Severe thunderstorm downs trees, wires in Southwestern Pennsylvania

A storm blew through Southwestern Pennsylvania early Wednesday evening and toppled numerous trees, knocking out electricity and damaging homes.

West Penn Power reported it had about 12,500 customers without electricity in Southwestern Pennsylvania, primarily in Westmoreland, Washington, Indiana, Butler and Fayette counties, as of 5:52 a.m. Thursday morning.

Outside of a group of 100-500 customers near the intersection of Ladysmith Road and Route 136 in Hempfield, outages are mostly limited to smaller pockets of less than 50 customers.

Duquesne Light reported 60 outages affecting just under 2,300 customers as of 5:52 a.m.

Customers impacted are mostly in smaller groups south and west of Pittsburgh.

Trees and wires were reported down in multiple communities.

A large tree fell, snapping a utility pole in the 1100 block of Freeport Road in Harrison. It was blocking all four lanes of traffic before crews used a backhoe to move it to the side of the road.

Brackenridge firefighters used chain saws to cut it apart. Traffic was reduced to one lane headed toward Dollar Bank and the shopping center.

Traffic on Freeport Road toward Tarentum was rerouted onto Broadway Boulevard up to the Ohio Street intersection. No injuries were reported.

A large tree uprooted in front of a sidewalk fell onto a home at 1122 Carlisle St. in Harrison. It damaged the roof, chimney and other parts of the exterior. It was unclear whether anyone was at home when the tree came down.

A neighbor said her home was not damaged.

Brackenridge resident George Skurko was grateful for family and friends as a bunch of people came to his home at 724 Hazlett Ave. to cut up and remove a 60-foot tree that had fallen from his yard onto his neighbor’s home.

Skurko said the woman who lives in the house was not home when the tree fell. No injuries were reported.

“I heard a crack and thought maybe a limb (had broken),” he said. “I was dumbfounded when the whole tree went. My nieces, nephews, grandkids, the neighbor, aunts and uncles, my son and daughter are here (helping). You should have seen the look on my face when that tree fell over.”

Allegheny County officials reported a falling tree caused minor injuries to people in a vehicle on Route 908 in Fawn.

Fawn: SR 908 - tree fell on occupied vehicle; minor injuries.

— Allegheny County (@Allegheny_Co) June 22, 2022

Wires fell on a roof and caught a building on fire in the 2100 block of Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, according to an Allegheny County post.

There also were reports of a pine tree snapping in half at Toledo and Hastings drives in Lower Burrell, and trees fell along Chester Drive as well.

Pittsburgh/Strip District: 2100 Penn Ave - wires down on roof and caught building on fire; no reported injuries.

— Allegheny County (@Allegheny_Co) June 22, 2022