Storm cleanup continues across Lakewood
A garage in the 2500 block of Newcombe Street was heavily damaged by Monday night's storm.
LAKEWOOD – The massive cleanup of storm debris continued Friday but electricity had been restored to thousands of residents and only a few hundred remained without electric service due to damage from Monday night’s storm.
Xcel Energy expected to restore power to the remaining customers by Saturday. More than 90,000 customers were left without power after the storm passed through.
The heavy, widespread damage drew crooks who already were operating storm-damage repair scams, Lakewood Police said.
“Citizens should be advised that a group of thieves, commonly known as ‘Travelers’, already have descended upon our community with the primary purpose of taking advantage of our citizens by scamming them on various types of home damage and debris cleanup,” according to an LPD news release.
Police spokesman Steve Davis warned storm victims to avoid making up-front payments for repairs, check references if you don’t know the contractor, be wary of crews with out-of-state license plates and make sure the work is done properly. Scam victims often don’t know they have been conned until the thieves are long-gone, according to Davis.
Anyone who suspects they have been scammed or to report suspicious ‘contractors’ call Lakewood Police at 303-987-7111.
No serious storm-related injuries were reported, but emergency vehicles were dispatched in numbers across the area as the destructive weather system moved southward after leaving its mark on Lakewood, Arvada and Wheat Ridge.
Lakewood’s Community Resources Department crews continued the cleanup and the city arranged free drop-off of tree limbs only at the Rooney Road Recycling Center through July 28. Residents must show their drivers license as proof they live in Lakewood when they arrive at the center located at 151 S. Rooney Road.
The cleanup also continues at more than 40 Jeffco schools and damage at those facilities totals at least $500,000, according to school district estimates.
More than 15 skylights were broken in a gym at Lakewood High School and 20 were shattered at Fletcher Middle School.
The district expects all schools to be repaired by the start of classes on Aug. 24.
One of the hardest hit area in Lakewood is near Vivian Elementary School, west of Kipling Boulevard and West 20th Avenue, was especially hard hit.
Weather experts believe winds gusting up to 80 mph, not a tornado, blew down trees and large branches, including a large segment of a cottonwood tree that fell across a garage at a house in the 2500 block of Newcombe Street.
The garage roof and ceiling were crushed by the heavy limb and bricks on the south side of the garage buckled under its weight.
Michelle and Eric Ziporin and their two kids, ages 5 and 2, live there.
“They heard the wind and were going downstairs (to the basement) when they heard it crash into the garage,” said Patty Birkby, Michelle’s mom who lives just across the street.
No one was hurt at the Ziporin residence, “But it was close,” Birkby said.
On nearby Nelson Street, the winds picked up a chimney atop Mary Hallan’s house and dropped it a few feet away on the roof. The siding on the north side of her house also was shredded.
Hail as large as 1-1/4 inches across were reported in Lakewood. The hail was accompanied by winds of up to 80 miles an hour, according to the National Weather Service. As much as an inch of rain fell in half an hour in the western suburbs.
The storm left streets and parking lots awash in slush, branches and leaves stripped from nearby trees. Gardens and flowerbeds were flattened and pets and livestock were spooked and running loose in some areas.
Flooding was reported in Wheat Ridge and trees up to 60 feet tall were knocked to the ground in Arvada.
Elsewhere in the metro area, two tornados were spotted, one near Castle Rock and another in Englewood. Neither did significant damage, according to the weather service. A small funnel cloud was reported near Littleton.
Some Jefferson County libraries were closed Tuesday because of power outages and the Department of Motor vehicles offices at 12881 Pierce Street was closed until power was restored.
