Thunderstorms in Jacksonville: Downed trees and power outages plague several neighborhoods

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Severe thunderstorms struck several neighborhoods across Jacksonville earlier Monday evening, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Downed trees and power outages have become a common sight as residents cope with the aftermath.

Action News JAX’s reporter Jimmy Marlow was on the scene, providing live updates from the storm-ravaged area. In one driveway on Wentworth Avenue, a fallen tree had brought down power lines, resulting in a power outage for numerous homes on the block.

The fury of the storm however extended beyond a single street. Residents across the city reported downed trees as a result of the relentless thunderstorms that had been tormenting the area throughout the evening.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Trees had been uprooted throughout the city since the storm’s onset earlier in the evening. Several pictures sent to Action News JAX by a viewer named Bill Noriss showcased the aftermath in the Highlands neighborhood. The photographs depicted a large tree that had completely crushed Noriss’s two-story shed.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 3

Tree falls on Highlands home due to weather A tree falls on a home at 10522 Keuka Dr.

David Vanderbilt, a longtime resident of Fruit Cove since 1991, explained the susceptibility of the area to such incidents. “We’ve got a lot of trees, and there are power lines going pretty close to the trees,” Vanderbilt said.

Despite efforts to keep them trimmed, the risk of trees falling onto power lines during storms remains a constant concern.

“The battle with JEA and the tree people was frustrating,” Vanderbilt recounted. “JEA said they couldn’t touch the lines until the trees were gone, but the tree people claimed they couldn’t touch the limbs until the power lines were removed.”

Storms with strong winds, particularly hurricanes, often result in the toppling of entire trees and massive limbs. Vanderbilt emphasized the struggle to restore power, recounting a battle between JEA and tree service providers.

Vanderbilt highlighted the absence of a homeowners association in their neighborhood, implying that each homeowner had to take care of their own property.

He adopted a relaxed perspective on the matter, explaining, “We’ve always been self-policed with that type of stuff, and I’m not going to get onto another neighbor about what they should do with their trees. We’ll just take it as it comes.”

Fortunately, no homes were directly affected by the downed trees in the highlighted neighborhoods. JEA crews were diligently working to restore power to affected areas throughout the city as the relentless storms continued to sweep through the region.

Watch Action News Jax on FOX30 at 10:00 p.m. for the full story.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.