that smashed into Slidell, injuring multiple people. Parish officials said they were still in the early stages of assessing the damage.
More than 11,000 Entergy customers in East Baton Rouge Parish were without power as of noon, the company reported. There were more than 3,000 outages in East Feliciana, more than 2,800 in Pointe Coupee and more than 1,000 in West Feliciana. Statewide, more than 73,000 customers lost power.
DEMCO reported almost 10,000 outages in East Baton Rouge, 4,500 in East Feliciana and 3,200 in West Feliciana.
The National Weather Service said it observed wind speeds of 60 mph or more in Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana parishes. While official rain totals weren't ready, initial reports ranged from four to seven inches of water.
The West Feliciana Parish school district announced it would remain closed on Thursday. Superintendent Hollis Milton cited power outages, road closures, and the number of downed trees.
Milton said the district would reopen Friday at the earliest, but that date could get pushed back as officials assess the damage.
One old school that is now a student activity center had several trees fall on it, Milton said.
Along Highway 61 near St. Francisville, multiple large trees had fallen, some of them tangling up power lines. The damage was noticeably worse on the northen end of town.
Drew Cantwell, manager of The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, said his team was working to clean up trees and limbs that came down. He said it was one of the worst storms the popular tourist attraction had seen in years.
"Luckily, the house did really, really well," Cantwell said. "It dodged any major damage.
However, some of the famous oak trees on the site, which are estimated to be 200 years old or older, were damaged.
"Unfortunately, you can't just buy a new one of those," Cantwell said.
Workers at St. Francisville's Audubon Veterinary Hospital could be seen cleaning damage from around a half dozen fallen trees and limbs. The crew used an excavator to clean up the large debris that appeared to have missed the facility's main building but did significant damage to two vehicles on the property and the hospital's animal run.
At Pat's Home Center, workers were clearing out the parking lot of debris, including tree stands and barbecue pits. A manager said it was not certain when power would be restored.
Staff writer Charles Lussier contributed to this story.
